Kathryn Hays, Beloved As the World Turns Actress, Dead at 88

Glenn Garner
·2 min read
Kathryn Hays
Kathryn Hays
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Kathryn Hays, who played Kim Sullivan Hughes on As the World Turns for 38 years, has died. She was 88.

The actress died on March 25 in Fairfield, Connecticut, according to TVLine. A cause of death was not made available and a rep for Hays did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Her ATWT onscreen husband Don Hastings, who played Bob Hughes on the soap opera, paid tribute to his longtime scene partner in a statement.

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"Our relationship as Bob and Kim was as close as Kathryn and my relationship, except we were not married," Hastings, 88, said. "We were more like brother and sister and we were great friends. Our biggest squabble was that she always wanted to rehearse and I wanted to take a nap. This is a huge loss to all who knew her."

Hays starred on ATWT from 1972 until the show ended its 54-year run in 2010. "I always say ... it was the longest job I ever had," she said on a 2020 episode of the YouTube talk show The Locher Room.

Kathryn Hays As The World Turns
Kathryn Hays As The World Turns

CBS via Getty

"Actors never have long jobs like that. I mean, they would play on Broadway a certain amount of times or whatever. But it was the longest job and the best partner I ever had," Hays said of Hastings during the virtual reunion.

Additionally, her soap career also included appearances on Guiding Light and One Life to Live.

Hays' extensive resume also features roles in Bonanza, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Virginian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Star Trek and Law & Order.

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Born Kay Piper on July 26, 1933, in Princeton, Illinois, Hays attended Northwestern University. She worked as a model and acted on Broadway, in addition to her busy work as a TV guest star throughout the '60s and '70s.

Hays is survived by her daughter Sherri and son-in-law Bob Mancusi, her grandchildren Kate, Cameron and Garrett Wells, as well as her great-grandson Jack.