Frances Reid (December 9, 1914) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. She is best known for her portrayal of
Alice HortonAlice Horton is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, portrayed by Frances Reid since the show's debut on November 8, 1965.- The early years :...
, a character on the American
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
Days of our LivesDays of our Lives is an American soap opera which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965 on the NBC network in the United States, and has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. It also broadcasts on SOAPnet weeknights at 11PM ET/PT...
since its debut in November 1965. Of notable mention, Reid is the oldest actress to appear in a television series. Reid has one of the longest continuous roles in a television series.
Frances Reid was born in
Wichita Falls, TexasWichita Falls is a city in the state of Texas and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S...
, but grew up in
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Her acting career started in 1938 with a bit part in the movie
Man-Proof.
Frances Reid (December 9, 1914) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. She is best known for her portrayal of
Alice HortonAlice Horton is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, portrayed by Frances Reid since the show's debut on November 8, 1965.- The early years :...
, a character on the American
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
Days of our LivesDays of our Lives is an American soap opera which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965 on the NBC network in the United States, and has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. It also broadcasts on SOAPnet weeknights at 11PM ET/PT...
since its debut in November 1965. Of notable mention, Reid is the oldest actress to appear in a television series. Reid has one of the longest continuous roles in a television series.
Biography
Frances Reid was born in
Wichita Falls, TexasWichita Falls is a city in the state of Texas and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S...
, but grew up in
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Her acting career started in 1938 with a bit part in the movie
Man-Proof. She played Roxane opposite
Jose FerrerJosé Vincente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director.-Early life:...
's Cyrano in the 1946 Broadway production of
Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. There was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, but the play bears very scant resemblance to the life of the actual person....
.
She repeated her stage role of Roxane in a 1949 one-hour Philco Television Playhouse adaptation of
Cyrano, with several members of the 1946 Broadway production, including star José Ferrer in the title role.
In 1954, she was awarded the title part in the
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
Portia Faces LifePortia Faces Life was a soap opera which began on CBS October 7, 1940. Sponsored by General Foods , it followed the hardships of attorney Portia Blake as she fought corruption in the small town of Parkersburg....
. When that show was canceled, she took bit parts on nighttime television programs until she was given a three-year contract on
As The World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that airs each weekday on CBS.Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm EST. Prior to April 2, 1956 all serials were fifteen minutes in length...
, playing Grace Baker from 1959 to 1962. She moved on to
The Edge of NightThe Edge of Night was a long-running American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
before she was offered the role of matriarch
Alice HortonAlice Horton is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, portrayed by Frances Reid since the show's debut on November 8, 1965.- The early years :...
on
Days of our LivesDays of our Lives is an American soap opera which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965 on the NBC network in the United States, and has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. It also broadcasts on SOAPnet weeknights at 11PM ET/PT...
, which premiered in November 1965 and is currently still in production. With the retirement of John Clarke, who played Mickey Horton, in 2004, she is the only original cast member still on the show.
Not even a grisly murder plot has taken her off the air; when she was "killed" off the soap in 2004, she was told that she would be coming back to live (at least temporarily) on a tropical island. Miss Reid was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Daytime Emmy board in 2004; she had never won an Emmy in her almost forty years on the show. Since the murder plot, Alice (and portrayer Reid) returned to
SalemThe town of Salem is the setting for the U.S. soap opera Days of our Lives. It is located in the Northeastern United States, though the state is never mentioned. It was built and named in 1802, since Salem celebrated it's 200-year birthday in 2002. Originally set in New England, the vague setting...
as if nothing had happened.
Miss Reid's involvement with
Days has been limited over the last few years, a combination of her advancing age and having suffered a minor
strokeA stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage...
. However, she still remained an important part of the show -- which is notable, as veterans on many other daytime series (notably the late
Anna LeeAnna Lee, MBE , born Joan Boniface Winnifrith, was an English actress.-Career:Lee studied at the Royal Albert Hall, then debuted in 1932 with a bit part in the film His Lordship...
on
General HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama and is currently credited by the Guiness Book of World Records as being the second longest-running soap opera in production and the second longest running drama in television in production. It premiered on the ABC television network on April...
) have had their screen time significantly reduced or had their contracts severed entirely.
Miss Reid's most notable film appearance was in the 1966
John FrankenheimerJohn Michael Frankenheimer was an American filmmaker. He is known for making The Manchurian Candidate , Birdman of Alcatraz , The Train, and Seven Days in May ....
drama
SecondsSeconds is a 1966 American film starring Rock Hudson. Characterized sometimes as a science fiction thriller, but with elements of horror, neo-noir, psychedelia, and drama, the film was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino. The script was based on a novel by David Ely...
, opposite
Rock HudsonRock Hudson was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably in several romantic comedies with his most famous co-star, Doris Day...
. In the audio commentary for the
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
version of the film, Frankenheimer calls Frances Reid one of his favorite actresses.
Reid was married to actor
Philip BourneufPhilip Bourneuf was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films....
from 1936 until his death in 1979
She is sometimes confused with the late
Doris LloydHessy Doris Lloyd , was an English actress. She appeared in over 150 films between 1920 and 1967, including the 1933 low-budget Monogram Pictures version of Oliver Twist, in which she played Nancy...
, who tried out for a role as a nun in
The Sound of MusicRodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews in the lead role. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical book written by the...
, but wound up playing a bit role as a baroness in the party scene.