Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, on-screen couple who are also married in real life, will make their way back to Salem as they return for a brief run on Days of our Lives.

Best known for his role as Doug Williams, Bill Hayes originally played the role from 1970 to 1984.  On the soap, his character was introduced as a convict who was also a lounge singer, making room for his singing career on his Days of our Lives storyline.


Hayes resumed acting on Days of our Lives in 1986 and 1987, as well as 1993 and 1996.  Since 1999, he has recurrently appeared on the show, only to have his character killed off in the spring of 2004 by Dr. Marlena Evans.  In an elaborate plot hatched by head writer James E. Reilly, Doug turned out to be alive on a tropical island and went home to his wife.

Susan Seaforth Hayes, on the other hand, is noted for her role as Julie Olson Williams.  She played the role from 1968 to 1984 and again from 1990 to 1993, 1994, and 1996.  After three years, she returned to Days of our Lives with real-life husband Bill, with recurring appearances since then.  In between roles, she guest-starred as Joanna Manning, mother to Tracey E. Bregman's character, Lauren Fenmore, on The Young and the Restless and as District Attorney Patricia Steele on Sunset Beach in that show's final months on the air.

Susan’s character's partnership with Bill's character is widely believed to be the first supercoupling on the American daytime serials.  In 2005, the couple published their joint autobiography, Like Sands Through The Hourglass, which is heard in the trademark voiceover in the opening sequence of Days of our Lives.

Fans can catch Doug and Julie on Days of our Lives beginning July 1, which continues on July 2 and July 7.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Soaps.com
(Image courtesy of NBC)