Remembering Drake Hogestyn and John Aniston: A Heartfelt Tribute from Stephen Nichols.

As Days of Our Lives enters its 60th season, Stephen Nichols reflects on the lasting legacies of his beloved co-stars.

At the Days of Days fan event, which took place on Saturday, November 2nd, Stephen Nichols paid a beautiful tribute to two beloved stars, Drake Hogestyn and John Aniston. 🌹 Drake’s energy, love for the fans, and dedication to Days are deeply missed, and both he and John left an indelible mark on the show and its community.

Nichols shared a lengthy message but a heartfelt message on Instagram, "On Saturday, FANS traveled LONG DISTANCES to attend our annual “Day of Days” celebration, which featured a preview of the 60th season of Days of Our Lives and the news of a renewal for a 61st season. The most important part of this annual ritual is meeting with those fans, friends of the show and signing photos and having exchanges with them which, due to time constraints, are much too brief. This interaction with our fans, the life blood of Days, was what our beloved Bill Hayes and Drake Hogestyn loved the best. Bill was our elder statesman, and I’m here to tell you, Drake looked forward to taking on that mantle in later years. He would have been the perfect fit. Unfortunately, that will not come to pass. I wanted to speak about Drake at the event, and I wish I had. But I knew, as the mic was passed to me, I still couldn’t do that for more than a few seconds without falling apart. I miss Drake so very much. I know so many others feel the same way. There is a huge void at work without Drake’s energy, enthusiasm and dedication. Many people who came to our table said lovely words about Drake and offered condolences, which I appreciated very much. With each of you, I pictured Drake and imagined passing those sweet words on to him, to his soul’s resting place. I could feel his love. He was such a loving guy. Drake absolutely loved his job and Daytime TV culture more so than anyone I have ever worked with. He was ecstatic each year at the prospect of interacting with fans. His moto was always to give you what you came for, whether onstage or in person. He always went above and beyond to do just that. The upcoming episodes honoring Bill and Drake were a labor of love on everyone’s part. They were such remarkable people and vital parts of Days, they deserve the most detailed, well-crafted send-off we can give them. That allows those of us who are grieving to carry their example of humility, hard work & kindness forward into our lives. Yesterday, the plan was to sing to “Always” to Bill and Drake. On stage Susan, Amy and Deidre led us in the song and nothing could be truer to our feelings about these beautiful men than the first line, “I’ll be loving you always."

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