Friends’ ‘Drake Ramoray’ Inspired by Days of Our Lives Legend Drake Hogestyn – A Heartfelt Tribute?
Days of Our Lives (DOOL) spoilers suggest fans are still reeling from the news about Drake Hogestyn’s passing. The 70-year-old soap opera legend died after a battle with pancreatic cancer this past Saturday, September 28 – one day before his 71st birthday.
As colleagues, fans, and fellow daytime drama peers honor Hogestyn’s incredible impact within the soaps, others are also recalling a time of when Friends based a Matt LeBlanc storyline on the Days star.
Days Of Our Lives Spoilers – “Friends” – The One Where Joey Tribbiani Landed A Role On DOOL
It’s hard not to remember that storyline where Matt LeBlanc’s ‘Joey Tribbiani’ landed a job on DOOL. The actor struggled to score industry jobs all the time and he hit the jackpot when he was given the Days part of Dr. Drake Ramoray.
Days fans loved watching the primetime sitcom poke fun (and honor) their favorite soap; however, it was also uncanny on how Joey resembled Drake Hogestyn’s DOOL character, John Black.
Sure, Drake Ramoray was a doctor and John Black was in pretty much every profession but the medical field. Still, the mishaps that Dr. Ramoray went through mirrored a lot of what John Black dealt with, over his time in Salem.
DOOL Spoilers – DOOL Star, Alison Sweeney – Everyone On The Soap Loved The “Friends” Storyline
While Drake Hogestyn never mentioned the connection, it was a given that the character was named after the Days icon.
Back in February of this year, Alison Sweeney, who plays Sami Brady on Days told CinemaBlend that her DOOL colleagues would watch Friends weekly at that time and followed Joey’s storyline closely. She notes that they would all laugh about Joey’s trials and tribulations on Days and everyone “just loved it”.
Interestingly enough, Sweeney had a short run on Friends as an actress within Days that Joey worked with. That must have been a stretch for her, right?
Did you see the similarities between Dr. Drake Ramoray and John Black?