Kathryn Hays
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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
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.<ref name="NYT2022" />
She grew up in Joliet.<ref name="Aaker 2017 p. 1981">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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).<ref name="NYT2022" />
Hays' first marriage was to salesman Sidney Steinberg in 1957, with whom she had a daughter, Sherri.<ref name="NYT2022" /> In 1966, Hays married actor Glenn Ford; the couple divorced in 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her third husband was Wolfgang Lieschke, who was employed in the advertising industry.<ref name="NYT2022" />
Episodic TV work
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.<ref name="NYT2022" /> She also had appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Road West.<ref name="NYT2022" /> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name="NYT2022" />
Hays appeared in Broadway productions several times, including a regional production of Dames at Sea with Bernadette Peters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As the World Turns
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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref name="NYT2022" />
Prior to her role on As the World Turns, Hays played the role of nurse Leslie Jackson Bauer, RN on The Guiding Light.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=msn>Template:Cite web</ref>
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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as being the subject of a The Locher Room tribute in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
Hays died on March 25, 2022.<ref name="NYT2022" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> She had been living in an assisted living facility at the time of her death.<ref name="NYT2022">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Filmography
Film
| 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
| 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 | Template:Sortname | 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 | Template:Sortname | Carol Wayden | "Cool of the Evening" |
| 1963 | Template:Sortname | Hallie Lambert | "What Did She Mean by Good Luck?" |
| 1964 | Template:Sortname | 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 | Template:Sortname | Katy Vronis | "King of the Hill" |
| 1965 | Template:Sortname | Joyce Dailey | "One of the Family" |
| 1965 | Template:Sortname | Charity | "A Slight Case of Charity" |
| 1965 | Template:Sortname | 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 | Template:Sortname | 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 | Template:Sortname | 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" |