“We were rolling the dice, because it’s difficult to tell a story of someone’s death or a character’s death while the actor is still alive; albeit [Drake] was fighting, like a tiger, a very difficult disease,” Corday told Soap Opera Digest. “And I made the choice to, ‘Okay, let’s tell the story.’”

The late actor approved of his character's death scene, which will air in an upcoming episode of the soap opera John Black will have a fitting send-off on Days of Our Lives.The character’s upcoming death scene received the stamp of approval from Drake Hogestyn,

Before actor Drake Hogestyn died following a pancreatic cancer battle, he reportedly approved of his Days of Our Lives character also dying ... We needed a reason [for John’s absence].” Corday, 74, reached out to Hogestyn before writing the script.

Salem will soon be grieving the loss of its super-spy. Late Days of Our Lives legend Drake Hogestyn (John) gave the show the go-ahead to script the death of his on-screen character, EP Ken Corday told Soap Opera Digest in a new interview.

The late Days of Lives soap star, who passed away on September 28, after a battle with pancreatic cancer, knew how his character John Black would be written out of the script.

Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn knew his alter ego, John Black, would die, and he was “in favor” of it. When Drake died in September, it came as a shock to fans, but his cast and crew members knew of his pancreatic cancer battle the whole time.

Days of Our Lives will say a more permanent goodbye to the late Drake Hogestyn’s character, John Black, with upcoming death and funeral scenes that the actor approved before he passed away. In a new interview with Soap Opera Digest,

Days of Our Lives has had to say a painful goodbye to too many beloved actors lately - and their legendary characters. But due, in part, to the show's advanced shooting schedule, the onscreen and offscreen farewells tend to be very far apart.