Invoice Hayes, a longtime star of the NBC cleaning soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” died Friday on the age of 98.
Hayes performed the character of Doug Williams on the daytime serial since 1970, 5 years after the present’s debut. He met his real-life spouse, actress Susan Seaforth, on the collection set within the fictional Illinois city of Salem.
Hayes and Seaforth have been married in 1974. Two years later, their characters have been married on the present. The identical yr, the pair additionally appeared on the quilt of Time journal in a canopy story on the recognition of daytime soaps.
“I’ve identified Invoice for many of my life and he embodied the center and soul of ‘Days of our Lives,’ ” mentioned govt producer Ken Corday. “Though we’re grieving and can miss him, Invoice’s indelible legacy will reside on in our hearts and the tales we inform, each on and off the display screen.”
Hayes’ character was one of many longest-running characters on the cleaning soap, now produced by Sony Footage TV. As pillars of the present, the couple confronted quite a few trials, starting from Doug’s deranged ex-wife, an exploding oven and quite a few serial killers.
Hayes earned two Daytime Emmy nominations for his work on the present in 1975 and 1976. Hayes and Seaforth-Hayes earned lifetime achievements award from the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2018.
Hayes’ profession started within the early days of community TV in 1949 when he starred on Olsen & Johnson’s “Fireball Enjoyable-for-All” and later labored on Sid Caesar’s “Your Present of Reveals.”
Born in Harvey, Ailing., Hayes, a singer and dancer, made his Broadway debut within the Rodgers & Hammerstein tuner “Me and Juliet” in 1953, according to SoapCentral.com. He additionally did nationwide excursions of such stage musicals as “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Pupil Prince,” “Something Goes,” “Camelot,” and “The Pajama Sport,” in response to SoapCentral.
In 1956, Hayes had a pop hit along with his rendition of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” the music made well-liked by actor Fess Parker, who performed Crockett on the Disney-produced collection that aired in daytime from 1954 to 1955.
By 1970, Hayes was a divorced father 5 kids. The position as a previously imprisoned con artist turned nightclub singer on “Days” proved to be that match.
In 1984, the couple give up “Days” after their characters’ airtime diminished. Seaforth Hayes ended up returning to the present in 1990 with out Hayes. Hayes made sporadic appearances in Salem and carried out on stage all through the remainder of the Nineties. Hayes additionally earned a doctorate in schooling from West Virginia College.
In 2003, Hayes and Seaforth Hayes returned to the collection, regardless that each characters had been presumed by viewers to be lifeless.
Michael Maloney contributed to this report.
