Bill Hayes ‘Days Of Our Lives’ star dies at 98

Bill Hayes, the actor and singer who played the role of Doug Williams on Days of Our Lives for more than 50 years, passed away on Friday in Los Angeles at age 98, via Deadline.

The show had issued a statement to multiple outlets following the death of the actor. “He and his wife, Susan Seaforth-Hayes, remained the foundation of the Williams-Horton family spanning more than 50 years.”

Hayes joined the NBC show in February 1970 to play con artist/lounge singer Doug and continued being a foundation of the show for around 2,000 episodes, the last of which aired December 2023.

Hayes’ wife, Seaforth-Hayes, also continued to be the show, who had joined the show 15 months earlier than him, as the spoiled heiress Julie Olsen Banning Anderson Williams.

The beloved couple got married on October 12, 1974, and then their characters wed (for the first of three times) on an episode that aired October 1, 1976.

Executive Producer Ken Corday said, “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.”