Doug Williams and Julie Olson
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Douglas Williams and Julie Olson Williams are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama Days of our Lives.[1] Doug and Julie are considered to be the first supercouple in daytime television history.[2] Doug is portrayed by Bill Hayes and Julie is portrayed by Susan Seaforth Hayes. The actors are married in real life.[2]
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[edit] Storyline
In December 1970, Julie Olson meets Doug Williams, who is being paid by a woman named Susan Martin to have an affair with Julie. Julie falls in love with Doug, and Doug with Julie. Doug and Julie eventually make love, and he talks about marrying her if she leaves her husband, Scott Banning.
In 1972, Doug is found out by Addie Horton Olson, Julie's mother, to be Brent Douglas, an orphan who had run away from an orphanage at the age of fourteen and had been conning his way through life. Doug and Addie form a mutual friendship, but Addie wants to be more than just friends.
Julie stays married to Scott Banning and continues to see Doug, but in 1972, Julie begins legal preparations to divorce Scott. Julie and Doug plan a getaway to Portofino, but the night they are to leave, they have a fight over whether or not Julie will bring her son, David, with her. Julie walks out on Doug, and in turn he marries Julie's mother, Addie, on the spur of the moment. After learning of the marriage, Julie becomes depressed, and ultimately stops divorce proceedings and remains married to Scott Banning.
Things only get worse for Julie in 1973 when her husband is killed in a construction accident while working for Anderson Manufacturing. Phyllis and Bob Anderson feel guilty and offer Julie a house to live in, and financial support. Julie is dealt another blow when she learns that Addie and Doug are expecting a child.
In 1974, Julie becomes engaged to Don Craig. However, she breaks it off when she learns that her mother, Addie, is dying from leukemia, and there may be a chance for her and Doug after all. Doug and Julie stay by Addie's side, who slips into a coma. On December 24, 1974, Doug and Addie's daughter, Hope Williams, is born. Addie comes out of her coma and makes Julie promise to care for the baby and Doug. However, Addie soon goes into remission.
Addie's health improves, and Doug and Addie are happy with little Hope. Addie's happiness does not last for one day; while crossing the street, Addie is struck by a car and killed. Addie gives her life to save her baby (Hope), whose carriage would have been struck by the car if she had not pushed it out of the way. Doug is grief-stricken and nobody seems to be able to reach him.
Julie then turns to a recently divorced Bob Anderson, and they marry in late 1974. Phyllis feels betrayed by Julie, and in an attempt to murder her, she accidentally shoots her own daughter, Mary.
Julie's marriage to Bob Anderson is not up to par with the exciting life she was living, and by 1975 Julie, decides to leave Bob Anderson. Julie is pregnant with Bob's child when she decides to divorce him. Julie thinks that she might have a chance with Doug, but Doug knows that she is with child and tells her that he does not love her and to return to Bob.
Julie moves into Doug's guest room, and eventually begins to rebuild her relationship with her son, David. However, David's girlfriend, Brooke, grows jealous of their relationship and begins spreading lies that Julie is pregnant with Doug's child and not Bob's. Brooke's lies work, and David becomes disgusted with his mother. After having a huge argument with Julie, David takes Doug's car and speeds off, eventually driving off of a bridge. When no body is found, David is pronounced dead, and a memorial service is held for him.
Near the end of 1975, Julie receives news from a man named Paul Grant that David is alive and staying with his family. Julie is in such a rush to see David, she trips down some stairs and suffers a miscarriage (the baby was thought of as Robert Anderson, Jr).
Doug decides to take Hope from her grandparents and raise her himself, along with the help of a nanny that he hires named Rebecca North. He also decides to give Hope a little brother, and goes to Dr. Neil Curtis, who agrees to find an anonymous surrogate mother for him. Neil eventually chooses Hope's own nanny, Rebecca North, for the job.
