Like sands through the hourglass, Days of our Lives' Drake Hogestyn (John Black) has fallen into living rooms across the country a total of 4,000 times.
The NBC soap opera celebrated Hogestyn's major milestone moment on set on Tuesday, April 3, with a giant cake, balloons, and Salem-centric memorabilia that included an hourglass stamped with info about the special occasion.
"We turned that Hourglass 4,000 times...that's a lot of sand friends and I raise a glass of champagne to you!" tweeted the actor to his passionate fans.
He also thanked everyone involved with the show, writing: "WOW!...so lucky and thankful to be on a team with the greatest cast, crew, production and fans!"
Hogestyn recently marked his 32nd anniversary at DAYS, having made his first appearance on January 10, 1986. Rumors started circulating in late 2017 that he planned on leaving the NBC soap, but he laid fears to rest when he announced that the series convinced him "to stick around in Salem a little longer."
For a complete history of all of John's Salem moments -- from his early days as "The Pawn" to more recent milestones like discovering his unknown son Paul (Christopher Sean) -- check out his complete character history here.