Susan Hayes, professional actress by trade, is an historian by desire. Her degree from Los Angeles City College is in history, and the stack of books at her deskside reflects an intense interest in the American West and diverse Native American cultures. Had she not been so talented an actress, she probably would be teaching today, or writing history books.
But it seems that Susan was destined to spend her life on stage and in front of the cameras. Her initial theatrical experience was at the age of four, playing Trouble to Dorothy Kirsten's Madame Butterfly for the Metropolitan Opera company. As a pre-teen, she toured with Billie Burke in Mother was a Bachelor, and as a teenager, she developed her crafts in the exciting world of television with appearances on: Matinee Theatre, Lassie, Eve Arden, Wyatt Earp, Loretta Young, Danny Thomas; and films: Five Pennies, Angel in My Pocket, Billy, and California.
Susan plugged away at her college studies, interspersing classes with film, TV, and stage work. She plumbed emotional depths on TV's Dragnet, FBI, Death Valley Days, Bonanza, Hallmark, My 3 Sons, Fugitive, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Man from UNCLE, Wagon Train, Perry Mason, Emergency, Adam 12, and Ironside. But when she discovered the exciting/demanding world of soaps Susan was forced to curtail her academic work. Young Married, General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, and Days of our Lives put a serious dent in her classroom attendance record. This was not without its rewards, however, as the sudsy genre produced for her four Emmy nominations, several Best Actress Awards, a Time magazine cover, many years of Top-Ten Lists in fan-mags, and even a husband, when in 1974 Susan married her Days of our Live co-star Bill Hayes.
In recent years, though Susan lectured at Los Angeles Valley College and Boston University, her time still was primarily devoted to stage, TV and film. In 1997, Susan co-starred in the premiere of Bernard Slade's new play Same Time Another Year. In the spring of 1999, she created the take-charge role of District Attorney Steel on NBC's Sunset Beach and in the fall of 1999, she returned once again to add her personal spice to the character of Julie on Days of our Lives. History will just have to wait while Susan does her thing.
PLACE OF BIRTH: Oakland, California, USA
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Bill Hayes since October 12, 1974
RELATIVES: Elizabeth Harrower (mother)
