Julie Olson Williams

Julie Olson Williams is a fictional character on the American television series Days of Our Lives, a soap opera broadcast on NBC. A member of the Horton family, the core family of the series, Julie has been played by Susan Seaforth Hayes off and on since 1968, making her one of the longest-tenured actors in American soap operas, and the only actor to appear in all seven decades of the series.

The character of Julie was introduced as a 16-year-old when the show premiered in 1965, with 19-year-old Charla Doherty being the first actress to play Julie. The role was unsuccessfully recast twice with Catherine Dunn in 1967, followed by Catherine Ferrar from 1967 until 1968. The role was then taken over by actress Susan Seaforth Hayes in 1968, who still portrays the character to this day. Julie is the last remaining character from the pilot, and Hayes the earliest-appearing actor to appear currently on the serial. Hayes is most recognizable in the role, having portrayed the character in the show all seven decades it has been on the air.

Doug Williams and Julie Olson were the first super couple in the history of the daytime industry. The January 12, 1976, cover of Time magazine featured Days of our Lives' Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, the first and only daytime actors to ever appear on its cover. The Hayeses themselves were a couple whose onscreen and real-life romance (they met on the series in 1970 and married in 1974) was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press.

Julie was often the subject of notable press during the time on her serial. Widely read magazines would routinely publish forthcoming developments in her storylines. For her work as Julie, Susan Seaforth Hayes has been nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1975, 1976, 1978, and 1979 and for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2020. No other actress has received as many nominations for their work on Days. She has also won two Soapy Awards for Best Actress and Favorite Romantic Female in 1977. She has been described as a legend, and television icon for the soap.

Ted Corday and Irna Phillips created Julie in the 1960s as part of the story bible for Days of our Lives, a light-hearted soap opera focusing on the troubles of its core family, the Hortons. The Cordays and Bell combined the "hospital soap" idea with the tradition of centering a series on a family, by making the show about a family of doctors, including one who worked in a mental hospital. The Julie character officially aired on November 8, 1965, when the show premiered on NBC in color. Julie was the sole character to represent the younger side of the series' main family compared to her adult co-stars. She was the first character to ever speak on the serial when it first broadcast in 1965, and was also the star of the two main scenes in the serial. Julie was also the first to mention the last name of the series when she gave a false name (Julie Horton) to a police officer when he arrested her for theft of a mink stole.

At the time, soap operas featured mostly older casts. To add a contemporary feel to the show, Corday and Philips focused on younger characters, while also mixing in older ones so as not to lose traditional soap opera viewers. Charla Doherty originated the role of Julie on November 8, 1965, when the show first premiered. Doherty had been in previous short roles on Wagon Train and Dr. Kildare. Charla was quite a bit younger than her co-stars when the show first aired in 1965. Frances Reid was in her fifties, as was MacDonald Carey. Maree Cheatham was in her early twenties, John Clarke and Patricia Huston were both in their thirties, with Doherty being in her late teens and early twenties during her first few years on the program.

In 1966, Doherty departed the serial to focus on other career options, last appearing on December 23 of that year. The role went through two unsuccessful recasts. The show replaced Doherty with actress Catherine Dunn from January 24 to June 20, 1967, who was in turn replaced by Catherine Ferrar that same year from July 13, 1967, until September 2, 1968. Both actresses proved to be unpopular in the role and were both fired. William J. Bell - the show's main writer at the time - decided to give the character a short break from the serial.

On December 11, 1968, the character reappeared onscreen. The role was now played by newcomer actress, Susan Seaforth Hayes (credited as "Susan Seaforth" because she had not yet met her husband Bill). Susan's previous soap roles included General Hospital and The Young Marrieds, but made a few appearances on Hallmark Hall of Fame, Bonanza, and Dragnet. In portraying Julie, the actress drew on the "self-centered" and "haughty" traits she recognized in herself while in college. In 1970, Bill Hayes joined the cast as Doug Williams. The Hayeses themselves were a couple whose onscreen and real-life romance (they met on the series in 1970) was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press. Bill and Susan eventually fell in love and married, becoming the first soap couple to be together in real life (they married in 1974). With Frances Reid's passing in 2010, Susan Hayes is the only cast member to have aired on Days of our Lives in all seven decades that it has been on the air. Macdonald Carey often helped her in her early years on the show.