In 1976, Julie divorces Bob Anderson and reunites with Doug and they become engaged. Hoping to have children with Julie, Doug tells Neil that he no longer needs the surrogate child, and Rebecca North is allowed to keep her baby and the money. Before they are married, Doug's ex-wife, Kim Douglas, returns claiming she and Doug have never legally divorced. After months of trying to win Doug back, Kim tells him that they have been divorced legally for many years. Doug and Julie then continue with wedding plans and marry in 1976.
Doug falls on hard times in 1977 when he loses his liquor license and eventually his club. Julie buys back the club back for him and turns it into Doug's Coffee House, but Doug is forced to leave Salem for a while to take care of business elsewhere. During his absence, Julie faces problems with the club staff, and Larry Atwood is there to help her through it. Julie is not aware of it, but Larry has set Doug up in a dope bust to keep him out of Salem while he goes after Julie himself.
In 1978, Larry succeeds in his plan and rapes Julie. Julie is traumatized by the event and pulls away from everyone, including Doug. Doug feels that Julie has turned his back on him because of the drug bust, but when Doug receives a letter from Jeri Clayton accusing Julie of having an affair with Larry, he believes it. Julie eventually tells Doug about the rape, and Larry is soon after found dead. Julie stands trial for his death, and during the trial, Julie's rape is made public. Eventually, Larry's assistant, Arlo Roberts, admits to killing Larry, and Julie is cleared.
Julie is badly burned by Maggie's oven when it blows up in her face in 1979. When Julie sees what her appearance is, she is sure that Doug will no longer want her as his wife. When a reconstructive operation fails Julie, Julie goes to Mexico and gets a divorce behind Doug's back. Julie begins dating her doctor, Jordan Barr, and later that year, when she undergoes surgery again, the operation is a success.
Meanwhile, later that year, Doug inherits a large sum of money when his half-brother, Bryan Carmichael, dies. Lee Dumonde comes to Salem to seeks out the Carmichael fortune, and Lee and Doug take up together when Doug thinks that Julie no longer wants him, and he eventually marries Lee on November 5, 1979. After Julie's surgery, she feels that she can pick up her marriage with Doug again, but is devastated to learn that he has re-married.
In 1980, Doug realizes that his marriage to Lee was a mistake, and wants to return to Julie. Lee will not allow that and attempts to have Julie killed. Julie is shot, but manages to survive. Lee then tries to fake a suicide by overdosing. Lee accidentally mixes the wrong pills and suffers a stroke, which leaves her paralyzed. Lee's plan works, and Doug tells Julie that he cannot leave Lee while she is paralyzed.
In 1981, the man who tried to murder Julie for Lee returns after having had plastic surgery himself, referring to himself as Brad. When Brad tries to kill Julie, Lee manages to knock him down, but is knocked unconscious. Julie is shocked because everyone believes Lee to be paralyzed. As Brad goes to kill Julie, Lee wakes up and shoots him dead. Lee is put into Bayview Sanatorium afterwards, and Julie and Doug resume their relationship.
After divorcing Lee in 1981, Julie and Doug marry again. However, Lee manages to turn little Hope against her father and Julie, and she refuses to live with them, instead choosing to live with grandparents, Tom and Alice Horton.
During 1982, Julie and Doug become involved in an adventure involving titanium deposits. A set of geological maps shows titanium deposits underneath Doug's place, and both Stefano DiMera and Stuart Whyland want to get their hands on them. Stefano and Tony have constructed a tunnel from the DiMera Mansion to the wine cellar of Doug's place in order to get the deposits, but in the end, the entire titanium deposits ends up being a hoax.
When Renee DiMera is killed, David is the first suspect, prompting Julie to confess. They are both cleared, but Julie loses her son when he leaves Salem. In 1986, Julie and Doug divorce once again, and both leave Salem.
Julie returns to Salem in 1990 and is determined to bring down Victor Kiriakis. Julie has a battle with Nick over his nightclub, Wings. Though Nick buys the club, Julie still owns the land it is on and is a constant nuisance to Nick.
