FRANCES REID, 95

Actress on 'Days of Our Lives'

Frances Reid, who was the last original cast member of "Days of Our Lives" and portrayed the soap opera's matriarch, Alice Horton, for 42 years, died Wednesday.

In announcing her death, NBC called Ms. Reid "a true icon of the daytime genre."

The Texas-born Ms. Reid was already a veteran of Broadway and TV soap operas when she appeared in the premiere of "Days of Our Lives" on Nov. 8, 1965. She made her final appearance in 2007.

Familiar with the demands of live daily television after appearing on the soaps "As the World Turns" and "The Edge of Night," Ms. Reid was hesitant to take the part on "Days." But roles for women over 40 were hard to come by, so she decided to accept the role, according to an NBC biography.

She agreed to do the show "just for a short while," Ms. Reid said decades later. "But I found it very interesting."

She received an honorary Daytime Emmy in 2004 for lifetime achievement.

Discuss this story and others in our talk forums Most recent news talk forum topics: More news talk forums: Local | Nation/World | Business | Health/Science | Computers/Technology Note: In-story commenting has been temporarily disabled due to technical issues. We are working to correct the issue and will bring back this feature in the future. In the meantime, please use our talk forums to discuss stories.