Days of Our Lives’ Matthew Ashford Explains Why John Black Was Killed

Days of Our Lives, or DOOL, left fans shocked by the death of one of its most popular characters, John Black, played by Drake Hogestyn. Hogestyn passed away on September 28, 2024, with his character’s death sequence shown recently. Now, actor Matthew Ashford, who plays Jack, has revealed the reason behind this tragedy on the series.

Here is everything you need to know about Black’s exit from the soap opera.

Matthew Ashford says Drake Hogestyn coined the idea of John Black’s death in Days of Our Lives

In a recent interview with Soap Opera Digest, Matthew Ashford opened up about the death sequence of John Black in DOOL. He also discussed Drake Hogestyn’s illness, which ultimately led to the end of Black’s time on the drama. Ashford stated, “It was somber at times,” as he recalled being worried about Hogestyn’s health for a couple of years.

The 65-year-old revealed how Hogestyn would “hurt himself,” and that he had surgery, which left Ashford concerned. “He’d hurt himself and had surgery… and I was just worried. The last time we worked together, he just looked entirely different. He was all tied up, and we were rescuing him, and he really did look tied up and beaten,” he continued.

Ashford further added that he realized Hogestyn was not well. He shared that his co-star was so close to him that he could easily tell when something was wrong. Soon, Ashford found out that Hogestyn was suffering from pancreatic cancer. As such, the decision was made to end John Black’s character. The actor shared that discussions were held between the producers, head writers, and Hogestyn himself.

He said, “Drake was part of the decision to have the storyline happen. I think it was his way of saying, ‘I want John Black to ride off into the sunset, and that it would be an honor to me to not recast him.’” Ashford added that the decision wasn’t easy, and that Hogestyn “stayed as long as he could.” He implied that not recasting John was a way to preserve the actor’s legacy. Hogestyn passed away shortly after filming his character’s death sequence.

In Days of Our Lives, John Black was killed off in an explosion during a mission to find a drug to save Bo Brady.