This story first appeared in The Journal Gazette on June 19, 1995.
Caption: PHOTO BY Chip Somodevilla / The Journal Gazette: Soap Opera star Drake Hogestyn is helped on with the Red Coat at the Mad Anthonys banquet Sunday night at the Grand Wayne Center.
The daytime drama star who has been known to leave women speechless had trouble finding the right words to say Sunday night.
Fort Wayne native Drake Hogestyn, perhaps better known to some as John Black on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives,” was honored by the Mad Anthonys organization as the Hoosier Celebrity of the Year in ceremonies at Grand Wayne Center.
Hogestyn makes his living acting for millions of daytime television viewers. But as he stepped up to receive the traditional Red Coat, he looked into the audience, looked at the former Red Coat winners joining him on stage and got a case of cotton mouth.
“Oh, I’m so nervous,” Hogestyn said as he slipped on the jacket with help from 1994 Red Coat recipient Jim Gallagher Jr., who rushed to Fort Wayne after finishing play Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open in Southampton, N.Y. “This is very, very exciting for me.”
Hogestyn, who went from a graduate of North Side to a minor-league baseball career to television star, has been named the past two years as the “Hottest Male Star” at the annual Soap Opera Awards.
This latest honor was different. It came from his hometown, and the hometown of his wife, the former Victoria Post.
“I’ve lived in New York,” Hogestyn said. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles. That’s a very, very trying city. But when I come back home I plug in and charge up, and I go back ready again.
“This is my home. I’m very humbled and very honored.”
Hogestyn will be on hand today at Sycamore Hills Golf Club for the 38th annual Mad Anthonys Celebrity Pro-Am. He tees off at 12:20 p.m.
Before honoring Hogestyn, the Mad Anthonys also recognized 1984 Red Coat recipient Gene Keady.
Keady has led the Purdue basketball team to Big Ten championships the past two seasons. He also has won five Big Ten titles and had 10 20-win seasons in his 15 years. He was named a Hoosier Celebrity in 1984, the year of his first Big Ten title with the Boilermakers.
“Fort Wayne has always been a special place to me,” Keady told the audience. “When I first heard of the Mad Anthonys, I was told to go by my athletic director and president. When I got here I understood what kind of event it was. It’s always been very special.”
Keady also will play in the pro-am today. He tees off at 12:30 p.m.
Former football coach Hank Stram and actor Mitchell Laurence will kick off the annual fund-raiser when their groups tee off at 7 this morning.
