Who is Bill Hayes’ wife? All about Susan Seaforth Hayes in the wake of the actor’s death at 98

American actor and recording artist Bill Hayes passed away at the age of 98 on January 12, 2024, surrounded by his family. He was best known for playing Doug Williams on Days of Our Lives, husband to Julie Williams, who is played by his real-life wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes.

The pair starred in the soap opera for more than five decades. The 80-year-old actress tied the knot with Bill on October 12, 1974, as per People. She does not have any biological children but became the stepmother of the late actor's five children from his marriage with Mary Hobbs.

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Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes met on the set of Days of Our Lives

William Foster Hayes III, professionally known as Bill Hayes, was born on June 5, 1925, in Harvey, Illinois, United States. He was a regular on Sid Caesar‘s famous live TV variety program, Your Show of Shows. In 1955, the recording artist had the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts in America for his song The Ballad of Davy Crockett.

Bill Hayes began his role as Doug Williams on NBC's Day of Our Lives (DOOL). In February 1970, he was cast as the convict and lounge singer on the show, which became his most well-known role, as per the BBC. He continued to play the role of Doug on and off for fifty years, until 2023. In 1974, the actor married Susan Seaforth Hayes, who played the character of Julie Williams on the show.

Seaforth Hayes was born on July 11, 1943, in Oakland, California. She is known to be a versatile actress who is best known for her role on NBC's Days of Our Lives, like her husband, Bill Hayes. The 80-year-old actress is also known for starring as Joanna Manning on CBS' daytime drama The Young and the Restless.

Susan Seaforth Hayes started playing the role of Julie on DOOL in 1968 and is the only actor to appear on the show for all seven decades it has been on the air. Because of her stellar performances in show business projects, she received two Soapy Awards in 1977 and a Daytime Emmy Award in 2018, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Bill Hayes and Seaforth first met on the sets of Days of Our Lives in 1970. The pair stayed married from 1974 to the date of his death on Sunday, January 12, 2024. A rep for the DOOL television series told PEOPLE on Friday,

"It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Bill Hayes. 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. He and his wife, Susan Seaforth-Hayes, remained the foundation of the Williams-Horton family spanning more than 50 years."

The couple's characters wed (for the first of three times) on an episode that aired on October 1, 1976. They repeated their actual wedding vows for their inaugural TV ceremony. Bill Hayes once stated,

"In 1974, Susan and I got married in my living room with 16 people. In 1976, when Doug and Julie got married, we had 16 million people."

Bill is survived by Susan Seaforth Hayes, his five children with ex-wife Mary Hobbs, as well as 12 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren, as per The Hollywood Reporter.