Days Of Our Lives
As Dick Van Dyke Turns 100, ‘Days of our Lives’ Susan Seaforth Hayes Shares the Behind the Scenes Story of Their Song and Dance (Exclusive)
This week, Dick Van Dyke turns 100-years old on December 13. In honor of the incredible milestone and his lifetime, the documentary, Dick Van Dyke 100th Celebration plays in theaters nationwide during his birthday weekend from December 13-14.
Days of our Lives fans know that back in the summer of 2024, the legendary TV icon took home the gold at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards, in the Outstanding Guest Performer in a Daytime Drama Series category for his performance as John Black’s (the late Drake Hogestyn) father, Timothy Robicheaux.
During Van Dyke’s run on DAYS in 2023, two other legends, Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes (Doug and Julie Williams) shared scenes with him, and a particular song and dance. In a recent interview now on the Michael Fairman Channel, Seaforth Hayes, who was reflecting on the soap opera’s 60th anniversary last month in November, picked working with Van Dyke as the person she was most excited to work with came onto the show.
Photo: JPI
However, as Susan detailed, with the amount of time, she, and her late husband Bill Hayes, and Dick Van Dyke, had to work out the musical number to “Tea for Two,” it wasn’t all smooth sailing. But, the true pro’s that Susan, Bill and Dick were, they somehow pulled it off!
“Dick Van Dyke was a huge event (for our show). He was a fan of Drake Hogestyn”, recalled Susan. “They had worked out together in the gym in Malibu and were friends. Dick was always saying how much he wanted to work on soap. Billy and I were told, ‘You’re going to get to do scenes with Dick Van Dyke, and you’re going to get to dance.’ They thought the two men should be dancing. Billy was confined to a wheelchair pretty much at that point, so the dance would be rather special. We were told that it was impossible to rehearse in advance. So, when we asked if Mr. Van Dyke could come to our house, they said said, ‘no’ we’re not insured for that.”‘
THE REHEARSAL
Figuring how to rehearse without Van Dyke, Susan and Bill improvised, “So, the song that we performed had to be public domain, so they chose Tea for Two,” continued Susan. “They told us they weren’t hiring a choreographer, so Bill and I hired our own choreographer. Dick could not come and rehearse with us, so we rehearsed in the living room. So, I worked with my assistant and Bill, and we staged the material. We get to the day we are taping it, and we go, ‘Where’s the pianist?’ They inform us there is no pianist, but they have a guitarist.”
When it was time to tape the song and dance, Susan explained what went down behind the scenes, “So we’re up that day. Dick comes in with his beautiful wife, Arlene Silver. Dick had four scenes with me prior to the number. He had been given a script, which was inaccurate for the day that we were actually shooting it. He was doing a wonderful performance, but struggling with the lines. I took the initiative to say, ‘Mr. Van Dyke, we are so thrilled that you are doing the show. It is an honor. You’re doing great. But please understand, there are days that are more difficult than other days. This may be one of them. Do not take it personally.’ This is me talking to Dick Van Dyke!”
Next, Susan recalled, “So the the guitarist looks at the antiquity of the cast and begins to play, Tea for two and two for Tea. Billy is saying that’s the wrong tempo. So, I said, okay, ‘Bill is going to set the tempo. Is that okay with everybody?’ No responses. So, we do the number. I am not a dancer, certainly not a tap dancer, certainly not on the level to be even in the same county with Dick Van Dyke!”
“He’s selling it. He’s doing some sort of steps that had nothing to do with what we had planned to rehearse. I’m doing some sort of movement off to one side, and then it ends”, recalls Hayes. We did one pickup, so it was basically one take. It was a milestone for the show. It was obviously an unforgettable day for me and Billy. And the funny thing was, it looked pretty good (in the end)!”
Looking back on her own iconic television career, the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award winner shared there are some people on her bucket list to work with, but all in all, she loves the cast she is a part of right now on the Peacock streaming soap opera. “I’d like to work with Tom Hanks. I’d like to meet Martin Scorsese. There’s a lot I’d like to do, but mostly I like doing the show that I do, and that we have the cast that we have, and I think we’re pretty good. But it was fantastic to work with Dick Van Dyke.”
So, did you love when Dick Van Dyke visited Days of our Lives? Did you enjoy the singing and dancing number with Bill and Susan and Dick that they clearly pulled off given all the constrains they had? What do you think about Dick Van Dyke turning 100? Share your thoughts and congrats via the comment section. and in case you missed it, check out our chat with Susan below, followed by the trailer for Van Dyke’s 100th birthday retrospective in theatres this coming weekend.
Loved it!
More casting news from Days of Our Lives, and for now, the soap opera seems to be breaking their new additions to Salem via their Instagram account. Now comes word and picture on August 24, that General Hospital and The Young and the Restless alum Brytni Sarpy has joined DAYS!
The Peacock soap opera’s Instagram account, showed a photo of Sarpy standing in front of her dressing room in the hallways of Days of Our Lives’ studios. The caption read, “Someone new is checking into Salem… Welcome Brytni Sarpy to the Days of our Lives family! Stay tuned.”
