Salem residents gather this week on DOOL to pay tribute to John Black. The beloved character passed away earlier this month. The ISA agent was injured during a mission to retrieve life-saving medication for Bo (Peter Reckell.) John Black’s friends and family visited him in the hospital before he died. But one important family member wasn’t there and won’t make it to the funeral. Fans are wondering where Sami Brady is.
Salem Mourns John Black But Where’s Sami?
The death of the fan-favorite character comes eight months after actor Drake Hogestyn passed away in real life. He died in September 2024 after a short and private battle with cancer. He had been playing John Black since 1986. With the actor’s permission, DOOL decided to kill the character once it became clear he wouldn’t be able to return to the soap. The scenes of mourning were filmed just days before Drake Hogestyn passed away.
The residents of Salem gathered in the cemetery on the June 10th episode to pay their final respects to John Black. Almost all of his children were present, including Belle (Martha Madison,) Brady (Eric Martsolf,) Paul (Christopher Sean,) Eric (Greg Vaughan,) and Carrie (Christie Clark.) But Sami is missing and fans want to know why.
As fans know, Eric, Carrie, and Sami aren’t John’s biological children. However, he raised them during the years that he thought he was their father, Roman Brady. Sami had issues with John when he first found out he wasn’t Roman. She caught him and Marlena on the conference room table.
John & Marlena screwing on a conference room table during a huge party and then Sami seeing it.
(February 1993)#daysofourlives #days #dool #90s #Jarlena pic.twitter.com/KAYOHEEy2M
— Days Daily (@daysdaily_) September 20, 2024
However, Sami put her grudge against John aside long ago. The show mentioned several times that she was on her way to Salem, but her flight was delayed. Then, her daughter, Sydney, was hurt while rushing through the airport to catch the next flight. Sami had to take Sydney to the hospital and couldn’t make it back to Salem in time for the funeral.
But Alison Sweeney, who has played Sami since 1993, hinted on social media that she will be back to honor Drake Hogestyn and her on-screen stepfather.
Alison Sweeney Addresses Absence From DOOL Funeral
Alison Sweeney played Sami Brady for over twenty years before she left to pursue other opportunities. She’s had major success with the Hallmark Channel. But she never forgot where she came from. She often returns to DOOL for short stints.
She just brought Sami Brady back to Salem in March after her ex-husband EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) was shot. Their son, Johnny (Carson Boatman,) is the prime suspect in the shooting. Johnny was upset after finding out the truth about his conception. EJ raped Sami, and she got pregnant with twins Johnny and Allie. In a soapy twist, the babies have different fathers.
Alison Sweeney didn’t stay in Salem long. Sami returned to Italy in April. But the show knew that John Black’s death storyline was coming, so DOOL fans don’t understand why the actress didn’t return for the on-screen funeral.
The popular actress heard the concerns from fans. She spoke to Soaps.com about the situation and clarified whether Sami would return or not. The good news is that, yes, Sami returns to Salem to pay her respects for John Black. But not at the funeral or wake this week.
She revealed that Sami returns in the coming weeks to console Marlena (Deidre Hall) and honor her stepfather. “They arranged for me to do it a week later, maybe two weeks later. I do come in and have scenes about John, but my timing was a little bit off after all of that,” she explained.
So, fans should stock up on even more tissues. Alison Sweeney is going to break our hearts all over again when Sami does return.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger