Like sands through the hourglass, so are the 35,770 days (give or take) of Bill Hayes’ life.
The Days of Our Lives star celebrated his 98th birthday on set Wednesday with a personalized, double chocolate cake and a reminder by his wife and co-star Susan Hayes that he was “the first performer to sing on daytime television.”
Hayes plays the beloved Doug Williams. His on-screen wife, Julie, is played by Susan Hayes.
Before joining the sudser in 1970, Hayes worked as a recording artist. His song “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” hit the top of the Billboard charts. When he joined DOOL, Hayes was introduced as a convicted con artist who also happened to be a lounge singer.
His first job in the fictitious town of Salem was serving as a singer at Sergio’s restaurant.
Hayes celebrated his 50th anniversary on the sudser in 2020. In 2018, he won Daytime Emmy’s Lifetime Achievement Award for starring on the daytime drama, which began its run in 1965 on NBC before moving to Peacock in September of 2022.
In March, Peacock announced that it has picked up DOOL for an additional two seasons. The renewal will take the daytime sudser through its 60th season.