IN LOVING MEMORY
WAYNE
HEFFLEY
JULY 15, 1927-NOVEMBER 19, 2008
Wayne Heffley, who
portrayed Vern Scofield on "Days of Our Lives" from 1988-1993 and again for
brief stints in 2002, 2003 and 2006, has died. Heffley, who had been on
dialysis in recent years, died of kidney failure on November 19,
2008. He was 81.
Arnold Wayne Heffley
Jr. was born on July 15, 1927 in Bakersfield, California. In a
1991 interview for DaytimeTV's "The Best of Days of Our Lives", Heffley said
that "At the age of seven, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I
wanted to write. I wanted to get married, settle down and that was it. I never
wanted to travel! So, when I was old enough, I moved to Hollywood and produced
(and acted in) one of my plays in a tiny theater...After the show one night, a
lady came up to me and said 'I would like to represent you...as an actor.' I
started acting in 1952, hardly anybody knew who I was, but I worked all of the
time! I did a lot of war movies, a few episodes of 'The Twilight Zone' and
a couple of episodes of 'The Fugitive.' In 1965, I had an (acting) book
published. The checks for the book and 'The Fugitive' arrived on the same
day...the check for 'The Fugitive' was for $19 more than the one for the book,
so I decided to stick with acting!"
Heffley surmised that
his constant travel for various acting jobs prevented him from
staying married for too long. In all, he was married five times and had five
children. Heffley married his first wife, Mary Holder, in the late 1940s. The
marriage produced two children, Michael in 1948 and Patricia in 1949. In 1951,
he was briefly married to Dorothea Hess. In 1954, he married Jeanne Gash and
they had two children, Devon in 1954 and Kendis in 1956. Heffley married his
fourth wife, Ilene Nemerski, in 1962. Finally, he married Lynne Dalton in 1977,
and they had a daughter, Dominique. While none of his marriages lasted too long,
he was always the most proud of being a father. In the 1991 interview, he stated
that: "It is a glorious thing to to be a parent and raise kids. That's the most
exciting accomplishment in my life...If a man is expected to have some kind of
final monument, I suppose these five kids would be
mine."
Heffley's first acting appearance came in 1952
on the series "Racket Squad." He would be a constant presence on primetime
television over the next 35 years, guest starring on countless series
such as "Have Gun, Will Travel", "77 Sunset Strip", "Highway Patrol", "Bat
Masterson", "Perry Mason", "Gunsmoke", "Ben Casey", "The Twilight
Zone", "The Fugitive", "My Three Sons", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Gomer
Pyle", "The Invaders", "The Mod Squad", "Family Affair", "Ironside", "Marcus
Welby", "Cannon", "Bonanza", "Kung Fu", "Kojak", "Little House on the
Prairie", "The Waltons", "Lou Grant", "Barnaby Jones", "Dallas", "Hill
Street Blues", "Hart to Hart", "Airwolf", "Matlock", "Hunter", "Simon &
Simon" and "Murder, She Wrote." He also appeared in the history-making
miniseries "Roots" in 1977.
In July 1988,
Heffley was hired to play Vern Scofield, the editor of The Salem Spectator,
on "Days of Our Lives." Originally slated for just a few episodes, Heffley's
role grew as he became sidekick to Jack Deveraux. In 1990, the Scofield clan
grew as Vern's three children, Cassie, Brian and Tanner, arrived in
Salem. Vern's children left Salem in 1992, but Vern continued to appear
regularly for another year. He was paired romantically with Jack's mother, Jo
Johnson, and the two eventually married. Heffley returned to play Vern for brief
stints in 2002 and 2003, and his last appearance came in September
2006 to say goodbye to Jack and Jennifer Deveraux, who moved to
England.
In his
1991 DaytimeTV interview, Heffley stated that "I love playing Vern...I
like that he's a father figure...I also like the security of Days. They give you
a lot of creative leeway here, which is great." In a 1992 interview for
DaytimeTV's "Everything You Want to Know About Days of Our Lives", Heffley
continued with his love for "Days of Our Lives": "I think I enjoy Days of
Our Lives more than any other acting job I ever had. I think it's remarkable for
a guy my age to work everyday around the most beautiful women in the
world!"
Heffley is survived by his five children, Michael,
Patricia, Devon, Kendis and Dominique; and many grandchildren.
ABOVE: 2-year-old Wayne Heffley, then going by his first
name, Arnold, in the 1930 census. Also listed are his parents, Arnold Sr. and
Annie, and brother Carl.
LEFT: Wayne with his youngest daughter, Dominique.
Dominique appeared on "Days" in 1990 as a candy striper at University Hospital.
RIGHT: Wayne appears in the 1993 cast photo with his on-screen romantic
interest, Marilyn McIntyre who played Jo Johnson. Also pictured: Bryan Dattilo
(Lucas), Crystal Chappell (Carly), Michael Sabatino (Lawrence), Deborah Adair
(Kate), Matthew Ashford (Jack), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer) and Lisa Rinna
(Billie).
ABOVE: An autographed photo of Wayne from 1991.