Alice Horton
Encyclopedia
Alice Horton is a fictional character
on the NBC
soap opera
Days of our Lives
, portrayed by Frances Reid
from the show's debut on November 8, 1965 until December 26, 2007. Although Frances Ried still portrayed the character occassionally until her death.
The matriarch of the series' primary Horton family, Alice's storylines historically focused on the many troubles of her adult children. Her marriage to Tom Horton
(Macdonald Carey
) played a key role from 1965 until 1994, when Carey died from lung cancer. Reid's portrayal earned her nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award
for Supporting Actress
in 1979 and for Lead Actress
in 1987; she was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Reid won the Soap Opera Digest Award
for Outstanding Actress in a Mature Role in 1978, 1979, 1984, and 1985, and was inducted into the Television Academy's archives in 2003.
Reid died at age 95 on February 3, 2010.
and endures the ongoing struggles of her adult children Addie
, Mickey
, Bill
, and Marie
; their son Tommy had been presumed dead in Vietnam
. In 1967, Bill brings Dr. Mark Brooks to Salem. He and Marie fall in love, but the Hortons soon realize that Mark is Tommy, having lost his memory and undergone reconstructive surgery; because of this revelation, Marie becomes a nun. Addie is killed in 1974, and in 1977 Alice is shocked to discover that she has cancer. Alice turns out to have been misdiagnosed, and weathers Tom's subsequent heart attack.
In 1983, Alice is almost killed at Salem hospital by a robot being used to dispense medication. The same year, Roman Brady
is accused of the Salem Slasher murders and, knowing he is innocent, Alice helps him escape. She brings him drugged donuts, and as he is being rushed to the hospital Alice helps his brother Bo
block the road and affect Roman's escape. Abe Carver
reluctantly arrests Alice, but she is later released. Unhappy that her granddaughter Hope
is marrying Larry Welch in 1984, Alice helps Hope's true love Bo kidnap her so that Bo can profess his feelings. Discovering that Larry and his boss are involved with a criminal organization, Alice and Tom also try to foil their plans. Tom and Alice take in their granddaughter Jennifer Horton
in 1987. That same year, Alice's former flame Dr. Simon Hopkins comes to town and tries to rekindle his romance with Alice. He turns out to be working for crime lord Victor Kiriakis
and involved in the attempted killing of Harper Deveraux. Wanted by the police, Simon tries to take Alice hostage but is shot. In 1988, Alice suspects Tom of having an affair, but he is actually spending time at the Beat Bar, reading poetry written for Alice. In 1990, Alice discovers that the judge that had married them had not been legally sworn in; their marriage is technically invalid, and Tom had known all along. Tom proposes, and they remarry in 1991. Tom dies in his sleep in 1994.
A serial killer later called the Salem Stalker strikes in 2003, killing several longtime residents of Salem, including Doug Williams, the husband of Alice's granddaughter Julie
, and Mickey's wife Maggie Horton
. Visiting Tom's grave, Alice finds a note left by Doug which reveals the killer to be Alice's friend Marlena Evans
. Marlena subsequently murders Alice by choking her with her signature donuts. Alice and Marlena's other "victims" are all later revealed to be alive and well as captives in Melaswen, a copy of Salem built on a remote tropical island by the villainous Andre DiMera (posing as Tony). Andre had faked their deaths and manipulated a drugged Marlena. On December 26, 2006, Alice appears at Christmas dinner, and later attends the annual Horton barbecue on July 4, 2007. She last appears on December 26, 2007, celebrating Christmas with the Hortons. Although Alice was not seen on screen, she was referenced many times and remained part of the show until her death in June 2010. During her final days, family members and friends came to Salem to say their final farewells.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, portrayed by Frances Reid
Frances Reid
Frances Reid was an American dramatic actress. Although she starred in many productions, she is best known for her portrayal of Alice Horton on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of our Lives from its debut in November 1965 until her death on February 3, 2010.-Biography:Born in Wichita Falls, Texas,...
from the show's debut on November 8, 1965 until December 26, 2007. Although Frances Ried still portrayed the character occassionally until her death.
The matriarch of the series' primary Horton family, Alice's storylines historically focused on the many troubles of her adult children. Her marriage to Tom Horton
Tom Horton
Dr. Thomas "Tom" Horton, Sr. is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. He was played by Macdonald Carey from 1965 until his death in 1994.-Storylines:...
(Macdonald Carey
Macdonald Carey
Edward Macdonald Carey was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera Days of our Lives...
) played a key role from 1965 until 1994, when Carey died from lung cancer. Reid's portrayal earned her nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Supporting Actress
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series has been given every year at the Daytime Emmys since the 6th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony in 1979....
in 1979 and for Lead Actress
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award which has been given every year at the Daytime Emmys ceremony since 1974...
in 1987; she was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Reid won the Soap Opera Digest Award
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
for Outstanding Actress in a Mature Role in 1978, 1979, 1984, and 1985, and was inducted into the Television Academy's archives in 2003.
Reid died at age 95 on February 3, 2010.
Storylines
As Days of our Lives begins in 1965, Alice is happily married to Dr. Tom HortonTom Horton
Dr. Thomas "Tom" Horton, Sr. is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. He was played by Macdonald Carey from 1965 until his death in 1994.-Storylines:...
and endures the ongoing struggles of her adult children Addie
Addie Horton
Adelaide "Addie" Williams is a fictional character on the television soap opera Days of our Lives. The role has been portrayed by actresses Patricia Huston and Patricia Barry from 1971 to 1974....
, Mickey
Mickey Horton
Michael "Mickey" Horton I was a fictional character on the soap opera Days of our Lives. Mickey was played from November 1965 to January 2004 by actor John Clarke, briefly in 2004 by Richard Voigts, and was played by actor John Ingle from 2004 to 2006...
