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<\/p>\nBill Hayes, who played the character Doug Williams on the long-running daytime soap \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d since 1970, has died. He was 98.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,\u201d a representative for the Peacock series told The Times in a statement. \u201cOne of the longest running characters on \u2018Days of our Lives,\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of \u2018Days of Our Lives,\u2019 \u201d executive producer Ken Corday said in a statement. \u201cAlthough we are grieving and will miss him, Bill\u2019s indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and the stories we tell, both on and off the screen.\u201d
\nHayes died peacefully Friday morning surrounded by family, his representative Gregory Mayo told The Times. \u201cBill Hayes meant the world to me \u2014 he is simply the best that a person could ever hope to be. He was not only a client, but a trusted friend and mentor. Bill will indeed be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born in Harvey, Ill., in 1925, William Foster Hayes III started his career with supporting stage and screen roles throughout the 1950s. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in Rodgers & Hammerstein\u2019s \u201cMe and Juliet\u201d and later performed in productions of \u201cBye Bye Birdie,\u201d \u201cShe Loves Me,\u201d \u201cBrigadoon\u201d and \u201cAnnie.\u201d His popular version of the catchy song \u201cThe Ballad of Davy Crockett,\u201d written for the ABC series \u201cDisneyland,\u201d topped the Billboard charts in 1955.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was incredible,\u201d he told Soap Opera Digest in 2017 of performing \u201cBallad\u201d across the country at the time. \u201cEverybody in the audience would know every word in the song. It\u2019s just that good a song. Everybody in the country today still knows it. If I start singing, they\u2019ll sing along with me. It was quite a magic ride. It just took off like a skyrocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d in 1970 as Doug Williams, a convicted con artist turned charismatic lounge singer. He was nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in 1975 and 1976.<\/p>\n
Hayes and his wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, were widely known as the first couple of daytime television, after meeting on set and sharing an on-screen kiss in 1970. They were then married in real life in 1974; their \u201cDays\u201d characters were married in 1976. They fell in love because, as Susan said in their 1976 Time cover story, \u201cWe started to do love scenes. That was just about the ball game.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2018, both he and Susan received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Daytime Emmys for their decades-long performances. They delivered a joint acceptance speech with a musical interlude, jokes about each other\u2019s careers and gratitude for a loyal viewership.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2018Days\u2019 is a show about stories of the heart,\u201d said Susan. \u201cIt\u2019s about love stories and Billy and I are thrilled to think that our love story and some of our performances are considered worth remembering.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we meet the fans all across the country, often their eyes will well up with tears at the memories, for our show is as cherished as a family album and we are part of their family,\u201d added Hayes. \u201cIt\u2019s been wonderful for us. It\u2019s truly gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us continue giving our viewers the romance that they love so much plus something more,\u201d he added. \u201cLet us create dramas that make our audience not only laugh and cry, but think and feel and know that we care about what they\u2019ve been going through in their own lives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bill Hayes, who played the character Doug Williams on the long-running daytime soap \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d since 1970, has died. He was 98. \u201cIt is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,\u201d a representative for the Peacock series told The Times in a statement. \u201cOne of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memorial"],"yoast_head":"\n