Frances Reid

Actress

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In her one-and-a-half hour Archive interview, actress Frances Reid (1914-2010) talks about her early career working in live television, and her first experiences working on daytime dramas, on programs such as Portia Faces Life and As the World Turns. She describes in detail her longtime role as matriarch "Alice Horton" on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives from its inception to the present day. She discusses her many co-stars throughout the years on the show, notably Macdonald Carey, who portrayed patriarch "Tom Horton." Reid explains the production process on a daytime drama and touches on some of the memorable storylines featured on the show throughout the years. Finally, she briefly describes her involvement in the actors union AFTRA and notes how important it is for her to continue working. Jennifer Howard conducted the interview in Los Angeles, California on August 13, 2003.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"You have to be good-natured. You have to know that these things that are done in a hurry are not done to make you miserable or make you look bad. They're part of the way of our making a living. We must adjust to them and give them the best we can."

People Talking About ...

Frances Reid

Highlights

Frances Reid on appearing in the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse production of “Cyrano”

01:59

Frances Reid on being cast as Portia Blake Manning on Portia Faces Life

00:50

Frances Reid on her Days of Our Lives character "Alice Horton"

03:32

Frances Reid on her Days of Our Lives costar Macdonald Carey

01:18

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On appearing in several feature films early in her career including "Stage Door"; on appearing in various stage productions; on her early impressions of television

On doing commercials in the early days of television; on the challenges of working on live television; on Sylvester L. Weaver and on working with various television producers

On appearing in the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Actors Studio, Berkley Square, and NBC Matinee Theater; on the Hollywood Blacklist; on being cast as Portia Blake Manning on Portia Faces Life

Chapter 2

On starring in Portia Faces Life and the state of early TV soap operas; on appearing on several episodes of Wagon Train and on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on appearing on Perry Mason with Bette Davis and on The Defenders

On appearing on As the World Turns and Edge of Night; on appearing on Days of Our Lives as "Alice Horton"

On her Days of Our Lives costar Macdonald Carey; on working with Days of Our Lives' Betty and Ken Corday and Irna Phillips; on the writers and cast of the show

Chapter 3

On the production schedule of Days of Our Lives; on the storylines of Days of Our Lives; on the death of Macdonald Carey during the run of Days of Our Lives, and on how her character "Alice Horton" changed over the years

On the legacy of her Days of Our Lives character "Alice Horton" and on the success of the show; on her acting style, and her career; on her involvement with the AFTRA union

On advice she would give an actor on a soap opera today; on how she would like to be remembered

Shows

Actors Studio

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Frances Reid on appearing in various live productions of the '50s, including Actors Studio and Berkeley Square

03:24

Alfred Hitchcock Presents aka The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

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Frances Reid on appearing on several episodes of Wagon Train and on working on Alfred Hitchcock Presents

02:22

As the World Turns

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Frances Reid on appearing on As the World Turns

03:51

Days of Our Lives

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Frances Reid on appearing on Days of Our Lives