His best known role was that of next door neighbor Stu Bergman on the soap opera "Search for Tomorrow". He joined the show for its eleventh episode in 1951, and remained on the serial for the show's duration. In this role, which he played from 1951 to 1986, Haines became very popular. He won Daytime Emmy Awards in 1976 and 1981, and was First Lady Pat Nixon's favorite soap opera actor. Haines was reunited with longtime "Search for Tomorrow" costar Mary Stuart on the prime-time special which saluted 50 years of the soaps in 1996.