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,

“I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole. Drake was still with us. I know Ken had promised him a place to come back,” Hall, 77, told Soap Opera Digest. “He was looking forward to coming back, and he was fighting the good fight. So we had not said ...

As a result, the site noted, the soap filmed John's passing before Hogestyn himself died on Sept. 28 after battling pancreatic cancer. Corday explained: 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;

Days of Our Lives Star Drake Hogestyn was able to approve and film the way his beloved character died on the Peacock soap before he passed away on Sept. 28. In a new interview, Executive Producer Ken Corday said he needed to explain to viewers why Hogestyn’s character,

The late actor approved of his character's death scene, which will air in an upcoming episode of the soap opera

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.