Bill Hayes’ Wonderful Life Brought Right to Your Screens

Beloved Days of Our Lives (DOOL) veteran Bill Hayes has lived a wonderful life, and he’ll be the first to admit it.

So it’s only fitting that a documentary film about his life be titled World by the Tail.

“It comes from something I said once during an interview,’” says Hayes “I was describing my life. I’ve got family. I have a career. I’ve had great jobs. I said, ‘I’ve got the world by the tail.’”

To Grandfather with Love
Filmmaker Lee Levin jumped on those words for the title of the film, which is available to view free at.

The project is the brainchild of Hayes’ grandson, David Samuel, who initially proposed it to his grandfather.

“David started to look around for a film maker about five years ago,” recounts Hayes. “He found Lee Levin and asked him to do a documentary of his grandfather. Lee and I met. We talked at Dupar’s [restaurant] a couple of times, and he began to lay out his ideas.

“We finally figured out who might be interviewed to contribute to it. We looked for old family movies and photos, and old programs and photos from my past. He finally put it all together and did a beautiful job.”

His Career of Careers
The 80-minute film contains highlights from Hayes’ career as well as “interviews with a dozen-and-a-half friends of mine from former shows [I worked on],” notes the actor, including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and Judy Johnson from Your Show of Shows; Shirley Jones, Shirley MacLaine and Carol Lawrence from the Broadway musical, Me and Juliet; and Elliot Gould from Once Upon a Mattress.

“Those were exciting times,” continues Hayes. “Your Show of Shows was the number one show on television in the early 50s.

“My experience on Broadway was wonderful. The day that I recorded The Ballad of Davy Crockett was a big day. That record sold…continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

“Those were exciting times,” continues Hayes. “Your Show of Shows was the number one show on television in the early 50s.

“My experience on Broadway was wonderful. The day that I recorded The Ballad of Davy Crockett was a big day. That record sold over 4 million copies.”

The Days of His Life
There are also numerous people from Hayes’ run at Days in the film, including his wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie), Robert Clary (ex-Robert) and former director/producer Wes Kenney.

“Lee was allowed to go to the Days studio and get anybody he could get who was in that day,” notes Hayes. “He had one long lunch period. He shot Kristian Alfonso (Hope), Deidre Hall (Marlena), Matthew Ashford (ex-Jack), Drake Hogestyn (John), James Reynolds (Abe), Patrick Muldoon (ex-Austin) and (executive producer) Greg Meng.”

A Family Affair
Hayes’ two daughters, Carrie and Peggy, are also included in the film.

“Lee would have interviewed my two sons, too, but they were on the other end of the country,” explains Hayes. “He didn’t have budget enough to go interview them in person.”

In addition to Hayes’ career, World by the Tail delves into the actor’s personal life, too. “It talks about my parents, my brothers, my children, my family… That’s what is most meaningful. I was gifted with five children. One passed away and that’s mentioned. The mother of my five children and I came to a divorce.

“The film talks about that, which is a high point/low point. If it hadn’t been for that, I would not have gone on Days of Our Lives. I would not have met Susan, who I have now been married to for over 42 years. That’s quite a gift.”

Response to the film has been great, too.

“It almost makes me cry,” admits Hayes, calling people’s reactions “so moving. I haven’t heard a bad word, yet. I’ve just been overwhelmed with delightful reviews and reactions.”

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