Bill Hayes born 5 June 1925

Bill Hayes (5 June 1925 - January 12, 2024) was an American actor and a Billboard Hot 100 #1 recording artist.

He was born William Foster Hayes III and raised in the Midwest, his father was a bookseller (for 41 years). He got his talent from his dad who enjoyed singing and acting in the local community theatre. Bill entered WWII as a naval airman, then studied at De Pauw University, where he met and married first wife Mary. They went on to have five children. He later received his master's degree at Northwestern.

Blessed with a sturdy tenor, his interest in a professional career was piqued after happening upon a tour of "Carousel" in 1947. From singing telegrams to barbershop quartets to choir directing to jazz group vocals, Bill persevered musically until earning his first big break on TV. A lead singing/stooge role in Olsen & Johnson's zany burlesque revue "Funzapoppin'" in 1949 led to him joining the pair on their short-lived TV show and, ultimately, his resident crooning on Your Show of Shows (1950) starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. In the meantime he also performed in vaudeville and broke into films with a supporting role in Stop, You're Killing Me (1952).

                                 

Despite a wife and family to support, he left the show on his own volition for the chance to star in a new Broadway musical. "Me and Juliet" opened with moderate success in 1953 and lasted over a year, touring with the show in its aftermath. Bill also happened to record "The Ballad of Davey Crockett." It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, sold over two million copies and was

awarded a gold disc. He had other small hits in the 1950s including "The Berry Tree" and covers of "High Noon" and "Wringle, Wrangle"; the latter was his only other Hot 100 hit, reaching #33 in 1957. A nightclub and TV-variety fixture in the late 1950s, he later managed to flex his vocal chords in such musicals as "Bye Bye Birdie" (national tour), "Brigadoon," "The Pajama Game" and "George M!"

The 1960s were a slow, difficult time for Bill professionally and personally, which culminated in the breakup of his marriage. Luck and talent played a part when he was hired to join the cast of Days of Our Lives (1965) playing the role of Doug Williams. The character was originally a louse and con artist, but grew  
more reputable after his character fell in love with feisty troublemaker Julie Olson, played by Susan Seaforth. Their seesaw romantic relationship became one of daytime's top story lines of the 1970s. Off-screen the couple also ignited sparks and, despite their major age difference (she is 18 years his junior), they married on October 12, 1974.

His character's partnership with Seaforth's character, Julie, is widely believed to be the first super-coupling on the American daytime serials. Their relationship was so popular that they were featured on the cover of Time in 1976, the only soap opera stars to hold that distinction to date.  In 1984, after 14 years and two daytime Emmy nominations, he and Susan left the show due to their dwindling status. While Susan went on to join the cast of The
Young and the Restless (1973) the following year, Bill refocused on his singing by performing on the cabaret circuit and recording a few albums.

 The couple returned on and off to their soap opera alma mater over the years, but in 1999 they became part of the regular cast again with a stronger story line, only to have his character killed off in the spring of 2004 by Dr. Marlena Evans (This was done to reduce the show's budget). In an elaborate plot hatched by head writer James E. Reilly, Doug Williams turned up alive on a tropical island and went home to his wife. In 2005, the couple published their joint autobiography, Like Sands Through the Hourglass. The couple also supports the West Texas Rehab Center, hosting the annual telethon in Abilene, Texas.

During 2012 Susan & Bill sang in a production of “Follies” at the Little Theatre On The Square in Sullivan, IL. In 2016, the Bill Hayes Prize in Musical Theater was created by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. On June 27, 2017, while present in the show's audience, Hayes was featured in an impromptu interview on a web special for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; in his heyday, he had been a guest on the Johnny Carson-hosted version of the show. Also that year World by the Tail, a documentary about Bill Hayes's life, was released and made available for his fans to watch online.

On April 29, 2018, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

In his later years Bill still performed on stage,  playing Beauregard in "Mame" and with his wife in productions of "A Christmas Carol," "Love Letters" and "Same Time, Another Year," which was a sequel to "Same Time, Next Year.  Despite his age Bill Hayes didn't consider himself retired or even in retirement mode. Both he and Seaforth Hayes took advantage of every opportunity to portray the Days of our Lives beloved couple, Doug and Julie.   

In 2005, the couple published their joint autobiography, Like Sands Through the Hourglass. The couple also supported the West Texas Rehab Center, hosting the annual telethon in Abilene, Texas. Hayes died on January 12, 2024, at the age of 98.

(Edited from IMDb, Wikipedia & soaps.sheknows.com)