Days of Our Lives alum Bill Hayes celebrates his 98th birthday on the Burbank ... trends now
Two months after 97-year-old Dick Van Dyke confirmed his guest-starring gig on Days of Our Lives, the soap opera's elder statesman Bill Hayes triumphantly celebrated his 98th birthday on the set inside The Burbank Studios.
The silver-haired soap star was treated to a 'delicious' double-chocolate cake coated with black icing and emblazoned with a portrait of himself when he used to sing on Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's fifties variety show, Your Show of Shows.
Bill's wife of 48 years, Susan Seaforth, delivered a touching speech and led the cast and crew, including Billy Flynn (who plays Chad DiMera), to a chorus of Happy Birthday.
Hayes and Seaforth - who won lifetime achievement awards at the Daytime Emmys in 2018 - met while playing convicted con artist-turned-lounge singer Doug Williams and feisty troublemaker Julie Olson, who once appeared on the cover of TIME.
The Broadway thespian impressively played Doug on/off for the last 52 years, but the acting couple haven't appeared on DOOL since 2020.
Congrats! Days of Our Lives' elder statesman Bill Hayes (M) triumphantly celebrated his 98th birthday on the set inside The Burbank Studios
Throwback! The silver-haired soap star was treated to a 'delicious' double-chocolate cake coated with black icing and emblazoned with a portrait of himself when he used to sing on Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's fifties variety show, Your Show of Shows
'He's enjoyed every minute of it,' the 79-year-old actress gushed.
'He was the first performer to sing on daytime television. When we used to have a big budget, we'd sing all the time, but now it's only public domain songs.'
Indeed, Bill happens to be the singer behind George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn's song The Ballad of Davy Crockett, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in 1955.
Hayes' onscreen daughter Mary Beth Evans shared a snap captioned: 'Happy 98th Birthday to the remarkable Bill Hayes, @billsusanhayes. Your talent, love of life and infectious happiness are inspirations to many, especially me!'
Head writer Ron Carlivati Instastoried a birthday tribute to the decorated Navy veteran, perhaps hinting at more guest-starring gigs to come.
Bill also holds a master's degree in music from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in education from West Virginia University
And Hayes has five children from his 22-year marriage to Mary Hobbs, which ended in 1969.
Two months ago, the legendary Dick Van Dyke shot his first-ever guest-starring gig on DOOL for an episode airing this fall.
'Everybody sing!' Bill's wife of 48 years, Susan Seaforth (L), delivered a
