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Doug Williams is one of the oldest characters on the Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives. The character was played by Bill Hayes since its introduction on February 9, 1970. The character has recurred in the show between 1970 and 1984, 1986 and 1987, 1993 and 1996, and from 1999 to 2024.
Doug Williams will not be seen anymore on the daytime show. The last episode of Doug Williams, played by Bill Hayes, aired on July 11, 2024, marking the end of a journey of Doug and Julie’s chemistry on screen.
The reason behind the exit of the long-running character is the unfortunate death of actor Bill Hayes, who was known to put the soul into Doug William’s character on Days of Our Lives.
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Days of Our Lives was originally an NBC-run soap opera that Peacock took over in 2022 to increase its reach. The show is set in the fictional town of Salem and focuses mainly on the Brady, Horton, DiMera, and Kirikis families living in the city. Among the 14,340 episodes of the daytime show, Doug Williams has appeared in 2,100 episodes since 1970.
Days of Our Lives: What happened to Bill Hayes?
Bill Hayes was a known face from the cast of Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives and has received many awards, including a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 for his role as Doug Williams.
In an interview with TV Insider on July 10, 2024, Susan explained that Bill Hayes kept shooting until his last days, even when he couldn’t see anything. Bill died on January 12, 2024, at the age of 98, which had an impact on his onscreen and real-life wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes.
Six months after Bill’s death, Susan spoke in her first interview with TV Insider, about her connection with Bill. The way they used to support each other during the shooting and how she always had his back.
“I haven’t had the stress of doing anything alone, really, and now I will have to,” Susan said in the same interview.
Susan also mentioned that Bill Hayes’ health had started to deteriorate nearly a month before his death.
“I knew it that day and that was four weeks before he died,” said Susan.
The last episode of Bill as Doug on Days of Our Lives showed an emotional and romantic time that he shared with Susan, who plays Julie. The couple went down memory lane and confessed how much they loved each other.
In those last scenes, Susan wrote some lines for Bill in addition to what was given by the writers. The last line she wrote for Bill was, “Give me another kiss.”
Days of Our Lives will soon have a special dedicated to Bill Hayes and his five-year journey with the soap opera. The makers announced that the 15,000th episode of the show will be a tribute dedicated to Bill Hayes and his character Doug Williams. After Susan got to know about this initiative by the makers of the show, she said,
“Nothing but great gratitude, great gratitude. And very proud.”
Bill Hayes was loved and cherished by his fans worldwide. Susan also explained how, after his death, people came up to her on the streets and sent her emails. There were comments all over Instagram and other platforms mourning the actor's loss.
“I thought I was the one that understood him and loved him so much, but I wasn’t the only one, and that’s been very gratifying,” said Susan.
Julie Olson Williams’ journey on Days of Our Lives will now continue without Doug Williams.
The fans can watch the new episodes of Days of Our Lives on Peacock.
