Frances Reid

Frances Reid (December 9, 1914 – February 3, 2010) was an American dramatic actress. Reid acted on television for nearly all of the second half of the 20th century. Her career continued into the early 2000s.

Although she starred in many productions, she is best known for her portrayal of Alice Horton on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from its debut in November 1965 until 2007. At the time of her death, she ranked fifth on the all-time list of longest-serving soap opera actors in the United States.

Early life and career Frances Reid was born on December 9, 1914, in Wichita Falls, Texas, and raised in Beverly Hills, California. She later played Roxane opposite Jose Ferrer's Cyrano in the 1946 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Alvin Theatre, repeating the role three years later, again opposite Ferrer, in a 1949 one-hour The Philco Television Playhouse adaptation.

A member of The Actors Studio from its inception in 1947, Reid played a variety of stage roles throughout the 1940s and 1950s. From 1954 to 1955, Reid played the title role in the CBS television version of the radio serial Portia Faces Life.

She next portrayed the grasping Grace Baker, the mother-in-law of Penny Hughes, on As the World Turns from 1959 to 1962, and Rose Pollack, the kind-hearted mother of Nancy Pollock Karr, on The Edge of Night in 1964. Her last appearance on Days of our Lives was on December 26, 2007, although she remained on contract with the show until her death.

Reid died in Beverly Hills, California, at an assisted living facility, on February 3, 2010. She was 95.

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. 1979, 1984, and 1985, and was inducted into the Television Academy's archives in 2003.

Selected filmography

Reported Missing! (1937) – Maid (uncredited) A Criminal at Large (1939) – Isla Crane (Television picture) Little Women (1939) – Beth March (Television picture) The Ford Theatre Hour (1950) (Season 2 Episode 14: "The Little Minister") – Babbie The Philco Television Playhouse (1949–1951) (4 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 15: "Cyrano de Bergerac") (1949) – Roxane (Season 1 Episode 41: "The Fourth Wall") (1949) (Season 2 Episode 12: "Medical Meeting") (1949) (Season 3 Episode 19: "The Lost Diplomat") (1951) You Are There (series) (1953) (2 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 18: "The Dreyfus Case") – Lucie Dreyfus (Season 2 Episode 14: "The Gettysburg Address") – Mary O'Connell The Man Behind the Badge (1954) (Season 1 Episode 17: "The Los Angeles Story") Kraft Theatre (1954) (Season 7 Episode 27: "Two Weeks in the Country) The Inner Flame (1954–55; 3 episodes) – Portia Manning (Season 1 Episode 1) (Episode dated July 7, 1954) (Episode dated March 23, 1955) The Brighter Day (1955) (Episode dated March 21) – Portia Manning Telephone Time (1956) (Season 1 Episode 10: "Harry in Search of Himself") – Mrs. Bergh Matinee Theatre (1955–56) (7 episodes) (Season 1 Episode 1: "Beginning Now") (1955) – Jane Kelsey (Season 1 Episode 14: "The Aspern Papers") (1955) (Season 1 Episode 33: "The Sins of the Fathers") (1955) (Season 1 Episode 42: "Horns of Dilemma") (1955) (Season 1 Episode 75: "Valentine's Day") (1956) (Season 1 Episode 164: "The Guest Cottage") (1956) (Season 1 Episode 179: "Marriage by the Millions") (1956) The Wrong Man (1956) – Mrs. O'Connor (voice, uncredited) Lux Video Theatre (1957) (Season 7 Episode 44: "Dark Hammock") – Dr. McDavid Berkeley Square (1959) – Dutchess of Devonshire (Television picture) As the World Turns (1959–1962) – Grace Baker Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1961) (Season 7 Episode 12: "A Jury of Her Peers") – Mrs. Mary Peters General Electric Theatre (1962) (Season 10 Episode 33: "Somebody Please Help Me!") – Vera Parsons Perry Mason (1963) as Miss Givney in "Season 6, Episode 16: "The Case of the Constant Doyle" The Eleventh Hour (1963) (Season 1 Episode 27: "Try to Keep Alive Until Next Tuesday") – Louise Forman Channing (1964) (Season 1 Episode 22: "The Trouble with Girls") – Isabel Franklin Perry Mason (CBS) as Lucille Forest in "Season 8 Episode 16: "The Case of the Golden Venom" (1965) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1965) (Season 3 Episode 16: "One of the Family") – Joyce's Mother Wagon Train (1962–65) (5 episodes) – Various roles (Season 5 Episode 21: "The Daniel Clay Story") – Margaret Clay (1962) (Season 5 Episode 34: "The Frank Carter Story") – Mary Carter (1962) (Season 6 Episode 11: "The Kurt Davos Story") – Florence Hastings (1962) (Season 6 Episode 24: "The Emmett Lawton Story") – Mrs. Lawton (1963) (Season 8 Episode 23: "The Katy Piper Story") – Dr. Katy Piper (1965) Days of Our Lives (1965–2007; contract role) – Alice Horton Seconds (1966) – Emily Hamilton The F.B.I. (1968) (2 episodes) (Season 3 Episode 16: "Crisis Ground") – Ellen Porter (Season 4 Episode 5: "Death of a Fixer") – Mrs. Prior The Andromeda Strain (1971) – Clara Dutton The Affair (1973) – Mrs. Patterson (Television picture) Matt Helm (1975) (Season 1 Episode 3: "Scavenger's Paradise") – Millie Project U.F.O. (1978) (Season 1 Episode 1: "Sighting 4001: The Washington D.C. Incident") – Martha Carlyle Mercy or Murder (1987) – Emily Gilbert (Television picture) One Stormy Night (1992) – Alice Grayson Horton (Television picture)

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1978 Soapy Awards Favorite Actress in a Mature Role Days of Our Lives 1979 6th Daytime Emmy Awards Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 1984 Soap Opera Digest Awards Outstanding Actress in a Mature Roles in a Daytime Soap Opera 1985 Outstanding Actress in a Mature Role in a Daytime Serial 1987 14th Daytime Emmy Awards Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series 1990 Soap Opera Digest Awards Editor's Choice 2004 31st Daytime Emmy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award