Bill Hayes, who played the character Doug Williams on the long-running daytime soap opera. “Days of our lives” Since 1970, he has died. He was 98 years old.
“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,” a representative for the Peacock series told The Times in a statement. “Bill, one of the longest-running characters on 'Days of our Lives,' created the role of Doug Williams in 1970 and played it continuously throughout his life. He and his wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, remained the foundation of the Williams-Horton family for more than 50 years.”
“I've known Bill for almost my entire life and he embodies the heart and soul of 'Days of Our Lives,'” executive producer Ken Corday said in a statement. “While we grieve and will miss him, Bill's indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and in the stories we tell, both on and off screen.”
Hayes died peacefully Friday morning surrounded by his family, his representative Gregory Mayo told The Times. “Bill Hayes meant a lot to me; It is simply the best a person could hope to be. He was not only a client, but a trusted friend and mentor. In fact, Bill will be missed.”
Born in Harvey, Illinois, in 1925, William Foster Hayes III began his career with supporting roles in theater and film throughout the 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in Rodgers & Hammerstein's “Me and Juliet” and He later performed in productions of “Bye Bye Birdie,” “She Loves Me,” “Brigadoon,” and “Annie.” His popular version of the catchy song “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” written for the ABC series “Disneyland,” topped the Billboard charts in 1955.
“It was incredible,” he said. he told Soap Opera Digest in 2017 to perform “Ballad” throughout the country at that time. “Everyone in the audience would know every word to the song. It's such a good song. Everyone in the country still knows it today. If I start singing, they will sing with me. It was quite a magical trip. “It just took off like a rocket.”
Upon ending his first marriage to Mary Hobbs, Hayes was looking for a job that required less travel so he could care for his five children. He joined NBC's “Days of Our Lives” in 1970 as Doug Williams, a convicted con artist turned charismatic lounge singer. He was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in 1975 and 1976.
Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of “Days of Our Lives” in 2018.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Hayes and his wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, were widely known as daytime television's first couple, after meeting on set and sharing an on-screen kiss in 1970. They later married in real life in 1974; their “Days” characters got married in 1976. They fell in love because, as Susan said in his 1976 Time cover story, “We started doing love scenes. “It was just about the ball game.”
In 2018, both he and Susan received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Daytime Emmys for their decades-long performances. They gave a joint acceptance speech complete with a musical interlude, jokes about each other's careers, and gratitude for a loyal audience.
“'Days' is a show about stories from the heart,” Susan said. “These are love stories and Billy and I are delighted to think that our love story and some of our performances are considered worth remembering.”
“When we meet fans across the country, they often get teary-eyed as they recall the memory, because our show is as cherished as a family album and we are part of their family,” Hayes added. “It has been wonderful for us. “It’s really rewarding.”
“Let's continue to give our viewers the romance they love and then some,” he added. “We create dramas that make our audience not only laugh and cry, but think, feel and know that we care about what they have been going through in their own lives.”
