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Kathryn Hays

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Kathryn Hays
Born
Kay Piper

(1934-07-26)July 26, 1934
DiedMarch 25, 2022(2022-03-25) (aged 87)
Alma materNorthwestern University
Occupations
Years active1962–2010
Known forKim Sullivan Hughes on As the World Turns
Spouses
Sidney Steinberg
(m. 1957, divorced)
(m. 1966; div. 1969)
Wolf Lieshke
(m. 1984; div. 1986)
Children1

Kathryn Hays (born Kay Piper; July 26, 1934 – March 25, 2022) was an American actress, best known for her role as Kim Hughes on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns from 1972 to 2010.

Life and career

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Hays was born as Kay Piper in Princeton, Illinois, on July 26, 1934, the only child of Roger and Daisy (Hays) Piper. Her parents divorced shortly after her birth. Hays was raised by her mother, who was a bookkeeper and a banker, and her stepfather, salesman Arnold Gottlieb.[1]

She grew up in Joliet.[2][3] She took classes at Northwestern University, and worked as a model. In 1962, she changed her name to Kathryn Hays (using her mother's maiden name as her last name).[1]

Hays' first marriage was to salesman Sidney Steinberg in 1957, with whom she had a daughter, Sherri.[1] In 1966, Hays married actor Glenn Ford; the couple divorced in 1969.[4] Her third husband was Wolfgang Lieschke, who was employed in the advertising industry.[1]

Episodic TV work

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Early in her career, Hays made numerous appearances on episodic TV, and made a few later in her career. In 1968, she appeared in Star Trek as the eponymous central character in the episode “The Empath”, playing a mute alien with healing powers.[1] She also had appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Road West.[1] In a 2010 interview with the website We Love Soaps, Hays said of the early appearances: "It was a great time to begin a career. It was when the guest stars on the primetime shows were almost always women. The running star would be a man. The main storyline would be a very rich part to play."[5]

Hays also appeared in films such as Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966) and Counterpoint (1968) and in the TV film Yuma as Julie Williams. In later years, her TV appearances included Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[1]

Hays appeared in Broadway productions several times, including a regional production of Dames at Sea with Bernadette Peters.[6]

As the World Turns

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Glenn Ford and Kathryn Hays on their wedding day in 1966

In 1972, she was cast as Kim Sullivan Hughes on CBS's As the World Turns. She remained with As the World Turns until its final episode on September 17, 2010.[7] The character of Kim was a pivotal heroine on the show for over thirty years. Hays was prominently featured in the 50th anniversary episode of the show, which aired in April 2006.[1]

Prior to her role on As the World Turns, Hays played the role of nurse Leslie Jackson Bauer, RN on The Guiding Light.[8][9]

In May 2020, she appeared in an As The World Turns reunion episode of The Locher Room, one of a series of YouTube episodes reuniting various soap actors,[10] as well as being the subject of a The Locher Room tribute in 2022.[11]

Death

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Hays died on March 25, 2022.[1][12][13] She had been living in an assisted living facility at the time of her death.[1] Her daughter, Sherri Mancusi, participated in a November 2022 fan tribute on The Locher Room YouTube channel that honored Hays; in the interview, Mancusi said that Hays had had dementia in the years prior to her death.[14] "Mom had dementia, that's what killed her and most people who have dementia are good at masking it," Mancusi said. "Mom was an Oscar contender, and she had people with her all day in her home and she was out in Illinois at that point. Having lived with an artist since the day I was born, I know something about artists and it's that they don't retire. She couldn't drive a car at that point or fix a meal or run her own life, but she could still do an interview, or do a show."

