The Days of our lives The family mourns the loss of their co-star Wayne Northrop.

“Wayne was always funny” Susan Seaforth Hayeswho has played the famous Julie Olson Williams on the series for more than five decades, tells us exclusively Us weekly at the Hollywood Christmas Parade in support of Marine Toys for Tots on Sunday, December 1st. “Everyone loved him. He worked very, very hard.”

Seaforth Hayes, 81, went on to call Northrop a “lovely guy” who “will be vividly remembered by all of the fans and all of us.”

Northrop’s former film wife, Deidre Halltold Us that the late actor “never met a joke he didn’t like,” adding, “He never met a joke he didn’t want to pull on someone. “He was always, forever playing pranks.”

Related: Celebrity deaths in 2024: Stars we lost this year

Hollywood mourned the loss of many celebrities in 2024. Speed ​​racer star Christian Oliver (born Christian Klepser) died at the age of 51 in a fatal plane crash on January 5th. Oliver traveled home from a Caribbean vacation with his two daughters Madita and Annik – he shared with his wife Jessica Klepser – on January 4th. (…)

The soap star died on Friday, November 29th, aged 77. “Six years ago, Wayne was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He took his last breath in the arms of his family,” said his wife, Lynn Herring Northrophe announced in a statement deadline. “We would like to thank the most caring and amazing place, The Motion Picture and Television Home, for taking such great care of him.”

She added: “Wayne touched so many people with his sense of humor and wit. Husband of 43 years, the best father ever to his two sons, Hank and Grady, and a rancher who loved his cows and was a friend to many.”

Wayne portrayed Detective Roman Brady days from 1981 to 1984 before returning in 1991. He later took on the role of Dr. Alex North. Both of his characters were in a relationship with Hall’s Marlena Evans. According to IMDb, his last appearance on the long-running soap opera was in 2006.

Drake Hogestyn took over the role of Roman for Wayne in the late ’80s, although his version of the character turned out to be a con artist named John Black. Hogestyn died in September at the age of 70 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Amid the losses, both the days The cast and fans find solace in the show. “I think they come to us in times of need, when they need comfort, when they need comfort, when they need a sense of family that maybe isn’t there in their home right now Days of our lives is very good at providing exactly that for everyone,” Hall, 77, told Us.

Seaforth Hayes noted that “the point of the show has always been family, and that’s especially true during times of stress in the world and stress in the community due to the losses we’ve suffered this year.”

She continued: “My husband, Bill HayesDrake Hogestyn and now Wayne Northrop. Bang, bang, bang, everything comes down at once. I think the show gives comfort and it definitely gives me comfort to work with Deidre and see that we move forward and make the best of every difficult situation.” (Hayes died in January at the age of 98.)

As she prepares to embark on the first vacation without her husband, Susan said she’s “looking forward to carrying (Bill’s) energy for the rest of my life.” She gushed, “I’ve been very lucky and will be that lucky card.” also play out in the remaining days that I have.”

New episodes of Days of our lives Stream weekday mornings on Peacock. The Hollywood Christmas Parade airs Sunday, December 14th at 8pm ET on The CW.

With reporting by Mike Vulpo