The casting of Sarpy comes on the heels of the announcement of Sydney Malakeh coming to the show in September, and earlier this year General Hospital favorite, Sofia Mattsson (ex-Sasha Gilmore, GH) joining the show in a mystery role when she began taping back around the end of March of this year. Now Sarpy is the “mystery role” category too!
In addition, the Days of Our Lives social team dropped a video ditty of the cast spoofing Love Island, where Sarpy appears as the new “bombshell” of the villa. Other cast members such as Rob Scott Wilson (Alex), Abigail Klein (Abigail), Casey Moss (JJ), Sal Stowers (Lani), Paul Telfer (Xander) and Linsey Godfrey (Sarah) pop-up in it too, among others.
Photo: JPI
SOAP HOPPING
Soap fans first met Sarpy when she played Valerie Spencer, the niece of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) on General Hospital back in 2015. She made her final appearance on the series back in 2019 to join the cast of The Young and the Restless in the role of Elena Dawson.
Elena was introduced as a love interest for Devon Winters (Bryton James). She later cheated on him with his cousin Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic). Elena began to be back-burned by 2023 with Sarpy’s last on-screen appearance in Genoa City in November of 2024.
Due to Days of Our Lives nearly year in advance tape schedule, viewers will have to wait till sometime in the early summer of 2027 to see Brytni’s arrival in Salem.
So, happy to see Brytni Sarpy has landed another soap role? Now that she is at DAYS, who you think she might be playing and paired with? Put on your casting director hats and let us know via the comment section.
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Days Of Our Lives
Sydney Malakeh Joins the Cast of ‘Days of Our Lives’ in Mystery Role: Who Do You Think She’s Playing?
There’s a new gal coming to Salem, or is she new and a recast? That’s what inquiring minds from Days of Our Lives fans have been trying to figure out since the Peacock soap opera dropped an Instagram video heralding actress‘ Sydney Malakeh‘s arrival in Salem.
The soap did confirm that viewers will first see Malakeh on the September 9 episode. In the video, Malakeh is seen going set to set from her dressing room and in to the halls of Days of Our Lives studios.
What we do know id that Sydney has been acting professionally for 6 years and had appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Apple TV’s Shrinking and the HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Plenty of Malakeh’s DAYS castmates jumped into the comment thread with positive emojis symbols or written excitement including: Paul Telfer (Xander), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Sal Stowers (Lani), Conner Floyd (Chad), Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Christie Clark (Carrie) and more now that fans will finally see her on-air. Since Days of Our Lives tapes 10-11 months in advance, Sydney would have started taping the show sometime back in 2025.
DAYS fans think perhaps because the actress’ name is Sydney that she might be playing the grown-up daughter of Sami and EJ. That character hasn’t bee on the canvas since 2021.
So, who do you think Sydney Malakeh might be playing on Days of Our Lives? Drop your casting director thoughts via the comment section below.
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Days Of Our Lives
Peacock Hikes Subscription Rates for Fourth Time in Four Years; ‘Days of Our Lives’ Fans Sound Off
While recently the streaming service Peacock reported turning a profit for its first time since its infancy, now comes word that the company is raising their prices for all customers, and in some cases it stared today on August 18.
The news of the subscription rate increases marks the fourth time the NBCUniversal streaming platform has done so in four years. So, on August 18, Peacock is increasing the prices for new or returning subscribers and customers, while current subscribers will see the rate increase on or after September 17 depending on their billing cycle when they initially signed up.
Here is the new pricing to follow along: Peacock Premium (which includes ads) will be $12.99/month, up two dollars from $10.99; Peacock Premium Plus will be $19.99/month, up three dollars increase from $16.99; and the Peacock Select tier (which includes current and past seasons of NBC and Bravo shows but excludes movies, live sports and Peacock originals) will increase a dollar from $7.99 to $8.99/month.
Photo: JPI
SUBSCRIBERS CONTINUE TO PAY MORE ACROSS THE STREAMER LANDSCAPE
It was back in June that the streamer reported that aid subscribers were up to 48 million adding a 2 million net gain during Q2 in of 2026. The subscription price hikes are rampant now in the entertainment streaming industry where over the last two years for example, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV, Paramount+ have all raised their fees to consumers.
Peacock’s tier-levels feature not only Days of Our Lives, but reality hits such as The Traitors and Love Island USA, Bravo series, and a vault of Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, The Real Housewives franchise, and Below Deck episodes as well. Pecock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers have access to sports and live events, as well.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES SUBSCRIBERS HAD A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR PEACOCK
As Days of Our Lives fans know, the soap opera moved from NBC to the streamer back in September of 2022 after 57 years on broadcast television. When the news hit X on the price increase, DAYS fans had a lot to say about it. Here are just a few of the comments below:
“I can’t believe Peacock and can’t come to a deal with Cordya to air old episodes of #Days. That alone would bring a ton of subscribers,” to If Peacock actually cared about #Days of Our Lives, gave the show the budget it needs for better sets, cameras, background actors and enough time to tell proper stories, I wouldn’t mind paying more. If the money actually showed on screen, the higher price would be worth it,” to “I will continue to pay for a Peacock subscription as long as #Days is on it, but did we know there was another price increase coming?” and more.
So, what do you think of the new price hike increase to watch Days of Our Lives and your other favorite shows and events on Peacock? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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