Days of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn Honored In a Loving Tribute Led by Martha Madison
It’s one thing to say “rain or shine,” but it’s quite another to follow through and show up in a downpour. But that’s what Days of Our Lives friends, family and fans faced on Saturday, April 26th for the PanCAN PurpleStride as they came together to honor the late Drake Hogestyn and raise money for the cancer organization.
And they didn’t just face pouring rain, as Martha Madison shared on her Instagram, “3,000 people gathered and cheered and walked and made a difference anyway!”
Madison, you’ll remember, joined Dan Feuerriegel (EJ) and Eric Martsolf (Brady, who, unfortunately wasn’t able to be there for the walk itself) as team captains of Hogey’s Home Runners, a PurpleStride team to walk and raise money for pancreatic cancer research, support and treatment.
She spoke at the event, sharing, “You might know me if you watch Days of Our Lives as Belle Black, daughter of iconic hero John Black. For 38 years, John Black was played by our dear friend Drake Hogestyn, who we sadly lost last September to pancreatic cancer.
Drake was best known behind the scenes as an athlete, a mentor, an epic storyteller, and our own team captain. He approached life with enthusiasm and optimism, and when it was time to perform, nobody locked in like Drake.”
She went on to share how much he taught everyone at Days of Our Lives to not just be incredible actors, but have fun while they’re doing it. “Before joining our show, ” Madison shared, “Drake, often referred to as Hogey, was a minor league baseball player, and so all of his best advice was typically delivered in a baseball metaphor.
“With that in mind, we chose the name Hogey’s Home Runners as our Purple stripe team name. In his absence and in his honor, it is my privilege to stand in for him today as team captain of Hogey’s Home Runners along with my co-captains Dan Feuerriegel and Eric Martsolf, who also lost his mother to this terrible disease.”
“As a testament to how loved and admired Drake was,” Madison concluded, “we’ve had not only a huge turnout from our cast and crew throughout this whole process, but from hundreds of his fans across the globe, many of whom made the trip to L.A. to be here today.
Thank you, fans!” Hogestyn’s daughters, Whitney and Alex, also joined in and the actor’s TV daughter went on to thank his real-life daughters for sharing their father for all those years.
Stephen Nichols (Steve) was one of the cast who walked through the rain, and he shared photos from the big day with a number of Days of Our Lives favorites along like Cherie Jimenez (Gabi), Tina Huang (Melinda), Tamara Braun (Ava), Brandon Beemer (Shawn), Rachel Boyd (Sophia), Louis Tomeo (Aaron), Kennedy Garcia (Felicity) and Ashley Puzemis (Holly). And that’s just a few!
“Thank you to everyone who showed up, walked with us, and cheered for Hogey’s Home Runners yesterday — and to all who supported us from afar with your generous donations.
Your love, strength, and support mean more than words can say. Together, we are making a difference.”
While Hogey’s Home Runners set a goal of raising $50,000 for PanCAN, they blew right past that and raised over $58,000. But there’s no reason it has to stop there!
Folks can still donate in Hogey’s Home Runners’ name over on the team’s PanCAN web page here. Because while the walk may be over, the fight against cancer is still going on.
As Madison ended her speech, Hogestyn’s “legacy is strong, and his spirit will forever shine bright in Salem and beyond.”
