♥ Home Run 1992 ♥ Note on soap magazine publication dates and content of articles/interviews regarding multiple soap stars: Many of the monthly or every other month (and sometimes quarterly) magazines back in the 1980's would be on the newsstands a long time before the date on the actual magazine. We've noticed, for instance, that DAYTIME TV magazine did an interview with Drake in late 1986 about his upcoming wedding, which was scheduled for December 1986, yet the interview didn't appear until the July 1987 issue several months later. Therefore, it might be a bit confusing to read about his "upcoming" wedding in an interview dated July 1987 when you happen to know he was married in December 1986. We've tried to date the articles to match the date on the magazine, regardless of when the events talked about took place. Hopefully it will make sense as you go along! We've also edited some of the articles/interviews to just include John's storyline, since this is a Drake/John website. We've left out comments and sections about other actors or storylines unless they're involved with John's storyline. This too should be very apparent and clear when we've done that so it makes sense and you don't have to skim through a long article to find the "John parts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Readers Poll Results Best Mystery: Who Is John Black? Special 1993 Preview The Year In Review The Best Of 1992 Plus A Sneak Preview Of 1993 In a recent issue of SOAP OPERA UPDATE, we asked the experts - our readers - to tell us who and what were the most important events and people of the past twelve months. And boy, did you have strong opinions. What follows are your picks for the most memorable events of the year, plus an exclusive preview of what's ahead for your favorites in 1993. It promises to be a very eventful - and surprising - year! Most Heroic Man 1. ALL MY CHILDREN - Jackson Montgomery 2. ANOTHER WORLD - Ryan Harrison 3. AS THE WORLD TURNS - Tom Hughes 4. THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL - Zach Hamilton 5. DAYS OF OUR LIVES - John Black 6. GENERAL HOSPITAL - Mac Scorpio 7. GUIDING LIGHT - A.C. Mallet 8. LOVING - Trucker McKenzie 9. ONE LIFE TO LIVE - Bo Buchanan 10. SANTA BARBARA - Cruz Castillo 11. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS - Jack Abbott The Battle for Best Mystery was so close that the Top Six vote-getters were separated by less than seven percentage points! Best Mystery 1. John Black's Identity, DAYS OF OUR LIVES. When Drake Hogestyn first stumbled into Salem, he was using the alias John Black, but he later found out that he was Roman Brady. Wrong. When Wayne Northrop returned to the show, he needed his character of Roman back, so voilá, Drake's Roman became John Black. It was risky storytelling for the show because Hogestyn had been more than accepted in the role of Roman, and even after John Black turned out to be somebody else entirely - Forrest Alamain, Lawrence's brother - the plot earned a thumbs up from viewers. Not Far Behind... 2. Who Killed Will? (ALL MY CHILDREN) 3. Who Killed Frank? (SANTA BARBARA) 4. Darryl's Guilt Or Innocence (AS THE WORLD TURNS) 5. Felicia's Memory Loss (GENERAL HOSPITAL) 6. Jean Weatherall Murder (GUIDING LIGHT) 7. Ballymoore (SANTA BARBARA) 1993 Preview... John Black: This intriguing DAYS OF OUR LIVES character, once known for his own mysterious past, will finally meet his match in 1993. Look for John to encounter a very mysterious woman who will lead him on the adventure of his life. Through it all, John never forgets his deep love for Izzy B as he struggles to provide their son Brady with as stable and as happy a home as possible. Saddest Thing You Saw The Death Of Isabella, DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Death took no holiday on the soaps this year, but what made it one of the saddest years in daytime history was the decision by two top actresses to leave their daytime niches to pursue other acting avenues. And they made it clear that there was no need to leave the door open for their return. Thus it was decided to allow viewers to watch them die on-screen - far more effective than only hearing about a supposed death in an ill-fated plane trip, a drowning accident or a switched coffin. DAYS OF OUR LIVES made the most of Staci Greason's departure by having her develop terminal pancreatic cancer and sending her off to romantic Italy to die in the arms of her beloved John Black. Our readers felt that this was the year's saddest moment. No less sad and nabbing almost as many votes was ONE LIFE TO LIVE'S Megan's death from lupus. If you didn't shed a tear for these unfortunate heroines, you have no heart. Other sad moments included the death of Lauren's baby on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, the deaths of GENERAL HOSPITAL'S Robert and Anna, and Mallet's accident on GUIDING LIGHT. Best Wedding 1. John And Isabella, DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Who could forget the long-awaited nuptials of DAYS' John and Izzy B, when a small church affair for friends and family turned into the most important event in the couple's lives...the birth of their son Brady Victor Black. Other Favorite Weddings... 2. Hamp and Gilly (GUIDING LIGHT) 3. Mason and Julia (SANTA BARBARA) 4. Natalie and Trevor (ALL MY CHILDREN) 5. Duncan and Jessica (AS THE WORLD TURNS) 6. Ned and Jenny (GENERAL HOSPITAL) 7. Mac and Dominique (GENERAL HOSPITAL) 8. Gina and Lionel (SANTA BARBARA) 9. Sam and Amanda (ANOTHER WORLD) 10. Alan-Michael and Eleni (GUIDING LIGHT) SOAP OPERA UPDATE, 12/1/92