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Alaina Reed Hall

Alaina Reed Hall built a screen career around warmth, versatility and the kind of grounded presence that works just as well on a city street as it does in a heightened sitcom. Born in Springfield on November 10, 1946, she began professionally in Philadelphia and off-Broadway theatre, developing a stage career that included Hair, Chicago and Eubie! She was also among the original cast members of the 1974 off-Broadway production of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road. In 1976, Reed Hall joined Sesame Street as Olivia, a photographer and Gordon's younger sister. The role gave her room to draw on both her acting and singing experience while becoming part of the show's everyday community. She remained with the series until 1988 and reprised Olivia in the 1985 film Follow That Bird. That same year, she began co-starring on 227. For a time, the two jobs had her traveling between New York City, where Sesame Street was taped, and Los Angeles, where 227 was produced. It is a telling snapshot of her career: she could move between children's television and a prime-time sitcom without losing the approachable, clear-eyed quality at the center of her performances. After 227 ended in 1990, Reed Hall continued working across television, film and voice acting. Her guest appearances included Herman's Head and Blossom, while recurring roles followed on Ally McBeal, Any Day Now and ER. She voiced animated characters on Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, co-starred in the sitcom Cleghorne! and appeared in the television film The Cherokee Kid. Her feature-film work included Death Becomes Her, Cruel Intentions and the independent film I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks). Across stage, family television, comedy, drama and animation, Reed Hall's career was marked by range rather than a single lane.