Two months after the March 5 passing of Denise Alexander, the sad news broke that daytime had lost a true legend. Former Days of Our Lives castmate Susan Seaforth Hayes lost even more. “Denise was a friend to treasure and an actress to applaud,” the Salem vet Instagrammed. “She was well-established on [the show] when I joined the cast as Julie No. 4 — a replacement for three previous actresses.”
Their characters — Alexander was Susan Hunter and Seaforth Hayes, of course, Julie Williams — were the closest of gal pals… at least until the former hooked up with the latter’s ex, David Martin. Ironically, it was that triangle that led to Julie’s pairing with Doug Williams, played by Seaforth Hayes’ future husband, Bill Hayes; Julie sought revenge on her former friend by turning loose the con man to seduce her!
So Alexander “watched Billy and I fall madly in love and, being a romantic lady herself, cheered us on,” Seaforth Hayes said. “Such happy memories of her years in Salem and her great success on General Hospital [as Lesley Webber].
“We both began as child actors, both had strong mothers and both were raised as Christian Scientists in our early years,” she added. “I was grateful for her wisdom, taste, humor and goodness every time I saw her. It was never enough. And my love for her will never be over.”
