Bill Hayes

Bill Hayes

Born: June 5, 1925
Died: January 12, 2024
in Harvey, Illinois, USA
William "Bill" Foster Hayes III (born June 5, 1925) was an American actor and a Billboard Hot 100 #1 recording artist. Following a successful career as a musician which began in the late 1940s, he began to focus on dramatic acting parts in the late 1960s, which led him to be cast in a role that gained him additional fame to a younger generation. This new chapter in his career began in 1970 when he originated the character of Doug Williams on NBC's Days of Our Lives, which he continues to play regularly to date on the serial. Hayes was a singer on the Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca variety show Your Show of Shows in the early 1950s. During the Davy Crockett craze in 1955, three recorded versions of the Ballad of Davy Crockett were in the top 30. Hayes' version was the most popular: It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He also starred on Broadway in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Me and Juliet (1953). He had other small hits in the 1950s including "The Berry Tree" and covers of "High Noon" and "Wringle, Wrangle"; the latter was his only other Hot 100 hit, reaching #33 in 1957.

On Days of Our Lives, Hayes was introduced as a convict who was also a lounge singer.[citation needed]

The character of Doug returned in 1986 and 1987 as well as 1993 and 1996. Most recently, he has been on the show since 1999. His character was killed off in the spring of 2004 by Dr. Marlena Evans. In an elaborate plot hatched by head writer James E. Reilly, Doug turned up alive on a tropical island and went home to his wife.[citation needed]

In 2017, World by the Tail, a documentary about Bill Hayes's life, was released and made available for his fans to watch online.[3]

On June 27, 2017, while present in the show's audience, Hayes was featured in an impromptu interview on a web special for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; in his heyday, he had been a guest on the Johnny Carson-hosted version of the show.

Movies for Bill Hayes...

