Frances Reid... gone

She was 95 years old, so the thought of her having a long life is somewhat comforting. However, I found out about her passing at the hands of an incompetent morning show female DJ who didn't have the decency to know her name.

HER NAME WAS FRANCES REID, DIP$H!T!!!!!

And while it is easy to assume that the DJ in question never watched Days of Our Lives, any soap fan would, or rather, should know the name Frances Reid. She portrayed one half of one of daytime's most indelible soap couples: Alice Horton.

I remember back in the 80s when I dared to switch from CBS to NBC. It was the summer and I was on summer vacation. Reid's Alice Horton was one of the first friendly faces that greeted me. Naturally, there were others like Anna DiMera, Marlena, Calliope, Liz, but Alice Horton was the one who jumped out the most. Such a lovely, welcoming, and at times scrappy presence in the sea of youthful blondes angling for screen time.

And she made homemade donuts... a lot. Who does that except Alice Horton.

And in between being in charge of Salem U's candy stripers, she would willingly help her granddaughters, because it was always her granddaughters, get out of scrapes of their own making. Hope and Jennifer Rose, mainly, although according to soap lore, Julie was a roustabout herself, but that was before my migration.

That initial summer of Days viewing was when Bo and Hope were on the run in New Orleans and Gran would do her best to help keep Larry off of their tail. This was back when Kristin Alphonso had a normal percentage of body fat and neither Bo nor Hope wore on fans' patience with their inexplicable tendency to ruin their romance. Very good memories, given that Alice would help, but never crossed the threshold into being a busybody. She was the grandmother you wish you had. And whenever Alice and Tom celebrated a milestone within their marriage, it was as much of an event as Roman and Marlena, and later John and Marlena, Bo and Hope, Jack and Jennifer, Steve and Kalyla, and any number of supercouples that passed through Salem. If anything, Tom and Alice's celebrations were more precious because they were the benchmark of what couples should be: supportive, faithful, loving, and ever-growing.

Needless to say, it was huge blow when MacDonald Carey passed away in the early 90s; however, Alice's ability to endure and still represent the solidness of the Horton union, even in widowhood, continued to make an indelible impression on Days viewers. And while I jumped ship from Days when Nadia Bjorlin left Days (initially), I still sought out examples of couples similar to the Hortons on other soaps and frankly, there were none to be found. And sadly, that kind of commitment isn't really prized in the current soap climate.

My hope is that Days writers will take their time and create a fitting tribute for Frances Reid. I remember that after Carey passed, Days waited several months to address Tom Horton's passing onscreen. Reid's passing seems even more significant, given that she was the last vestige of the simpler, more elegant part of the Horton legacy. And given that the older fans are still livid about Days' current tendency to cater to their younger demographic, the writers had BETTER do right by Reid and the longtime fans.



Man... I loved Reid's face.