John Black (fiction)
Encyclopedia
John Black is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

, played by Drake Hogestyn
Drake Hogestyn
Drake Hogestyn is an American actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the American soap opera Days of our Lives.-Early life:...

 since January 10, 1986, with brief interruptions from October 26, 2007 to January 8, 2008, and most recently January 23, 2009 to September 26, 2011. One of daytime's most popular characters, John Black is the son of Santo DiMera
Santo DiMera
Santo DiMera is a fictional character on the soap opera Days of our Lives. He was portrayed by James Scott from July 9, 2007 to September 28, 2007. Scott reprised the role on August 20, 2008 as a figment of John's imagination....

 and Colleen Brady
Colleen Brady
Colleen Mary Brady was a fictional character on the U.S. soap opera Days of our Lives. Her story was seen in flashbacks through the correspondence between Santo DiMera and herself...

.

The 80s

John Black was modeled after Robert Ludlum's
Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...

 super-spy, Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne
Jason Charles Bourne is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the novels of Robert Ludlum and subsequent film adaptations. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity...

. The character was introduced to "Days" audiences as an amnesiac known only as "The Pawn" and appeared in Salem
Salem (Days of our Lives)
The town of Salem is the setting for the U.S. soap opera Days of our Lives. It is located in the Midwestern United States, though the state is never mentioned. It was built and named in 1802, since Salem celebrated its 200-year birthday in 2002. Originally set in New England, the vague setting was...

 on January 23, 1986. He soon named himself "John Black" and met Dr. Marlena Evans
Marlena Evans
Dr. Marlena Evans Black is a long-running fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, Days of our Lives, a long running serial about working life in the fictional town of Salem. She was played by actress Deidre Hall since 1976, with a few minor breaks in between from 1987 to March 1991 and...

. Almost immediately, John and Marlena established a rapport. As a psychiatrist, she attempted to restore his memory. An unforeseen consequence of their new-found intimacy was that they fell in love. Marlena's emerging feelings however were tested when a distinctive tattoo suggested that John was Marlena's enemy and Roman Brady's killer, Stefano Dimera
Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo...

. During the climax of Marlena and John's "wilderness" sojourn, and moments after Roman's brother, Bo Brady almost sent John Black careening down a cliff, Marlena discovered photos confirming that "John" was in fact her presumed-dead husband Roman Brady
Roman Brady
Roman Augustus Brady is a fictional character on the television drama Days of our Lives. Roman was played by Wayne Northrop from 1981 to 1984 and 1991 to 1994, and has been played by Josh Taylor since 1997, with a brief hiatus in early 2004, when he was a victim of the show's now-infamous serial...

. Despite his lack of memories, "Roman" and Marlena renewed their marriage vows and lived happily together-- if only for a brief time. Marlena was kidnapped and ultimately presumed dead in 1987. John/Roman went on to romance Diana Colville in 1988, but she left town in 1989 after accidentally shooting John/Roman.

The 90s

In 1991, Marlena reappeared in Salem, as did the real Roman. For a time, Marlena was torn between the two men, but she eventually chose Roman, leaving John to resume his relationship with Isabella Toscano
Isabella Toscano
Isabella Beatrice Black was a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. Originally appearing in 1989, Isabella was portrayed by Staci Greason in both the character's three-year run as well as in subsequent episodes when Isabella appeared as a ghost.-Character history and...

. John then discovered that he was Forrest Alamain, brother to the evil Lawrence Alamain
Lawrence Alamain
Lawrence James Alamain is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. He was portrayed by Michael Sabatino from 1990 to 1993 and returned for several guest appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2011.-History:...

 and nephew to wicked Vivian
Vivian Alamain
Vivian Alamain is a fictional character on the NBC Soap Opera, Days of our Lives, head of the series' Alamain family. Created by writer Richard J. Allen, the role was originated in 1992 by actor Louise Sorel. In 2000, Sorel departed from the series and the role was not recast with another actress...

. Villain Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo...

 had brainwashed Forrest into believing he was Roman as part of Stefano's vendetta against the Brady family
Brady family (Days of our Lives)
The Bradys are a working class Irish-American Catholic family living in the fictional town of Salem on the soap opera Days of our Lives. First introduced in the early 1980s, the Bradys have become one of the central families on the show, second only to the Hortons...

. Despising the Alamains, "Forrest" decided to resume use of the name John Black.

In 1992 John married Isabella Toscano
Isabella Toscano
Isabella Beatrice Black was a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. Originally appearing in 1989, Isabella was portrayed by Staci Greason in both the character's three-year run as well as in subsequent episodes when Isabella appeared as a ghost.-Character history and...

