Frances Reid 1914-2010 RIP

Frances Reid (December 9, 1914 – February 3, 2010) was an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Alice Horton on the American soap opera Days of our Lives from its debut in November 1965 until her final performance on December 26, 2007.

Biography

Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, to banker Charles William and Anna May (Priest) Reid, Reid grew up in Berkeley, California. Her acting career started in 1938 with a bit part in the movie Man-Proof.

Reid's Broadway debut was as Juliette Lecourtois in Where There's a Will at the John Golden Theatre in 1939. She later played Roxane opposite Jose Ferrer's Cyrano in the 1946 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Alvin Theatre. She repeated her stage role of Roxane, again opposite Ferrer, in a 1949 one-hour Philco Television Playhouse adaptation of Cyrano.

After a series of stage roles throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Reid played title role in the CBS television version of the radio soap opera Portia Faces Life from 1954 to 1955. She next portrayed Grace Baker on As The World Turns from 1959 to 1962, and Rose Pollack on The Edge of Night in 1964. Reid portrayed matriarch Alice Horton on Days of our Lives since the show's premiere on November 8, 1965. Reid gained mainstream attention for a 2003–2004 storyline in which Alice and several other long-running characters were seemingly murdered. Her last appearance on Days of our Lives was in 2007.

In 1966 Reid appeared opposite Rock Hudson in the 1966 John Frankenheimer drama Seconds. In the audio commentary for the DVD version of the film, Frankenheimer called Reid one of his favorite actresses.

Reid was married to actor Philip Bourneuf from June 27, 1940, until his death in 1979. She had no children.

Reid passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 95 on February 3, 2010.

Awards

Nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in 1979 and for Lead Actress in 1987, Reid was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actress in a Mature Role in 1978, 1979, 1984, and 1985, and was inducted into the Television Academy's archives in 2003.