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Soap opera icon Bill Hayes dead at 98

Hayes played Doug Williams on "Days of Our Lives" for more than 50 years.

Bill Hayes (L) and Susan Seaforth Hayes hold up their Lifetime Achievement Awards backstage in the press room during the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California in 2018. Bill Hayes died Friday at the age of 98. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI
Bill Hayes (L) and Susan Seaforth Hayes hold up their Lifetime Achievement Awards backstage in the press room during the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California in 2018. Bill Hayes died Friday at the age of 98. File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Days of Our Lives legend Bill Hayes has died at the age of 98, the soap opera's executive producer Ken Corday announced.

"I have known Bill for most of my life and he embodied the heart and soul of Days of Our Lives," Corday said in a statement Friday.

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"Although we are grieving and will miss him, Bill's indelible legacy will live on in our hearts and the stories we tell, both on and off the screen."

He played Doug Williams on the daytime drama since 1970. His wife since 1974 -- Susan Seaforth-Hayes -- played his spouse Julie Olsen Banning Anderson Williams on the show for decades.

He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Daytime Emmys.

The cause of his death has not been publicly disclosed.

Hayes' other credits include the TV shows Matlock, Hooperman, Cop Rock and Stop! You're Killing Me and 1953 Broadway musical, Me and Juliet.

He also sang and recorded the 1955 hit song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett."

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