, Bill
Bill Horton
Dr. William "Bill" Horton, II is a fictional character on the daytime drama Days of our Lives.Named after his grandfather, Bill Horton was the youngest son of the Horton children; his siblings include Tom Horton Jr., Mickey Horton, Addie Horton, and Marie Horton...
, and Marie
Marie Horton
Marie Horton is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. She was played by Maree Cheatham , Kate Woodville , Lanna Saunders . Created by head writer Ted Corday, she is currently portrayed by Maree Cheatham, who is most recognizable in the role...
; their son Tommy had been presumed dead in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. In 1967, Bill brings Dr. Mark Brooks to Salem. He and Marie fall in love, but the Hortons soon realize that Mark is Tommy, having lost his memory and undergone reconstructive surgery; because of this revelation, Marie becomes a nun. Addie is killed in 1974, and in 1977 Alice is shocked to discover that she has cancer. Alice turns out to have been misdiagnosed, and weathers Tom's subsequent heart attack.
In 1983, Alice is almost killed at Salem hospital by a robot being used to dispense medication. The same year, Roman Brady
Roman Brady
Roman Augustus Brady is a fictional character on the television drama Days of our Lives. Roman was played by Wayne Northrop from 1981 to 1984 and 1991 to 1994, and has been played by Josh Taylor since 1997, with a brief hiatus in early 2004, when he was a victim of the show's now-infamous serial...
is accused of the Salem Slasher murders and, knowing he is innocent, Alice helps him escape. She brings him drugged donuts, and as he is being rushed to the hospital Alice helps his brother Bo
Bo Brady
Beauregard Aurelius "Bo" Brady is a fictional character on the NBC Soap Opera, Days of our Lives, the youngest of the series' Brady family. Created under head-writer Margaret DePreist, the role was originated by actor Peter Reckell on May 2, 1983. Robert Kelker-Kelly briefly stepped into the role...
block the road and affect Roman's escape. Abe Carver
Abe Carver
Mayor Abraham Washington "Abe" Carver is a fictional character on the long-running American soap opera Days of our Lives. Actor James Reynolds has played the character since he originated it on the series in 1981. The character was created by head writer Pat Falken Smith. Abe is the husband of...
reluctantly arrests Alice, but she is later released. Unhappy that her granddaughter Hope
Hope Williams Brady
Hope Alice Brady is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by writer William J. Bell, she is portrayed by Kristian Alfonso since she was SORASed to an adult in April 1983. Hope is a member of the Horton family, a very prominent fixture in Salem...
is marrying Larry Welch in 1984, Alice helps Hope's true love Bo kidnap her so that Bo can profess his feelings. Discovering that Larry and his boss are involved with a criminal organization, Alice and Tom also try to foil their plans. Tom and Alice take in their granddaughter Jennifer Horton
Jennifer Horton
Jennifer Rose Horton is a fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, Days of our Lives, a long running dramatic serial about working class life in the fictional town of Salem. Jennifer was created by scriptwriter Pat Falken Smith, and executive producer Betty Corday...
in 1987. That same year, Alice's former flame Dr. Simon Hopkins comes to town and tries to rekindle his romance with Alice. He turns out to be working for crime lord Victor Kiriakis
Victor Kiriakis
Victor Kiriakis I is a fictional character on NBC's Days of our Lives. The role has been portrayed by John Aniston since 1985. His time on the show has been 1985 to 1997, 1998 to present with a brief storyline driven absence in 2004 when his character was "killed off" but found alive on the island...
and involved in the attempted killing of Harper Deveraux. Wanted by the police, Simon tries to take Alice hostage but is shot. In 1988, Alice suspects Tom of having an affair, but he is actually spending time at the Beat Bar, reading poetry written for Alice. In 1990, Alice discovers that the judge that had married them had not been legally sworn in; their marriage is technically invalid, and Tom had known all along. Tom proposes, and they remarry in 1991. Tom dies in his sleep in 1994.
A serial killer later called the Salem Stalker strikes in 2003, killing several longtime residents of Salem, including Doug Williams, the husband of Alice's granddaughter Julie
Julie Olson Williams
Julie Williams is a fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, Days of our Lives, a long running serial about working class life in the ficitonal town of Salem. The character of Julie was introduced as a 16-year-old when the show premiered in 1965, with 22-year-old Charla Doherty being the...
, and Mickey's wife Maggie Horton
Maggie Horton
Margaret "Maggie" Horton is a fictional character from the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional town of Salem. She has been portrayed by actress Suzanne Rogers continuously since 1973, though she left the show briefly in 1984 and...
. Visiting Tom's grave, Alice finds a note left by Doug which reveals the killer to be Alice's friend Marlena Evans
Marlena Evans
Dr. Marlena Evans Black is a long-running fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, Days of our Lives, a long running serial about working life in the fictional town of Salem. She was played by actress Deidre Hall since 1976, with a few minor breaks in between from 1987 to March 1991 and...
. Marlena subsequently murders Alice by choking her with her signature donuts. Alice and Marlena's other "victims" are all later revealed to be alive and well as captives in Melaswen, a copy of Salem built on a remote tropical island by the villainous Andre DiMera (posing as Tony). Andre had faked their deaths and manipulated a drugged Marlena. On December 26, 2006, Alice appears at Christmas dinner, and later attends the annual Horton barbecue on July 4, 2007. She last appears on December 26, 2007, celebrating Christmas with the Hortons. Although Alice was not seen on screen, she was referenced many times and remained part of the show until her death in June 2010. During her final days, family members and friends came to Salem to say their final farewells.