Sunday, January 10, 2010

50 Greatest Soap Actresses: #37 Susan Seaforth Hayes

NAME: Susan Seaforth Hayes
RANK: 37
SOAP ROLES: Julie Willams, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1968-1984, 1990-1993, 1994, 1996, 1999-present); Joanna Manning, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (1986-1989, 2005, 2006); Joanna Manning, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (2003); Patricia Steele, SUNSET BEACH (1999); Carol West, THE YOUNG MARRIEDS (1965-1966); Dorothy Bradley, GENERAL HOSPITAL (1963)

AWARDS:
1979 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1978 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1976 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
1975 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Connie Passalacqua Hayman (Marlena De Lacroix): The great soap heroine of my youth. Ultra-popular Doug (singing “The Look of Love”) and Julie (those black peignoirs!) taught a teenage moi sex. (It was very innocent era, boys!) Viva Mr. and Mrs. Daytime, Susan and Bill Hayes, forever!

Alan Carter: She dominated the 70s (including a TIME magazine cover.)

Damon L. Jacobs: Some actresses just get it.  They understand the capabilities of daytime drama, and know it's limits.  They comprehend the psychological gravity of the work, and how it impacts the viewers.  They respect the genre and know how to propel it forward so that it remains alive and vital.  Susan Seaforth Hayes is one of these formidable talents who seems to intuitively know how to use the camera to expound pathos, emotional relevance, and humor, often all in one scene.  I know that I'm a stronger person because I grew up watching Julie Olsen Williams live through divorce, rape, fire, miscarriage, and even getting shot!  I learned that I too could survive the problems in the days of my life because of Mrs. Hayes' portrayal of this resilient and stubborn survivor.

INTERVIEW ARCHIVE:
- We Love Soaps interviewed Susan Seaforth Hayes and her husband, Bill, at the Day of DAYS event in November 2009.

5 comments:

  1. One of my all time favorites. The saga of Doug and Julie is what got me interested in soaps. I've also seen some of her work on "The Young Marrieds" and she was super on that as well.

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  2. I'll never forget Doug singing "the Most Beautiful Girl in the World" to her the night of that storm! And I was a young teen. I LOVED them! I also loved the piano sessions with Liz and Neil . What fun those times were.
    This is what soaps forget today...we want love and romance-across all ages. Whether we're 14 or 80, it's about love, romance, character driven stories! Ms. Hayes was phenomenal at everything!

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  3. This is the first choice I'd quibble with -- only because SSH deserves to be much higher. The best sufferer in all of soaps!

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  4. I was fortunate to meet Susan and Bill at this year’s Day of DAYS event and boy was I not disappointed. I just started watching Days in Oct 09 - literally, never watched it before this. And yet I know who Bill and Susan Hayes are. That is quite a legacy. They are a class act... professional personified.

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  5. Wow #37??? This lady needs to be in the top five. She and her husband Bill are the original super couple of daytime television and Mrs. Hayes has more than one time been crowned the Queen of Daytime. Met her back in the 80's in LA and shook her hand... like butter!

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