Days of Our Lives Star Explains When John Black’s Funeral Was Filmed

Photo Credit: Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Days of Our Lives fans are preparing to see the on-screen funeral of John Black, the iconic character played by the late Drake Hogestyn. Martha Madison, who plays Belle, has now revealed when exactly was John Black’s funeral filmed.

Martha Madison reveals John Black’s funeral scene was filmed before Drake Hogestyn’s death

Drake Hogestyn, who played John Black for nearly four decades, passed away last fall after a private battle with pancreatic cancer. However, the funeral scenes in Days of Our Lives were filmed just days before his death.

During Michael Fairman’s tribute to Hogestyn, Martha Madison explained, “We shot the funeral before he passed away, and that was really tough. But we all knew it [his passing] was imminent.” The cast wrapped filming John Black’s funeral scene on a Friday before Days of Our Lives’ hiatus, and Hogestyn sadly died that weekend.

Furthermore, Mary Beth Evans admitted that while the storyline felt rushed at the time, she was grateful they filmed it when they did. “I don’t know if I could have done it after he passed away,” she confessed.

Hogestyn’s on-screen son, Eric Martsolf, opened up the experience in an interview with TV Insider. “It felt very unnatural to film a funeral of a character and a man who you knew was still with us,” Martsolf shared. He also reflected on his personal connection to pancreatic cancer, which had taken both his on-screen mother and his real-life mother.

Despite the grief, the cast leaned on each other to get through the scenes. “We all just held each other’s hands so tight,” Martsolf said. “There were a lot of takes…we were bawling like school children. As hard as it was to do, it was necessary.” He further added, “I was so thankful to the writers because they did bring a celebratory sense to it that I believe honored Drake.”

John Black’s funeral airs on Days of Our Lives on Monday, June 9, and Tuesday, June 10, on Peacock.

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