Frances Reid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Frances Reid | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse(s) | Philip Bourneuf, 1936 - 1979 (his death) |
| Notable Credits | Alice Horton (Days of our Lives) |
Frances Reid (born December 9, 1914 in Wichita Falls, Texas) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Alice Horton, a character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives since its debut in November 1965.
[edit] Biography
Frances Reid was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, but grew up in Berkeley, California. Her acting career started in 1938 with a bit part in the movie Man-Proof. She played Roxane opposite Jose Ferrer's Cyrano in the 1946 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac.[1]
In 1954, she was awarded the title part in the soap opera Portia Faces Life. 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 Turns, playing Grace Baker from 1959 to 1962. She moved on to The Edge of Night before she was offered the role of matriarch Alice Horton on Days of Our Lives, 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 Salem 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 stroke. However, she still remained an important part of the show -- which is notable, as veterans on many other daytime series (notably the late Anna Lee on General Hospital) 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 Frankenheimer drama Seconds, opposite Rock Hudson. In the audio commentary for the DVD version of the film, Frankenheimer calls Frances Reid one of his favorite actresses.
Reid was married to actor Philip Bourneuf from 1936 until his death in 1979; they had no children.
In 1965, she tried out for a role as a nun in the Sound of Music. Although she did not get the role, she has a small part as the Baronesses mother.
