The soap icon opens up about Marlena’s widowhood, Drake Hogestyn’s legacy and her future in Salem
As Dr. Marlena Evans learns whether she has Lyme Disease on Days of Our Lives, Deidre Hall reflects on almost 50 years of love, laughter, heartbreak and adventure in Salem. From the star-studded Days of Our Lives 60th Anniversary red carpet, the soap opera beauty who was half of the beloved daytime super couple “Jarlene” talks to Woman’s World about Marlena’s life in the wake of losing John Black.
Here, Hall gets candid about what widowhood means for her character and Days of Our Lives viewers—and whether there’s room for romance now that Marlena and John’s love story has come to an end.
Plus, the 78-years-young actress reveals what’s kept her in the soap opera game this long and when she’ll be ready to retire.
Salem’s widowed beauties ‘still care about life and love’
Having signed onto Days of Our Lives in 1976 after a stint on The Young and the Restless, Deidre Hall has played just about every soap opera trope around—not to mention Marlena’s devil possession! After five decades, however, the icon now finds herself covering brand new territory.
True, Marlena’s mourned loves before, including John Black. She’s even “died” herself a few times, but this time, her loss is grounded and true. The love of her life will not rise again.
“Marlena and Julie lost their husbands around the same time, and Bill Hayes and Drake Hogestyn were such staples of the show,” says Hall, who knows many Days of Our Lives viewers can relate. “In our country, there are so many women who have lost spouses, because, as we know, we outlive men. It’s a real social issue.”
“My sister lost her husband a couple years ago,” she continues. “Watching her struggle with that and how to find who she is now without the man in the house and no longer cooking for two . . . It’s an impossible thing to go through, and Susan Hayes and I are doing scenes about it. I’m very grateful the show is saying, ‘We’re still here, we still matter and we still care about life and love.’”
Deidre Hall says widowed Marlena ‘will love again’
Yes, you read that right! Hall is talking about love, and she doesn’t just mean the familial kind.
“I think Marlena will love again,” she confirms, but she refuses to theorize about what kind of man her character could fall for after John Black. “That’s up to casting, and our writers. They’re so good at this. They’re also smart enough to know that’s a big ask, to find somebody for Marlena.”
“John and Marlena are iconic,” she adds. “Legendary! So there has to be magic. There has to be undeniable chemistry.”
There also has to be a bit more time. With John dying a hero after saving Peter Reckell’s Bo this past June, Dr. Evans is still grappling with her loss and what it means to be a widow.
“We knew we were losing Drake early on and that it was going to be difficult,” Hall recounts. “So the writers had some time to think about how to manage that and we got to say goodbye to him on camera, which was so special.”
“Since then, I’ve been busy doing a lot of scenes with Martha Madison, who plays Belle, and staying busy with my work and the hospital . . . and just missing John,” she adds.
Deidre Hall on Drake Hogestyn: ‘He was my safety net’
Having worked with Hogestyn since he joined Days of Our Lives in the mid-’80s and survived the epic Roman love triangle and identity crises, Hall cracks that she wishes she knew what their magic was.
“We loved each other personally, and then I loved and respected him enormously, professionally,” she offers. “He was my safety net, and I hope I was his.”
“And it was just there,” she continues. “It was there on the page, and then we came on stage and we just loved each other in front of the cameras, and people were hungry for that.”
Deidre Hall praises her real-life twin for being ‘completely uninhibited’ on ‘Days’
Also amazing? Getting into some evil twin and doppelgänger mayhem with her real-life twin, Andrea Hall-Gengler.
“Working with my sister, that was great fun,” says Hall. “She played Samantha, then she played Hattie, who was crazy-ass. Andrea came to acting from special education, so she didn’t have any restrictions on herself. She could just hitch up her bra, pull down her panties, or whatever it was, and it was fine. She was completely uninhibited, and the audience was mad for her.”
“And then I got to play Hattie, and I was the happiest girl in town,” she adds. “And I got to work with Judi Evans when she was Bonnie, and our drunk songs, oh my word! And when Kayla, Marlena and Kate were kidnapped [in 2022], Mary Beth Evans, Lauren Koslow and I were just laughing and carrying on and had a great, great time. Just never let it stop!”
Deidre Hall’s 5 decades on ‘Days’: ‘I got what I asked for in the most perfect way!’
Having broken into the business in 1970, Hall famously spent a season on the campy 1976 superhero show Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and two on the ’80s drama Our House. She’s appeared on prime time hits like Columbo, Hotel and Drop Dead Diva, as well as The Tonight Show, Night of A Hundred Stars and a Bob Hope special. In 1995, she shared her struggles to become a mother in the TV movie, Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story.
During her early ’70s run in The Young and the Restless, the young actress got hooked on soaps. “It was a small role, but I loved the family atmosphere,” she explains. “I said to my agent, ‘I love this! Get me on a soap. I want to raise my own family, so I want a dressing room where I can bring my children, have my friends and know everybody.”
“I got what I asked for in the most perfect way!” she marvels. “I raised my children on the Days of Our Lives stages, and coming back to the same place, the same dressing room, the same people . . . it’s replenishing.”
Deidre Hall isn’t leaving ‘Days’: ‘You’ll have to drag me out of there!’
With Marlena feeling guilty over her part in the Rachel cover-up, it’s unclear what her future as a Days of Our Lives widow will bring. Thankfully, Hall promises Woman’s World that she has every intention of finding out—and no intention of retiring!
“You’ll have to drag me out of there,” Hall concludes with a grin. “As much of the job is about loving what I do, it’s also about the people with whom I get to do it. It’s such a team, from [executive producer] Ken Corday to our hair, makeup and wardrobe teams. He’s a family man, and it’s a family company. It’s just the best way to work.”
With the holiday season upon us, enjoy this Days of Our Lives Season 61 sneak peek video that looks anything but merry and bright!
