Although she never became a household name, this busy character actress turned in scores of memorable stage, film and TV performances over a 30-year career. The London-born Reid joined Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 1959 and got her grounding in the classics before hitting Broadway in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in 1962. She acted in dozens of shows on Broadway, in London and elsewhere, including "The Circle" (Ontario, 1967), "Juno and the Paycock" (Philadelphia, 1973), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (New York, 1974), "Morning's at Seven" (New York, 1981) and "Death of a Salesman" (New York, 1984).
Reid made her film debut in "One Plus One" (1961) and went on to play character roles--some comic, mostly serious--in a total of 24 films. Her most famous role was as Burt Lancaster's bedridden mistress in Louis Malle's "Atlantic City" (1980). Among Reid's other memorable films were "This Property is Condemned" (as Natalie Wood's mother, 1966), as Dr. Leavitt in "The Andromeda Strain" (1971), "Equus" (1977) and as Jeff Daniels' mother in the charming "Sweet Hearts Dance" (1988). She also played opposite Jodie Foster in "The Blood of Others" (1984), and with Goldie Hawn in "Deceived" (Reid's swan song, 1991).
On TV, Reid appeared in 18 TV-movies and miniseries, including "Loose Change" (NBC, 1978), "Colour in the Creek" (PBS, 1987) and "Murder in the Heartland" (ABC, 1993). She co-starred with Robert Urich in the short-lived series "Gavilan" (NBC, 1982), in the cloying "Morningstar/Eveningstar (CBS, 1986) and as Aunt Lil on the 1982-83 season of "Dallas". Her first TV-movie was "The Invincible Mr. Disraeli" (NBC, 1963) and her second the equally laudable "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" (1964). TV also brought the chance to recreate her Broadway role of Linda Loman opposite Dustin Hoffman in "Death of a Salesman" (CBS, 1985). Reid succumbed to cancer in March 1993.