Bill Hayes

The National Association of Teachers of Singing is pleased to announce the endowment of the Bill Hayes Award in honor of musical theatre, television, and film star, Bill Hayes.

A classically trained tenor, Hayes starred in the weekly television series, “Your Show of Shows,” as a lead in the original Broadway cast of Me and Juliet as well as numerous Broadway musicals, before accepting the role of Doug Williams on the long-time running daytime television drama, “Days of Our Lives.”

In 2016, Hayes was awarded the NATS Lifetime Achievement Award for his innumerable contributions to singing, the voice profession, and the performing arts industry. In that same year, at the NATS biennial National Musical Theatre Competition, the Bill Hayes Award endowment campaign was initiated to fund the fourth place prize in the finals competition. In 2025, thanks to endowing donors and long-time NATS members, Joanne and Ken Bozemann, as well as many additional generous donors, the prize increased from $750 to $1,500. The successful endowment of the prize also ensures the fund’s longevity while celebrating Hayes’ legacy.

“He was a beautiful and extraordinarily versatile singer who moved from opera to the Great American Songbook to the Golden Age Broadway baritone roles and beyond,” said Joanne Bozemann. “He was a model of the type of singer NMTC seeks to encourage. Ken and I set up the Bill Hayes Award endowment fund. The prize was awarded for the first time in 2016, with Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes in attendance! We are thrilled that the fund is now fully endowed, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and fans.”

Moving forward, the Bill Hayes Award will support the fourth prize winner at the 2028 National Musical Theatre Competition with a prize of $1,500. Also, the endowment for the Bill Hayes Award will support a new Rising Star Award, providing a $1,000 prize to one non-finalist to support continued professional training in musical theatre.

NATS would like to sincerely thank the many generous donors who made this endowment possible, particularly Joanne and Ken Bozemann, and Bill’s wife, Susan Seaforth Hayes, for their encouragement and persistence in continuing to honor the late Bill Hayes.

To contribute to the Bill Hayes Award fund, visit the online donation form, or contact NATS Development Director Jen Jimenez at (904) 586-3395.

About Bill Hayes

The extraordinary career of Bill Hayes spanned well over 70 years and featured nearly every musical and theatrical medium during that time: musical theater, straight theater, operetta, radio, commercial recordings, television, cabaret, commercials, industrial musicals, and film.

Receiving his master’s degree in his early 20s, his beautiful tenor voice was trained in the classical technique. With a young family to support, opportunities on the stage and on television pulled him in that direction. His early career was boosted by a long run on the weekly television variety show, “Your Show of Shows,” in which he sang everything from opera to hit parade standards. In addition, he danced and acted in comedy skits with other pioneering TV stars, including Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner. He left the show in 1953 to be a lead in the original cast of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Me and Juliet.

His credits include more than 50 roles in musical theater and nearly that number in straight theater productions. In musicals, his roles include many Golden Age standards, such as Carousel and South Pacific, and later the classics of the 1960s, including Bye Bye Birdie and Camelot. He sang both tenor and baritone roles. Through the following decades Hayes continued to build his credits, including 1776, Sweeney Todd and The Music Man. Remarkably, at the age of 83, Hayes performed the tapdancing role of Billy Flynn in Chicago.

Hayes appeared in Broadway tours, regional summer stock, radio programs, television, films and on recordings. Among his 200 single releases was “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” with sales of more than 4 million, earning him a Gold Record in 1955. Eventually, family needs required that he stay in one location, so in 1970 he accepted the role of Doug Williams on the daytime television drama “Days of Our Lives.” This began a highly successful phase of his career: Hayes was an immediate hit with the audience and due to his skill as a musician, singing began to be incorporated into the plot of the show. He married his popular co-star on the show, Susan Seaforth Hayes, in 1974, and they appeared frequently together on the show until shortly before his death. Bill and Susan received the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Hayes held broad interests outside his busy career, earning a doctorate in education, and was fascinated by history and family genealogy. Well into his 90s, he attended tap class and was a faithful member of his church choir. As dedicated opera fans, Bill and Susan held season tickets to the Los Angeles Opera for decades. They co-authored three books, traveled the world and cherished time with their large family.

To learn more, watch “World by the Tail: The Bill Hayes Story,” a documentary film about his life.