Days' Longtime Matriarch, Frances Reid, Dies at 95

(from The Examiner)

Longtime member of the Days of our Lives family, Frances Reid, who has played the role of Alice Horton since 1965, passed away yesterday. She was 95.

UPDATE Statement from Ken Corday: "This is a very sad day, indeed; not only for me personally, but for the Days of Our Lives family and the entire Hollywood community. From day one until she taped her last scene, Frances epitomized the past, present and future of the show. Frances was truly one of a kind. Her class cannot be matched and her shoes cannot be filled … We will miss her all the rest of our days.”

Frances was born on December 9, 1914 in Wichita Falls, Kansas. She grew up in Berkley, California. Her first acting job was a small role in the movie Man-Proof in 1938. She performed in several Broadway plays before landing the title role in the CBS version of the radio soap opera Portia Faces Life in 1944. She portrayed Alice Horton since the debut of Days of our Lives on November 8, 1965. Though her last airdate was in December of 2007, the role of Alice was never recast.

Frances was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in 1979 and for Lead Actress in 1987. She was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. The year before that, she was inducted into the Television Academy’s archives. She also won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Actress in a Mature Role four times.

“Greg Meng called me this morning to tell me of the loss of our darling Frances Reid,” said longtime co-star Deidre Hall on Twitter. “She was loved, revered, and will be remembered.”

“(Frances) was a great lady whom I feel honored to have known… the heart and soul of Days of our Lives,” said Nadia Bjorlin, who plays Chloe, on Twitter.

Indeed, Frances Reid will always be known as the matriarch of Days. Her kind, powerful performance as Alice Horton will never be forgotten and she will live on in the heart of Days fans everywhere.