Stage and Screen Star Bill Hayes Has Passed Away at 98

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Bill Hayes, star of many musicals throughout the 1950s, playing leading man to stars such as Shirley Jones, Florence Henderson, and Carol Lawrence, passed away on Friday, January 12 at the age of 98.

Hayes starred as Larry, the assistant stage manager in the original cast of Me and Juliet on Broadway in 1953, as well as the tours of Bye Bye Birdie and On a Clear Day. He appeared in the TV adaptations of Once Upon a Mattress and Kiss Me Kate. Other musical theatre credits include The Fantasticks, On The Town, and She Loves Me. 

Watch Hayes perform from Me and Juliet with Isabel Bigley below:

Hayes also had a musical career. In 1955, his song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" hit the top of the Billboard charts and was named Best Record of the Year by Dick Clark.

Hayes joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in February 1970, as a convict who was also a lounge singer, appearing on the show for over 50 years, through 2023.

In 2017, Hayes released World by the Tail, a documentary about his life, featuring appearances from Mel Brooks, Shirley MacLaine, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, Shirley Jones, and many more. You can watch the film in full here.

In 2018, he received a Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Awards, along with his wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes.

He is survived by Seaforth Hayes and 5 children from a previous marriage to Mary Hobbs.

Watch Hayes discuss his career on a surprise appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon here: