Byron
Carmichael is the older half-brother of Brent Douglas, more commonly
known as Doug Williams. He is also the ex-husband of Lee DuMonde. In
July of 1979, Byron was spotted in a Paris auction by Steven Olson,
the younger brother of Julie Williams. Byron, who looked amazingly
like Julie's husband Doug, immediately caught Steve's attention. When
Steve finally approached him, Byron was curious to hear about the man
he resembled. Inviting Steve to his opulent mansion, Byron heard all
about Doug. After saying good-bye to Steve, Byron decided that he
needed to speak to Doug. Many of the things Steve had said, such as
his strong resemblance to Doug and Doug's background, matched his
own. For one thing, both Byron and Doug had been born in Wheeling,
West Virginia, and both of them had been put up for adoption. Byron
had planned on travelling to Salem to meet Doug, but medical reasons
prevented him from doing so; Byron was quickly dying of
cancer.
After having his attorney, Desmond Towns, investigate Doug and his past as Brent Douglas, Byron discovered that he and Doug shared the same father. Since Byron had never known any blood relatives and had remained childless, he felt it incumbent to speak to Doug. He was overjoyed to have found someone besides his wife, with whom he had not been happy, to inherit his legacy. His marriage to Lee DuMonde had not been a good one, as the woman had been anything but faithful to him and had only married him for his money.
A few weeks later, Byron was finally
able to call Doug on the phone. Doug, who had already been told of
Byron's existence by Steve, was incredulous at first. But as their
conversation progressed, Doug became more and more convinced that he
was actually speaking to his brother. However, the emotional
conversation took a toll on Byron, who was forced to hang up as he
was not feeling well. Shortly thereafter, he died. In his will, Byron
left Doug most of his fortune, about $5 million, plus various
properties. To his bitter widow, Lee, Byron only left a Manhattan
condo, a limousine, and an annual income of $35,000. He was buried in
his birthplace of Wheeling, West Virginia.
The character of Byron Carmichael was
played by Bill Hayes in 1979, playing the role under the theatrical
monicker of George Spelvin