Never Can Say Good-bye
Title: Never Can Say Good-bye
Character: Daniel
Released: July 10, 2018
Type: Movie
Have you ever met someone and suddenly felt love or hate? Did you wonder why? What if you had forgotten the reason? Would you want to remember if it could save you life? Elizabeth was asked by her mentor to teach a writing course at a small college. Since she never forgets a kindness, she reluctantly agrees. Arriving in town, she instantly regrets her decision. She wants to run, but she is honor bound to stay. Even as the ghost of a small child begs her to forgive, the memories of another time arouse feelings of hatred that she doesn't understand and cannot control. When she meets Shane, all of their lives are thrown onto a dangerous collision course from which they can neither run, nor can they hide. The question is, "Can they overcome their tragic past or will they be doomed to repeat it?" Love can be a blessing or the curse that destroys a town.
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Big Men
Title: Big Men
Released: March 14, 2014
Type: Movie
For her latest industrial exposé, Rachel Boynton (Our Brand Is Crisis) gained unprecedented access to Africa's oil companies. The result is a gripping account of the costly personal tolls levied when American corporate interests pursue oil in places like Ghana and the Niger River Delta. Executive produced by Steven Shainberg and Brad Pitt, Big Men investigates the caustic blend of ambition, corruption and greed that threatens to exacerbate Africa’s resource curse.
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Miracle at Gate 213
Title: Miracle at Gate 213
Character: Louis Darling
Released: December 10, 2013
Type: Movie
It's Christmas Eve and an unexpected delay at the airport has left everyone stranded. Young Joy (Savannah Page Ray from NBC's Parenthood) is traveling on her own to visit family for the holidays, so a retired flight attendant at the airport (Shirley Jones) becomes her travel companion. As they wait with their fellow travelers, they soon learn that everyone can use a Christmas Miracle, especially a young man trying to escape his past, and they join together to help. Allow your spirit to be lifted and your heart to be warned as you watch each person receive their Miracle at Gate 213
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Childstar
Title: Childstar
Character: Hockey Announcer
Released: September 10, 2004
Type: Movie
An experimental filmmaker takes a job as a driver for a foul-mouthed child actor and his ambitious stage mother.
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9 Dead Gay Guys
Title: 9 Dead Gay Guys
Character: Dirty Ole' Irish Tramp
Released: September 19, 2003
Type: Movie
The story of two lads from Belfast as they stumble their way through the London gay underworld in search of 'gainful employment'. This being the offering of sexual favours to older gay men in order to subsidise their respective giros. 9 Dead Gay Guys is a high-camp send-up of gay stereotypes.
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China: The Panda Adventure
Title: China: The Panda Adventure
Character: Narrator
Released: June 9, 2001
Type: Movie
Experience the world of the magnificent and rare Giant Panda as you travel back in time on an exciting expedition through the breathtaking splendor of 1936 China. Inspired by the true-life story of widowed New York socialite Ruth Harkness, a fiercely independent woman who dared to take up her late husband's expedition, journeying deep into the forests of China to study the Giant Panda.
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Title: Frasier
Character: Neil 'Sully' Sullivan
Released: September 16, 1993
Type: TV
After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty.
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Wrestling with God
Title: Wrestling with God
Character: Thomas Campbell
Released: January 1, 1990
Type: Movie
Wrestling with God is the true story of Alexander Campbell, a man whose conscience came into conflict with the accepted religious precepts of his time, and the struggle and resentment he endured as a result.
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Title: Matlock
Released: March 3, 1986
Type: TV
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.
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The Making of Rock & Rule
Title: The Making of Rock & Rule
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 1, 1983
Type: Movie
Documentary on the making of the cult classic Nelvana animated film, "Rock & Rule." Featuring interviews with Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Iggy Pop, Maurice White, and Director Clive Smith.
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Title: Days of Our Lives
Character: Doug Williams
Released: November 8, 1965
Type: TV
The Horton and Brady broods endure the romantic trials of life in Salem, a Midwestern hamlet filled with evil geniuses, star-crossed lovers and a rich family history.
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Once Upon a Mattress
Title: Once Upon a Mattress
Character: Minstrel
Released: June 3, 1964
Type: Movie
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. The musical story of THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA, this television adaption of the 1959 Broadway hit was videotaped in black and white in front of a live audience and featured Burnett, Bova, Gilford, and White from the original Broadway cast, as well as new principals Bill Hayes as the Minstrel, Shani Wallis as Lady Larken and Elliott Gould (in his first appearance on any screen) as the Jester. Due to the reduced running time of 90 minutes, several songs and scenes were either cut or shortened. The conflict concerning Sir Harry and Lady Larkin was downplayed so that they were married in secret.
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The Cardinal
Title: The Cardinal
Character: Frank Fermoyle
Released: December 12, 1963
Type: Movie
A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self - Co-Host
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
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Wonders of Puerto Rico
Title: Wonders of Puerto Rico
Released: December 10, 1958
Type: Movie
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Title: Decoy
Character: Gordon Troy
Released: October 14, 1957
Type: TV
New York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city. Decoy is a groundbreaking American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with thirty-nine 30-minute black-and-white episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.
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Title: Caesar Presents
Released: July 4, 1955
Type: TV
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Stop, You're Killing Me
Title: Stop, You're Killing Me
Character: Chancellor Whitelaw
Released: December 10, 1952
Type: Movie
A gangster and his wife attempt to go straight. Comedy. Remake of the 1938 film "A Slight Case of Murder".
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Title: Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Colonel Fairfax
Released: December 24, 1951
Type: TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.
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Title: Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Bill Calhoun / Lucentio
Released: December 24, 1951
Type: TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.
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Title: The Bob Hope Show
Character: Self
Released: April 9, 1950
Type: TV
The Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night block known as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (Sept. 1950 to Dec. 1955). Also known as, "The Chevy Show with Bob Hope." When the first special debuted in October of 1950 it was the most expensive television program made up to that point - costing an astronomical $1,500 a minute to produce. Bob Hope had his own television show and radio show at the same time. For the next three seasons, The Bob Hope Show was broadcast once a month on Tuesday nights, giving Milton Berle a week off. Bob ended his radio show in April, 1956. Bob Hope also had another show by a similar name, "The Bob Hope Show (All Star Revue)". In addition, he performed in "Specials" for many years. It is the longest running variety program in television's history with a record of 45 years of televised entertainment.
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Title: Your Show of Shows
Released: February 25, 1950
Type: TV
Your Show of Shows was a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC, from February 25, 1950, until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, The Hamilton Trio and the soprano Marguerite Piazza. José Ferrer made several guest appearances on the series. The series was telecast from the now-demolished International Theatre at 5 Columbus Circle and the Century Theater, now demolished, in New York. During 2002, Your Show of Shows was ranked #30 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.