Kathryn Hays, longtime As the World Turns star, dies at 88
Kathryn Hays, the actress who played Kim Sullivan Hughes for nearly 40 years on As the World Turns, died March 25 in Fairfield, Conn., the Connecticut Post reported. She was 88.
Born in Princeton, Ill., in 1933, Hays appeared on dozens of TV shows throughout the 1960s and early '70s, but her part on the CBS soap opera became her signature role, one she played continuously from 1972 until the series' conclusion in 2010. Introduced as the adulterous sister of Jennifer Sullivan Hughes, the loving but fiery Kim later became one of ATWT's most popular characters, aging into the Hughes family's matriarchal figure.
"Kim was written as a troublemaker. She was going to come in and cause trouble for Dr. Bob [Hughes] and Jennifer, Kim's sister," Hays recalled in a 2010 interview. "[Series creator Irna Phillips] turned that into someone who had depth and evolved into Kim. For me as an actor, it started one way and then turned into someone else. She turned into a deeper character, and that was wonderful. I was playing a character who had had a rough patch in her life but she made the choice to be a better person and to not be selfish. She made the choice to be thoughtful of others. You saw her grow through those years."
Brian Ach/WireImage 'As the World Turns' star Kathryn Hays died March 25, 2022, at age 88.
Among her other roles, Hays played the mute alien Gem on the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Empath," and guest-starred on numerous shows including Bonanza, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mannix, and Night Gallery. She also appeared on CBS' other flagship soap opera, Guiding Light, before joining ATWT.
"It was a great time to begin a career," Hays said later. "It was when the guest stars on the prime-time shows were almost always women. The running star would be a man. The main storyline would be a very rich part to play. I love that I got to do all those shows."
Her other work largely stopped after she joined ATWT, but she also appeared in guest roles on Law & Order in 1999 and Law & Order: SVU in 2007, and on Broadway in productions of Ladybug, Ladybug, The Irregular Verb to Love, and Hot September.
Speaking to EW about the end of As the World Turns in 2010, Hays reflected, "The last day was poignant, and what was so incredible about it was how we shot pretty much in order that day. As each group finished with a scene, that would be the end of their involvement. By the time they got to our scenes with Don [Hastings, who played Bob] and myself, there was hardly any room for cameras or the boom. In a way, it felt like being in a theater.... As far as I'm personally concerned, I feel it was a major privilege to be part of this family."
Hays is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Sherri and Bob Mancusi, along with three grandchildren and a great-grandson.
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