Kate Reid

Daphne Katherine Reid OC (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was a Canadian actress, whose career spanned over fifty years and hundreds of roles across both stage and screen.^[1] She was described by the book Inspiring Women: A Celebration of Herstory as "the finest actress ever developed in Canada".^[1]

Born in England and raised in Ontario, Reid performed with the Stratford Festival, before making her Broadway debut as Martha in the matinee cast of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and went on to be nominated for two Tony Awards, Best Featured Actress in a Play for Dylan and Best Actress in a Play for Slapstick Tragedy. She played Linda Loman in the acclaimed 1984 revival of Death of a Salesman.

On screen, Reid won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Louis Malle's Atlantic City (1980). She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for A Delicate Balance (1973), and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for the 1985 television film of Death of a Salesman. She also won a Dora Mavor Moore Award, and the Earle Grey Award.^[2]

Reid was born on 4 November 1930 in London, England, the daughter of Canadian parents Walter Clarke Reid, a retired colonel of the Bengal Lancers in the Indian Army, and Helen Isabel, née Moore.^[3] While Reid was still a toddler, she and her family moved back to Canada and settled in Oakville, Ontario.^[1]

She attended Havergal College in Toronto, the University of Toronto,^[4] and then studied acting at the Royal Conservatory of Music.^[2] She made her earliest stage appearances at the Hart House Theatre, before her professional debut with the Straw Hat Players in Muskoka.^[2]

Reid performed with the Crest Theatre in Toronto and starred in The Stepmother on London's West End, before joining the Stratford Festival in 1959. She maintained a close association with the Festival until her death, over the years playing such roles as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew, Celia in As You Like It, Emilia in Othello, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and Mistress Overdone in Measure for Measure.^[2] In the early 1960's, Reid moved to New York City to study with Uta Hagen. She was cast as Martha in the alternate matinee cast of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

At the Shaw Festival, Reid played the title role in Mrs. Warren's Profession and in The Apple Cart.^[4] She also performed In 1984, Reid starred in the critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, opposite Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, and Stephen Lang.

Reid made her film debut in the NFB short Farewell Oak Street, then starred in Sidney J. Furie's A Dangerous Age, notable for being English-language Canadian feature. Following her stage success, she was cast as the scheming and domineering mother of Natalie Wood's character in Sydney Pollack's 1966 film This Property is Condemned, although she was only seven years Wood's senior.

Her other film appearances included starring roles as acerbic scientist Dr. Ruth Leavitt in The Andromeda Strain (1971), the alcoholic sister of Katharine Hepburn's character in A Delicate Balance (1973) - which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, Margaret Dysart in the 1977 film version of Equus, and aging beauty Grace in Atlantic City (1980). The latter role won her the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2nd Genie Awards.

Reid was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for playing Queen Victoria in the television drama Invincible Mr. Disraeli (1963).

She co-starred as Lil Trotter on Dallas, between seasons 6 and 9.^[4]

In 1985, she reprised her role as Linda in the CBS television version of Death of a Salesman, alongside the other stars of the '84 Broadway revival. The film won three Emmys, and Reid received her second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film

In 1974, Reid was acclaimed an Officer of the Order of Canada.^[5]

She received honourary degrees from York University (1970) and the University of Toronto (1989).

She had lifetime achievement ACTRA and Dora Awards. In 1988, she received the Earle Grey Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Both of Reid's marriages, to Michael Sadlier and Austin Willis, ended in divorce. She had two children with Willis, Reid and Robin.

Reid died of brain cancer in Stratford, Ontario, aged 62, in 1993.^[4] Her memorial service was held at St Clement's Episcopal Church in New York. Among those in attendance were Edward Albee, John Guare, Elizabeth Wilson, Marian Seldes, Rosemary Murphy, and Carrie Nye.

• Kate Reid at IMDb
• Kate Reid at the Internet Broadway Database