. Two years previously, in the story line, "Cruise of Deception," Isabella discovered that she was the daughter of John Black's nemesis Victor Kiriakis
Victor Kiriakis
Victor Kiriakis I is a fictional character on NBC's Days of our Lives. The role has been portrayed by John Aniston since 1985. His time on the show has been 1985 to 1997, 1998 to present with a brief storyline driven absence in 2004 when his character was "killed off" but found alive on the island...

. Isabella's marriage to John was short-lived; she died of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...

 shortly after giving birth to their son, Brady Victor Black
Brady Black
Brady Victor Black is a character on the soap opera Days of our Lives. He is the son of John Black and Isabella Toscano and an heir to Greek tycoon Victor Kiriakis. The character was initially played by Alex, Max, and Dash Lucero , and subsequently by Eric and Brandon Billings...

 in 1992.

Distraught over the death of Isabella, John's feelings for Marlena resurfaced during "The Pit" story line. Marlena fought her feelings for John, but gave in to them when he attempted to leave the country. Boarding John's private jet on the eve of her wedding anniversary with Roman, John and Marlena embarked on a torrid affair of words and heated emotions. They conceived their daughter Belle
Belle Black
Isabella "Belle" Brady is a fictional character on the U.S. daytime television drama Days of our Lives. The only child of supercouple John Black and Marlena Evans, she is also one half of the supercouple Shawn Brady and Belle Black...

. One month later, Sami
Sami Brady
Samantha Gene "Sami" Hernandez is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. She was born onscreen on October 16, 1984, though was later SORASed to October 16, 1977. Created by head writer Margaret DePriest, Sami has been portrayed by Alison Sweeney since January 22, 1993...

, Roman and Marlena's teenage daughter witnessed the couple's second notorious encounter on the Titan Publishing conference room table (part of the prime time story line, "Night Sins"). Sami then switched the blood tests that proved John was the unborn baby's father in order to protect Roman from the truth.

In 1993, Marlena gave birth to Belle with John assisting in the delivery. Spiteful Sami then kidnapped Belle and sought to sell her on the black market. John foiled Sami's attempts to run away just before the troubled teen boarded a plane. An unrepentant Sami told Marlena that she knew about her affair with John. Knowing that their affair hurt so many people, John moved on to have other relationships — most significantly with Kristen Blake
Kristen Blake
Kristen Blake is a fictional villainess on the soap opera Days of our Lives. Although raised by villain Stefano DiMera after the death of her parents , Kristen and Peter were never legally adopted by him...

, who turned out to be Stefano's adopted daughter, while Marlena fruitlessly struggled to save her marriage to Roman. However, during Belle's baptism, Stefano forced Marlena to reveal the truth of her affair to everyone in the church. Shortly thereafter, Stefano showed up at the Brady residence with Sami's carelessly discarded diary which proved Sami's deception in switching Belle's paternity tests.

In 1994, an embittered Roman filed for divorce and left Salem. Though in love with John, Kristen married Stefano DiMera's son, Tony, whom, it later turned out was really Tony's cousin, André DiMera. Tony/André faked his own "murder" while planting incriminating evidence that pointed to John's guilt. Kristen, unlike Marlena, refused to believe in John's innocence and John was brought to trial and almost executed. Saved at the last minute, John resumed his vocation as a priest — a revelation of his mysterious past that also fit in well with Days of Our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

 most infamous story line, "The Possession" — where Father John Black ultimately saved Maredevil/Marlena from possession.

After saving Marlena from the devil's clutches, John gave up his priestly pursuits and resumed his relationship with Kristen Blake. Kristen became pregnant but lost the baby. Knowing that John was still in love with Marlena, Kristen passed-off the newborn child of her lookalike, Susan Banks
Susan Banks
Susan Delilah Crumb is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. She was played by Eileen Davidson from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998. In November 2011, it was announced that Brynn Thayer would take over the role of Susan, since Davidson is committed to The Young and the...

, as John's baby. John married Kristen in a rushed hospital ceremony in 1997. Finally, John discovered that John, Jr. was not his child but was EJ DiMera the son of Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo...

 and Susan Banks
Susan Banks
Susan Delilah Crumb is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. She was played by Eileen Davidson from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998. In November 2011, it was announced that Brynn Thayer would take over the role of Susan, since Davidson is committed to The Young and the...

. John and Marlena then professed their love for each other and decided to marry just as a dying Roman returned to Salem. Marlena agreed to honor Roman's last wish by marrying him, but John interrupted the wedding with a cure for Roman. John and Marlena finally married on July 5, 1999. However, his recently-discovered past with thief and forger Princess Gina Von Amberg
Gina Von Amberg
Princess Gina Von Amberg is a fictional character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. The role was portrayed from 1999 to 2001 by Kristian Alfonso, who also plays Hope Williams Brady on the series.- Character's background :...

 threatened his happy marriage with Marlena. Programmed by Stefano with Gina's memories, Hope Brady
Hope Williams Brady
Hope Alice Brady is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by writer William J. Bell, she is portrayed by Kristian Alfonso since she was SORASed to an adult in April 1983. Hope is a member of the Horton family, a very prominent fixture in Salem...

