Who is Drake Hogestyn?
Donald Drake Hogestyn wasn’t exactly a man with a killer name, but the quintessential soap opera heartthrob. Born on September 29, 1953, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hogestyn was as all-American as it gets. And before dazzling daytime TV fans, Drake wasn’t thinking about acting; after all, he was aiming for baseball stardom! After graduating from the University of South Florida on a baseball scholarship (he majored in microbiology and pre-dentistry, because why not?), he signed with the New York Yankees. Yes, you heard that right—the man who played John Black was almost John the Yankee. A baseball injury, however, sidetracked him towards Hollywood instead of home runs.
Drake Hogestyn Career
Drae Cowie in Growing Pains and then eventually landing Drake Hogestyn’s role under no one’s radar, this Daytime Emmy-winning actor played John Black as quite a dark character with rather questionable motives most of the time, yet again, nobody started to care and loved him for all his wrongdoings.
He traded the bat for dramatic monologues and love triangles, traded in baseball for an acting career. After surviving a Columbia Pictures talent search of 75,000 hopefuls, he won one of 30 slots in the show. He ended up getting a job on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. John Black was his character, and under that actor’s elbow, just about every soap trope under the sun came out: memory loss, false identities, mysterious pasts, forbidden romances. If there is an ever instance that the dramatic twist can occur, then it happened to John Black.
He was “The Pawn” from the day he stepped onto screen, and we are still wondering how anyone made it through that rather clever deception. More than thirty years ago, he cast a mesmerizing spell with his interplay with Deidre Hall (Marlena), that passionate flame which melted the screen. Fans loved them so much that their pairing was captioned one of the most iconic “supercouples” in soap opera history.
Some of the other shows he worked on included Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Otherworld, but face it—he was John Black, and John Black was all he needed to be.
Drake Hogestyn Net Worth
And now, for the part everyone’s been waiting for: Drake Hogestyn’s net worth in 2024. Drum roll, please. By the time of his passing, Drake Hogestyn was estimated at $6 million. Not bad for a man who spent three decades dealing with fictional memory loss, right? He became famous and amassed great fortune playing his character on Days of Our Lives for more than three decades.
Not to be forgotten are his shrewd real estate moves. In 2003, Drake purchased a 6,600-square-foot home in Malibu for $2.9 million. He sold it in 2013 for $4.45 million. That year, he purchased yet another home in Malibu for $1.775 million and lived in it until his death. At his death, that property was worth about $3 million. No doubt he understood how to play the game-whether soap operas with love triangles or real estate deals!
Drake Hogestyn Age
On September 29, 1953, Drake would have turned 71 years old had he lived another day. While soap operas do their work through ageless characters, Drake, just like fine wine, aged well over time. With his iconic grey hair and that trademark blue-eyed persona, he proved age can be a heartthrob even when reaching the golden years. In all honesty, he lived in the world of daytime TV where drama never sleeps (but apparently, the actors never age either).
Drake Hogestyn Family: Wife and Children
Behind every gorgeous soap opera actor lurks a very real-life love story, and Drake’s was no different. He married his sweetheart since childhood, Victoria Post, on December 31, 1986. That’s right; they got married on New Year’s Eve—because what better way to start the year than with drama and romance, right?
Drake and Victoria had four children: daughters Whitney, Alexandra, and Rachael, and a son named Ben. Off-camera, this man who portrayed a doozy of TV drama came home to a stable, loving family life. He and wife Victoria were the picture of marital bliss for over 37 years-so far, anyway (something his onscreen persona could only dream of).
Drake Hogestyn Height and Weight
Drake Hogestyn wasn’t only tall, dark, and handsome—he was also really tall. Standing tall at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters), he towered above most of his fellow Days of Our Lives cast members. His weight was never mentioned to the media, so one can safely assume that the athletic physique he sported from his baseball days stayed him during all his acting career. Not to forget, of course, those piercing blue eyes and distinguished gray hair which just add to his screen presence.
Also Read: Dawn Wells Net Worth 2024: How Much is the American Actress Worth?
