Legendary DAYS Star Bill Hayes Has Died At Age 98

Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement award recipient, star of Days of our Lives, song and dance man, and stage performer Bill Hayes passed away on January 12, 2024, at the age of 98.

Bill Hayes: A Song And Dance Man

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,” the DAYS spokesperson said in a statement.

“One of the longest-running characters on Days of our Lives, Bill originated the role of Doug Williams in 1970 and portrayed him continuously throughout his life. He and his wife, Susan Seaforth-Hayes, remained the foundation of the Williams-Horton family spanning more than 50 years.”

Executive Producer Ken Corday shares, “I have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of Days of our Lives. Although we are grieving and will miss him, Bill’s indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and the stories we tell, both on and off the screen.”

See daytime remembering him here.

He was born William Foster Hayes III on June 5, 1925, in Harvey, Illinois. His father was a bookseller who enjoyed singing in the local community theater. Hayes inherited his father’s talent. After serving as an airman during World War II, he attended DePauw University where he met and married his wife of 22 years, Mary Hobbs. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Northwestern and a Ph.D. in education at West Virginia University. But singing and performing stole his heart.

A tour of Carousel in 1947 lit his interest in singing and theater. He went on to perform in nightclubs, singing telegrams, barbershop quartets, choir directing, and jazz vocals. In 1949, Hayes landed his first stint on television as the singing/stooge on Funzapoppin, leading him to a resident gig on Your Show of Shows, which starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coco.

The solid tenor continued performing in vaudeville, and theater and landed a movie role in Stop, You’re Killing Me in 1952. Throughout the 50s, Hayes expanded his entertainment career by performing in nightclubs, traveling theater, television, and, later, adding recording artist to his repertoire. In 1955, he released the single, The Ballad of Davy Crockett, which topped the Billboard charts at #2 and sold more than 3 million copies.

Doug And Julie Williams: DAYS Supercouple And Beyond

In the 60s, work slowed down, and his marriage to Mary ended. Hayes was ready to try something new. He landed the role of a lifetime as louse and con man Doug Williams (born Brent Douglas) on Days of our Lives and met the love of his life in co-star Susan Seaforth. Hayes wavered before signing on to the popular show. “All I had heard about soap operas were derogatory: the writing was bad, the plotting was bad, that type of thing,” he said. “But when I got there, the actors were incredibly good, the writing was excellent. Everything about it was wonderful.” (See our photo gallery of him here.)

Although 18 years his junior, sparks flew both on and off-screen with Susan, who played his love interest in Salem, Julie Olson. Doug and Julie have not one but two love songs associated with their romance — The Look of Love and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Considered the first supercouple of daytime in the 70s, even gracing the cover of Time Magazine, Doug and Julie were married onscreen in October of 1976. Bill and Susan had already tied the knot in 1974. The couple continued going strong, working, traveling, and living together ever since.

Bill and Susan made a highly publicized exit from DAYS in 1984. Doug returned to Salem sans Julie in 1986. He appeared on the show again in early 1993 to help facilitate Susan’s exit from the show. Doug and Julie were never far from Salem. The Hayeses returned where back on-screen before 1993 came to an end. They returned for holidays, funerals, weddings, and near-weddings over the years. In 1999, they came back on a more permanent basis as part of the Princess Gina (Kristian Alfonso) storyline.

Doug was killed off in 2004 when he valiantly fought for his life against the Salem Serial Killer, who turned out not to be Marlena (Deidre Hall) as viewers believed. It was all a DiMera hoax. The Hayeses continued to appear sporadically on the show, and for the last several years have worked more regularly on the program. It appeared that Doug was facing some mental challenges a few years ago; in reality, he’d been possessed by the devil, who had returned to Salem to try to take Marlena’s soul.

Other contributions Hayes made during his long and successful career included films such as The Yeoman of the Guard, Little Women, Kiss Me Kate, Once Upon A Mattress, 9 Dead Gay Guys, Miracle at Gate 213, and Never Can Say Goodbye: When Love And Hate Survive Death.

TV credits include Decoy, The United States Steel Hour, True Story, The Interns, Cade’s County, Matlock, Cop Rock, and Frasier. Bill Hayes received two consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series starting in 1975. He and Susan took home Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2018 ceremony.

In 2017, the Hayeses and their grandson, David Samuel, attended a taping of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. The host invited Bill Hayes up on stage with him to do an impromptu interview. You can read about that moment here.

Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes authored two books — Like Sands Through the Hourglass, a memoir, in 2006 and Trumpet, a novel, in 2012.

Hayes is survived by his loving wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, his five children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Soap Hub sends its deepest condolences to them, along with his other loved ones, friends, co-stars, and fans during this difficult time.