-as-Gina activated John's own pre-programming, and John and Hope/Gina became lovers during John and Marlena's Hawaiian honeymoon.

2000–Present

John and Marlena reunited in 1999, but a serial killer called the "Salem Stalker" began to murder Salem's most prominent citizens: Bradys, Hortons
Horton family (Days of our Lives)
The Hortons are an upper middle class Anglo-Saxon Christian family living in the fictional town of Salem on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. Traditionally a family of doctors, the Hortons have branched out to include lawyers, journalists, police officers and more...

 and other Salem notables. Evidence suggested that Marlena was the stalker so that a gun-wielding Marlena was mistakenly killed on a prison rooftop. John's relentless sleuthing eventually revealed that the Salem Strangler debacle was a diabolical DiMera plot; that Marlena and her "victims" were alive on a remote island, "Melaswen" (New Salem spelled backwards). Determined to rescue Marlena and the other Salemites, John was seriously injured during his failed attempt. Addicted to painkillers, John sought solace in the arms of—and proposed to—Roman's widow Kate Roberts
Kate Roberts (fiction)
Katherine Elizabeth "Kate" DiMera is a fictional character on the NBC Soap Opera Days of our Lives, matriarch of the series' DiMera family. The character of Kate Roberts is originally introduced in 1977 as Kate Winograd being portrayed by soap veteran, Elaine Princi who would vacate the role in 1979...

. They broke off their engagement when Roman and Marlena managed to escape Melaswen and reappeared in Salem.

After a treacherous fall that killed her unborn child conceived with Roman, Marlena became an amnesiac. The specialist summoned to help her — Dr. Alex North — turned out to be her first husband, presumed dead in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. Marlena rejected John's protestations of love and wedded bliss, saying that all her relationships subsequent to hers with Alex North were non-binding. Nevertheless, John discovered that Alex was a fraud who had plotted to marry, then kill Marlena. John and Marlena's subsequent reunion was cut short when a dying Stefano reignited his vendetta, and John was shot by EJ DiMera. EJ turned out to be the son of Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo...

 and Susan Banks
Susan Banks
Susan Delilah Crumb is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of our Lives. She was played by Eileen Davidson from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998. In November 2011, it was announced that Brynn Thayer would take over the role of Susan, since Davidson is committed to The Young and the...

, the child whom John had thought was his own son with Kristen. John eventually came out of his coma in May 2007, but was then hit by a car, dying in Marlena's arms on October 17, 2007.

On January 11, 2008, EJ confessed to Marlena that John was still alive and Stefano's prisoner. Erased of all memory yet again, John was programmed to assassinate Roman's aunt Colleen Brady
Colleen Brady
Colleen Mary Brady was a fictional character on the U.S. soap opera Days of our Lives. Her story was seen in flashbacks through the correspondence between Santo DiMera and herself...

, presumed dead decades ago but recently found alive. Colleen shocked John in February 2008 with the revelation that he was her son Ryan Brady, and that his father was Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera
Stefano DiMera is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo...

's father Santo DiMera
Santo DiMera
Santo DiMera is a fictional character on the soap opera Days of our Lives. He was portrayed by James Scott from July 9, 2007 to September 28, 2007. Scott reprised the role on August 20, 2008 as a figment of John's imagination....

, thus making John and Stefano half-brothers. The Alamains had adopted John after Colleen fell ill and was unable to care for him. Later, she was forced to fake her own death in order to protect her brother Shawn's family from Stefano DiMera. Still devoid of memories, John embraced life as a DiMera, indulging in illegal and self-destructive behavior and even began an affair with Ava Vitali. Frustrated in her inability to reach the old John, Marlena filed for divorce. Discovering that his life lacked meaning, John tried to recommit himself to Marlena and remembering their life together. Jealous of Marlena, John's therapist nearly killed him in her plot of revenge against Marlena. John was paralyzed but his memories were restored. Hearing of a possible cure for his paralysis, John and Marlena remarried in the hospital, and left Salem for a treatment center in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 on January 23, 2009—the episode that proved to be the last for the Days super couple.

After a brief two year break, John and Marlena return to Salem on September 26, 2011. On September 26th, 2011, Sami Brady will be shocked to learned that Rafe Hernandez has to arrest John, her stepfather.

See also

  • John Black and Marlena Evans
  • Supercouple
    Supercouple
    A supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...

  • Brady family
    Brady family (Days of our Lives)
    The Bradys are a working class Irish-American Catholic family living in the fictional town of Salem on the soap opera Days of our Lives. First introduced in the early 1980s, the Bradys have become one of the central families on the show, second only to the Hortons...


External links

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