Theatre Register

Bill Hayes

Shows · Bill Hayes

Actor 1925–2024 On stage 1953

William Foster Hayes III (June 5, 1925 – January 12, 2024) was an American actor and recording artist. His song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" hit the top of the Billboard charts between March and May 1955. Following a successful career as a musician that began in the late 1940s, Hayes 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 began in 1970 when he originated the character of Doug Williams on NBC's Days of Our Lives; the character's final appearance on the program was streamed posthumously on Peacock on July 11, 2024.

On stage 1 production

1953 Me and Juliet Majestic Theatre · Original · directed by George Abbott 358 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

In the literature7 passages

  • Act One: “A Very Special Day” (Isabel Bigley, Trio); “That’s the Way It Happens” (Isabel Bigley, Trio); “That’s the Way It Happens” (reprise) (Bill Hayes); “Dance Impromptu” (Chorus, Randy Hall, Trio); Overture to “Me and Juliet” (George S. Irving, Orchestra); Opening of “Me and Juliet” (Helena Scott, Bob Fortier, Svetlana McLee, Arthur M…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • The plot centered on the serious romance of chorus-singer Jeanie (Isabel Bigley) and assistant stage manager Larry (Bill Hayes), in what might be termed the Laurey and Curly roles; the comic capers of dancer Betty (Joan McCracken) and stage manager Mac (Ray Walston), the musical’s version of Ado Annie and Will Parker; and (for the Jud Fry…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Flanking Dawson in the love triangle were Bill Hayes and Isabel Bigley (of Guys and Dolls), like Dawson wonderful singers, better than the average for musical comedy. The stars of the play-withinthe-play were either singers (Arthur Maxwell and Helena Scott) or dancers (Bob Fortier and Svetlana McLee, who is then "replaced" in her part by…ebooks/Mordden, Ethan/B0035RP5R8 EBOK - Ethan Mordden.txt
  • [>] She wanted a baby: Bill Hayes, interview with the author, December 14, 2012.ebooks/Wasson, Sam/Fosse - Sam Wasson.txt
  • [>] Fosse would wait for Joan: Bill Hayes, interview with the author, December 14, 2012.ebooks/Wasson, Sam/Fosse - Sam Wasson.txt
  • [>] She taught Mary Tarcai: Bill Hayes, interview with the author, December 14, 2012.ebooks/Wasson, Sam/Fosse - Sam Wasson.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

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