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1963 Ladybug Ladybug Betty Forbes
1966 Ride Beyond Vengeance Jessie Larkin Trapp
1968 Counterpoint Annabelle Rice
1971 Yuma Julie Williams

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1962 Hawaiian Eye Jean Morgan "Total Eclipse"
1962 Surfside 6 Joy Allen "Many a Slip"
1962 Naked City Beth Rydecker "The Rydecker Case"
1963 The United States Steel Hour Rachel Trafford "Moment of Rage"
1963 Wide Country Lila Never "The Girl from Nob Hill"
1963 Dr. Kildare Gina Beemis "An Island Like a Peacock"
1963 Route 66 Judith Kane "Shadows of an Afternoon"
1963 The Lieutenant Carol Wayden "Cool of the Evening"
1963 The Eleventh Hour Hallie Lambert "What Did She Mean by Good Luck?"
1964 The Nurses Sheila Warren "Climb a Broken Ladder"
1964 Mr. Novak Jenny Peterson "One Way to Say Goodbye"
1964 Arrest and Trial Joanne Collins "He Ran for His Life"
1964 Bonanza Prudence Jessup "The Wild One"
1964 The Defenders Katy Vronis "King of the Hill"
1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Joyce Dailey "One of the Family"
1965 The Virginian Charity "A Slight Case of Charity"
1965 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Mary Pilgrim "The See-Paris-and-Die Affair"
1965 Branded Christina Adams "Very Few Heroes"
1965 Kraft Suspense Theatre Terry Camion "Kill Me on July 20th"
1966 Run for Your Life Belle Frazer "The Cruel Fountain"
1966–1967 The Road West Elizabeth Reynolds Main role
1967 Vacation Playhouse Betsy Fleming "You're Only Young Twice"
1968 The High Chaparral Frances O'Toole "Tornado Frances"
1968 Mannix Betsy Charnik "The End of the Rainbow"
1968 Star Trek: The Original Series Gem S3:E12, "The Empath"
1969 Here Come the Brides Dena "A Kiss Just for So"
1969 This Savage Land Elizabeth Reynolds TV film
1970 Breakout Ann Baker TV film
1971 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Marcy "An Absence of Loneliness"
1971 Yuma Julie Williams TV film
1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. Ellen "In My Father's House"
1971 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Lori Phillips "Nothing Personal"
1971 Bearcats! Milly Todd "The Return of Estaban"
1971 The Guiding Light Leslie Jackson Bauer, RN TV series
1972 Cade's County Helen Derman "Ragged Edge"
1972 Night Gallery June "She'll Be Company for You"
1972–2010 As the World Turns Kim Sullivan Hughes Regular role
1973 Ghost Story Janet "Legion of Demons"
1989 American Playhouse Harriet Rodker "Ask Me Again"
1999 Law & Order Gloria Blumberg "Sundown"
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jane Willet "Florida"

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Williams, Annabelle (April 18, 2022). "Kathryn Hays, Soap Star for Nearly 40 Years, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Aaker, E. (2017). Television Western Players, 1960–1975: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 1981. ISBN 978-1-4766-6250-3. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "Kathryn Hays". Metacritic. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Sheri Stritof. "The Marriages and Wives of Glenn Ford". About.com Dating & Relationships. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Kathryn Hays: The We Love Soaps Interview, Part Two".
  6. ^ "Dames at Sea". abouttheartists.com. AboutTheArtists.com. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Li, Shirley (August 31, 2010). "'As the World Turns': Kathryn Hays, a.k.a. Kim Hughes, reflects on final day of taping". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  8. ^ "Leslie Jackson Bauer, RN Deceased". soapcentral.com. Soap Central, LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  9. ^ "Kathryn Hays – Biography – MSN Movies". Movies.msn.com. July 26, 1933. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  10. ^ "As The World Turns - Reunion". m.youtube.com. Alan Locher - The Locher Room - via YouTube. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "Kathryn Hays - Tribute". m.youtube.com. Alan Locher - The Locher Room - via YouTube. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  12. ^ Evans, Greg (April 8, 2022). "Kathryn Hays Dies: Longtime 'As The World Turns', 'Star Trek' Actress Was 87". Deadline. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "In Memory of Kathryn Hays, 1934-2022". Lesko & Polke Funeral Home. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  14. ^ Kathryn Hays - Tribute, retrieved November 19, 2022
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