Kathryn Hays, who was known for her 1972 role as troublemaker Kim Sullivan in “As the World Turns,” passed away on March 25 at the age of 87. Her daughter, Sherri Mancusi, confirmed her death, in the town of Fairfield, CT. However, no known cause was given. She was the fourth-longest serving cast member in the series, starring as her role for nearly 40 years.

“Our relationship as Bob and Kim was as close as Kathryn and my relationship, except we were not married,” said Don Hasting, who played her husband on the show. “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.”

Many celebrities who knew her spoke out about her death, including Julianne Moore. “The beautiful and gracious #KathrynHays has passed away. I worked with Kathryn on #AsTheWorldTurns at the beginning of my career and she treated me with such kindness and generosity, and demonstrated in her every action how to be professional on a set,” she had said at the time of her death.

Kim was her favorite role Hays said she ever played. “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 explained in an interview with We Love Soaps in 2010. “It was wonderful to not have to play one certain type of character.”

Hays was born Kay Piper in Princeton, Illinois and began acting in the early 1960s. She made appearances on series such as Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6, Naked City and Route 66. In 1963, she landed her first big role as a school secretary Ladybug Ladybug. During the same time, she starred in a number of Broadway productions, like The Irregular Verb to Love, The Moon Besieged and Mary, Mary.

As the years went on, she only kept up with her acting. She gained more guest-starring roles in the 1970s, including in The High Chaparral; Mannix; Here Come the Brides; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law;and Night Gallery. On top of As the World Turns, Hays was also very well known for her guest portrayal of Gem in the 1968 episode of Star Trek called “The Empath.”

She is survived by her daughter, Sherri, as well as her son-in-law, Sherri’s husband, Bob Mancusi, as well as her three grandchildren and a great-grandson.

[Image credit: Wikipedia]