In Chicago Syndicate, her first film for Columbia, Hayes played Joyce Kern – alias Sue Morton – who seeks vengeance for the death of her father at the hand of local gangster Arnie Valent.

In 1958, she appeared in the recurring role of Ellie Winters, poker dealer/secret agent, in seven episodes of the western series Bat Masterson starring Gene Barry.

A close friend of Raymond Burr since filming Count Three and Pray,[citation needed] she made five guest appearances on Perry Mason during this time, including the role of Pearl Chute in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Bogus Books".

As her acting career declined, she began to experience severe health problems and was unable to walk without a cane.

In severe pain, her usually good-natured personality began to change and she became emotional and volatile, making it difficult for her to secure acting work.

Reading a medical book about the metal poisoning of factory workers, Hayes recognized the symptoms described as being similar to her own.

Hayes began to question the ingredients of a calcium supplement made from bone meal she had been taking for a long time.

While at the hospital receiving a blood transfusion, her condition unexpectedly and rapidly deteriorated as she experienced chills, flu-like symptoms and intense pain.

In a letter that arrived after her death, the FDA advised her that amendments were being made to the laws governing the importation of nutritional supplements, largely as a result of her situation.