Bill Hayes, 'Days of Our Lives' Icon, Dies at 98

Bill Hayes, a legendary soap star who appeared on over 2,000 episodes of "Days of Our Lives" — many with real-life wife Susan Seaforth Hayes — has died at 98.

Variety reported he died Friday.

In a statement, the show's executive producer Ken Corday said, "I have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of 'Days of Our Lives.' 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.”

Hayes met his future wife working on the series, which he joined in 1970. They wed in 1974, and their characters — Doug and Julie — married to great fanfare on the series in 1976.

The two appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1976, touted as "the soaps' hottest lovers" for a story about the phenomenal success of daytime dramas. They each earned the then-astronomical salary of $75,000 per year.

"They treat me as if I were Robert Redford," Hayes told the publication at the time, at the height of his fame.

Born June 5, 1925, in Harvey, Illinois, Hayes trained as a fighter pilot, narrowly missing active duty in WWII.

He began working on television in 1949, and made over a dozen appearances as a vocalist and performer on the iconic "Your Show of Shows" (1950-1953).

After making his film debut in 1952's "Stop, You're Killing Me," he recorded the TV theme song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which became a no. 1 smash for five weeks in 1955. He also entered Top 40 territory with 1957's "Wringle, Wrangle."

Hayes was a Broadway star, acting in "Me and Juliet" by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1953, and also performed in numerous touring productions and summer stock.

Along with other acting roles, Hayes first showed up on "Days" in 1970, playing a lounge singer with a prison past. He acted on the show — with breaks — from 1970 until his death. He and his wife were given Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Daytime Emmys in 2018.

Hayes published, again with his wife, the joint memoir "Like Sands Through the Hourglass" in 2005, and was the subject of the 2017 doc 'World by the Tail."

He is survived by his wife of 50 years Susan and by his children from his marriage to Mary Hobbs, to whom he was wed from 1947-1969.