Bill Hayes, the legendary actor who starred in the longest-running soap opera in history for more than 50 years, has died

Bill Hayesprotagonist of the famous soap opera Days of our liveshe died at the age of 98.

There is he played the character Doug Williams in the 1970 daytime series, five years after the show debuted. He met his real-life wife, actress Susan Seaforth, in the series set in the fictional town of Salem, Illinois.

Hayes and Seaforth married in 1974. Two years later, their characters married on the show. The same year, so did the couple he appeared on the cover of Time magazinein an article about the popularity of daytime soap operas.

Hayes’ character was one of the oldest soap operas on NBC, now produced by Sony Pictures TV and considered the longest in history, with 59 years on the air.

As mainstays of the show, the couple had to deal with numerous dramatic situations, ranging from Doug’s deranged ex-wife, an exploding oven, and numerous serial murders.

There is earned two Daytime Emmy nominations for their work on the show in 1975 and 1976. The duo Hayes and Seaforth-Hayes won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2018.

A successful career

Hayes’ career began in the early days of network television in 1949, when he starred in Fireball fun for everyone of Olsen & Johnson and later worked at Your show of shows by Sid Caesar.

The Harvey, Illinois-born singer and dancer made his Broadway debut in the Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptation Juliet and I in 1953. He also toured nationally with musicals such as Bye Bye Birdie, Student Prince, All’s Well, Camelot AND The pajama game.

In 1956, Hayes had a pop hit with his performance of The Ballad of Davy Crockettthe song popularized by actor Fess Parker, who played Crockett in the Disney-produced series that aired during daytime from 1954 to 1955.

In 1984 the couple left days after their characters’ airtime decreased. Seaforth Hayes ended up returning to the show in 1990 without Hayes, who made sporadic appearances and performed on stage throughout the rest of the 1990s. Hayes also earned a doctorate in education from West Virginia University.

In 2003, Hayes and Seaforth Hayes reunited on the series, even though viewers thought both characters were dead.

In June last year he celebrated his birthday on the filming set of the telenovela, surrounded by the whole cast.