Kate Reid

The brilliant and versatile London-born stage, radio and TV actress 'Kate Reid' (qv) was actually born Daphne 'Kate Reid' (qv) in 1930 to Canadian parents, Walter Clarke Reid and Helen Isabel Moore. The family moved back to Ontario before she was a year old. An introverted child of delicate health, Kate sought refuge in books and role-playing and began studying drama in her mid-teens. She apprenticed in summer stock and trained with 'Uta Hagen' (qv) and Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio in New York. Earning critical acclaim as Lizzie in "The Rainmaker"and as Masha in "The Three Sisters", her decade with the Stratford Festival in Canada would establish her as one of North America's most accomplished actresses.In the Shakespearean canon, she played numerous characters, from Lady Macbeth to the shrewish Katharina, who may or may not have been tamed by the end of the comedy of the same name. She often played women older than she actually was, and battled alcohol and weight problems throughout much of her life. She was to have taken "The Rainmaker" to England's West End at one point but severe anxiety attacks kept her from doing so. She made her Broadway debut in 1962, playing the matinée Martha in 'Edward Albee' (qv)'s "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", which role was played 7 out of eight weekly performances by Reid's legendary mentor, 'Uta Hagen' (qv).Filming for Reid would be very erratic during her career. She played 'Natalie Wood' (qv)'s mother in _This Property Is Condemned (1966)_ (qv) and may be best-remembered as a scientist in the thriller _The Andromeda Strain (1971)_ (qv) or as the brittle, bitter, boozing Claire in _A Delicate Balance (1973)_ (qv), opposite such heavyweights as 'Katharine Hepburn' (qv), 'Paul Scofield' (qv), 'Lee Remick' (qv), 'Joseph Cotten' (qv), and 'Betsy Blair' (qv). She earned two Tony nominations in the 1960s for her participation in the plays "Dylan" and "Slapstick Tragedy". Further respect came in the package of 'Arthur Miller' (qv)'s "The Price" and 'John Guare' (qv)'s "Bosoms and Neglect". On U.S. television, she played the skeptical mother of a murder witness in the _Columbo (1971)_ (qv) episode _Columbo: Dead Weight (1971)_ (qv), as well as a treacherous foreign agent in the _Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)_ (qv) episode _Scarecrow and Mrs. King: The First Time (1983)_ (qv). She also managed a recurring part on _Dallas (1978)_ (qv) as well as regular roles on the short-lived TV series _Gavilan (1982)_ (qv) and _Morningstar/Eveningstar (1986)_ (qv).Plagued by ill health in later years, Reid nevertheless offered a couple of outstanding contributions. She was the invalid mistress in the film _Atlantic City (1980)_ (qv) opposite 'Burt Lancaster' (qv), and portrayed the devoted, long-suffering wife Linda Loman alongside 'Dustin Hoffman' (qv) in the critically-acclaimed 1984 remake of Miller's "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway. She and Hoffman (who was seven years her junior) subsequently preserved their roles with a TV adaptation the following year. Likewise, she appeared in the television movie _Morning's at Seven (1982)_ (qv), reprising and preserving on celluloid her performance in the same role in the successful Broadway production. Her last role was in the miniseries _Murder in the Heartland (1993)_ (qv). Reid succumbed to brain cancer at age 62 in Ontario, Canada.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net