Julie is one of the passengers in the infamous Cruise of Deception where a mad-man named Ernesto Toscano wants revenge against Victor Kiriakis and key Salem residents because he was angered that his wife, Loretta, had years ago had an affair with Victor and given birth to his child, Isabella.
Hope (now Hope Brady) is supposedly killed during this adventure, and Julie is heartbroken. Julie and Victor become close during this time.
In late 1990, Julie's partner, Nick, is murdered (by Jo Johnson in retaliation for Nick's role in killing her son, Steve). In Nick's will, he leaves the club to Julie and his money to Eve Donovan. However, Eve is not allowed to have the money until she is married. Eve eventually marries Jack Deveraux to acquire her fortune. Julie is confused by Jack and Eve's marriage, knowing Jack to be deeply in love with her cousin, Jennifer Horton. She soon finds out that Jennifer has been raped by Lawrence Alamain and confides to Jennifer the story of her own rape. Julie allows Jack and Eve to inherit Nick's money, even knowing that theirs is a loveless marriage, and is instrumental in pushing Jennifer to get therapy. When Jack stands by Jennifer through her rape trial against Lawrence, Julie warmly congratulates him for his steadfastness, given that he himself had once raped a woman.
In 1991, Julie befriends a woman by the name of Molly Brinker and allows her to stay at her penthouse. Julie also gives Molly a job working at Wings.
In 1992, Julie is nearly killed after a bomb planted at a museum party by Raffi Torres explodes. Julie is caught in the blast, but lives after a life-saving procedure is performed by Dr. Chip Lakin, who she later dates.
Julie leaves Salem in 1993 and later returns for special events. Doug rarely returns to Salem. During a time that both Doug and Julie were out of Salem, they remarried.
Julie and Doug come back to town for a visit in 2004 and are soon enmeshed in a serial killer storyline.
Julie is devastated when Doug is "killed," and begins focusing herself on helping Mickey get over Maggie while keeping him from his avaricious housekeeper, Bonnie. Unfortunately, she cannot keep the two from running off to get married. Doug turns up alive and well, and the supercouple has been together ever since.
They would later return on June 5, 2007 to be a part of the DiMera/Bradys Feud.
[edit] Cultural impact
Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth began to develop a romance of their own. It was "at first publicized by the soapmill as 'just friends,' but slowly it developed into a full-scale love affair."[3] On a weekend, the two secretly married. Only a few friends of the couple knew about the event. When the press got knowledge of this, it "set off a commotion among fans, who wrote endless letters to the show asking that the couple also be allowed to get married in the story. If they could get married in real life, so the argument went, they certainly should be able to get together on screen."[3]
The writers of Days of our Lives refused popular demand, prolonging the anticipation of the two marrying onscreen. "Nothing was ever such a guarantee of good ratings as star-crossed lovers everyone knew belonged together.[3] But finally the producers set the date for the marriage and Days put on one of the most extravagant weddings imaginable on the screen. It was such a soap opera media event that the local L.A. press (Days, along with General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, which is produced in Los Angeles) was invited to the studio to watch."[3]
In the episode featuring Doug and Julie's honeymoon, Susan Seaforth managed to get by the censors one of the most suggestive lines imaginable for daytime television in the 1970s. When Doug (Bill Hayes) asked her what she'd like for breakfast, she listed a few of the usual choices like juice and coffee, topped off with a leering request for "big pink sausage." It may have been an ad lib, but it worked as provocative just the same.
Doug and Julie were the first soap opera characters to grace the cover of TIME magazine.[4] Entertainment Weekly calls them one of the great soap opera supercouples.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b West, Abby. "17 Great Soap Supercouples: Doug and Julie", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Days of our Lives. Like sands through the hourglass. Soap Opera History.com. Retrieved on June 12, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Gilbert, Annie, All My Afternoons, page 112, continued on page 116, published in 1978.
- ^ Susan Seaforth Hayes. POP tower. Retrieved on June 12, 2007.
