‘Days of our Lives’ star Bill Hayes dead at 98

Soap opera actor Bill Hayes, who starred on “Days of our Lives” for some 50 years, has died. He was 98.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes,” a rep for the television series told PEOPLE on Friday. “One of the longest-running characters on ‘Days of our Lives,’ Bill originated the role of ‘Doug Williams’ in 1970 and portrayed him continuously throughout his life.”

One of the longest running characters on the hit daytime show, Hayes appeared as Williams, the patriarch of the Williams-Horton family, in more than 2,000 episodes, the last of which aired in December 2023.

Hayes also met his wife, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, during his early years on the show. They married in 1974, just two years before his character tied the knot with her character, Julie.

“In 1974, Susan and I got married in my living room with 16 people,” Hayes once said. “In 1976, when Doug and Julie got married, we had 16 million people.”

The pair have since been celebrated as one of the most beloved couples of daytime television, both on and off-screen. In 2018, they were both honored with the Daytime Emmy’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their decades of work on the show.

“I have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of ‘Days of our Lives,'” the show’s executive producer, Ken Corday, told People. “Although we are grieving and will miss him, Bill’s indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and the stories we tell, both on and off the screen.”

Born in Harvey, Ill., Hayes picked up his love of performing, in part from his bookseller father, who enjoyed singing and local community theater, according to his bio on IMDb.

Prior to his turn on television, Hayes pursued a career as a tenor, joining barbershop quartets and directing choirs. He landed several Broadway and silver screen gigs in his early career, before catching his big break on “Days of our Lives.”

In June, he celebrated his 98th birthday on set. Upon presenting him with his cake, featuring an image of him from his younger years, Seaforth-Hayes told cast and crew her husband was the first person to sing on daytime television.