Days of our Lives star and all-around Renaissance man Bill Hayes was memorialized Saturday, February 10 by family and friends. In keeping with their commitment to providing fans a nearly no-holds-barred glimpse into their lives, Hayes’s widow, and decades-long co-star, Susan Seaforth Hayes made public a live stream of the alternately poignant and uproarious celebration of life.
Bill Hayes — A Life Well Lived
Though acting no doubt thrilled Bill, it was music that truly fueled his soul — which is why it should come as no surprise that several of the speakers broke into song and that the First Christian Church of North Hollywood choir was frequently called upon to perform in between recollections.
Among the numbers heard were Try to Remember (dueted by Bill’s grandson and great-granddaughter), Song For You, Coney Island Baby (belted out with gusto by a quartet of Bill’s kin), and My Lord and I.
Ken Corday, the Hayes’s boss of four decades, family friend (and a former promotions man at NBC) George Crosby, and Carrie Huff (Bill’s eldest child) were but a few of the many who took to the pulpit to eulogize Bill and relay a rib-tickling anecdote or three. Meanwhile, Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans Black, DAYS) recited Gone From My Sight at Susan’s request.
Susan herself spoke at length about her beloved husband, his varied life accomplishments (including participating in, “the dawn, high summer, and sunset of network television as we know it.”), his musicality, personal favorites, and songs he composed — but only after cracking up the crowd with her opinion that, “This is undoubtedly the most positive audience I will ever face.”
As for the legacy that Bill left behind — kindness. “He treated all strangers as potential friends, and never returned indifference with a harsh word or a cynical remark.”
The entire one-hour, forty-five-minute-long stream of Bill Hayes’s celebration of life can be viewed below. After viewing, be sure to head to our comments section and leave your own memories of Bill.
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