Days Of Our Lives Star Bill Hayes Dead At 98

After getting a taste of showbiz, Bill Hayes decided to pursue it full-time. He followed his stage debut with many other plays, as well as a master's degree in voice. The actor interspersed his theater jobs with on-camera work, appearing in movies including the 1958 version of "Little Women," and 1963's "The Cardinal," and on television like the variety show "Your Show of Shows" in the 1950s. Hayes also proved his singing talents went beyond productions of "Me and Juliet" when his rendition of the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" hit the number-one spot on the Billboard charts in 1955. 

Shortly after divorcing from his first wife, the single father joined "Days of Our Lives" in 1970, wanting to spend more time with his children. Susan Seaworth Hayes was already a part of the cast, and sparks flew between the two, culminating in a wedding in 1974. "We got married in our living room. Sixteen people," Hayes told Soap Opera Digest. "Two years later, [our characters] Doug and Julie married, and they used exactly the same words that we used in our living room." 

The two became soap opera royalty and scored the cover of Time magazine in 1976, along with the headline: "Soap Operas: Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon." Hayes was honored in 2018 with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards. Making the moment even more special, Seaworthy Hayes also received the same trophy.