Alaina reed hall funeral services

American actress and singer (1946–2009)

Alaina Reed Hall (November 10, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American actress and singer who portrayed Olivia Robinson, Gordon's younger sister, on the PBS children's television series Sesame Street, and Rose Lee Holloway on the NBC sitcom 227.

Early years

In the mid-1960s, Reed attended Kent State University where she was active in many stage productions at KSU's E. Turner Stump Theater. These included The Streets of New York; It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!; and The Tragedy of Tragedies — The Life and Death of Tom Thumb The Great.

Alaina sang in a group called Tiny and the Dunnaways, an all girl singing group in Kent. In the fall of 1966, Glenn Lucas, Bob Boettcher and Bruce Rusin with Alaina "Tiny" Reed and Marty Kralik formed "The Velours". In February 1967. They began playing continuously, at the Kove in Kent, Ohio 5 nights a week until December 1968.

Career

Reed began her professional career in Philadelphia and off-Broadway productions. She was among the original cast members in the 1974 off-Broadway production of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road. Hall appeared in productions of Hair (Chicago in 1970 and the 1977 revival),Chicago, and Eubie!.

In 1976, she won the role of Olivia

Alaina Reed Hall, a singer and actress who played Olivia Robinson on “Sesame Street” for a dozen years beginning in the mid-1970s and later played Rose Holloway on the situation comedy “227,” has died. She was 63.

Reed Hall, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, died Thursday at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, said her husband, Tamim Amini.

One of the original cast members of the 1974 off-Broadway production of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road,” Reed Hall joined “Sesame Street” in 1976 and played Olivia -- a professional photographer and sister to the character Gordon -- until 1988.

In a 2004 interview with the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun, Reed Hall described “Sesame Street” as “the best job I ever had.”

When she heard fans calling out to her as she rode in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, she said, “It dawned on me. I have a big responsibility. I was in their house every day.”

On “227,” the 1985-90 NBC sitcom, she played the apartment landlady and best friend to star Marla Gibbs’ Mary Jenkins character.

In the show’s final season, Reed Hall’s character falls in love with Warren Merriwether, played by Kevin Peter Hall, and the two characters wed. In real life, the two actors were already married.

“It was a wonderful segment because we had [guest star] Luther Vandross, who was also a friend of Alaina’s, sing; and we had the same minister who performed the actual wedding,” Gibbs told The Times on Monday.

Gibbs, who had attended the couple’s real wedding, first met Reed Hall when she auditioned for the TV series.

“She was very good in the role, and some episodes were written around her,” said Gibbs, adding that Reed Hall “was a wonderful singer. As a matter of fact, she and I did a nightclub act together at my club, Marla’s Memory Lane,” while doing the series.

“She worked on Broadway, she did stuff in New York; she was a

LOS ANGELESLOS ANGELES —  Alaina Reed-Amini, the Broadway star and TV actress best known for her long-running roles on “Sesame Street” and “227,” has died. She was 63.

Reed-Amini died Dec. 17 at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica after a two-year battle with breast cancer, her publicist Billy Laurence said Monday.

Previously known as Alaina Reed Hall, she remarried in 2008. Her stage credits include “Chicago” and “Hair.” She appeared in several movies, including “Cruel Intentions” and “Death Becomes Her,” and in guest-starring roles on numerous TV shows such as “ER,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Ally McBeal.”

Reed-Amini joined the “Sesame Street” cast in 1976 and played Olivia, a photographer and sister of the character Gordon. She remained on the show until 1988.

She starred on NBC’s “227” from 1985 to 1990, playing the landlady and best friend of the show’s main character. On the show’s final season, Reed-Amini married a character played by her real-life husband, Kevin Peter Hall, who died in 1991.

Born Bernice Reed in Springfield, Ohio, on Nov. 10, 1946, Reed-Amini is survived by her husband, Tamim Amini, and two children from a previous marriage. According to her husband, no funeral or memorial services will be held, but a celebration of her life is being planned for next year.

Originally Published: