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Alaina Reed-Hall

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Actress

The Resume

    (November 10, 1946-December 17, 2009)
    Born in Springfield, Ohio
    Birth name was Bernice Ruth Reed
    Portrayed Olivia Robinson on Sesame Street (1976-1988)
    Performed in the original off-Broadway production of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road' (1974)
    Later appeared in off-Broadway productions of 'Chicago,' 'Hair!' and 'Eubie'
    Best known for portraying Rose Holloway on NBC's 227 (1985 - 1990)
    Acted in '(Sesame Street Presents) Follow That Bird,' 'Me and the Kid,' 'Death Becomes Her,' 'Cruel Intentions,' 'The Cherokee Kid,' and 'I'm Through with White Girls'

Why she might be annoying:

    She did a one-woman show.
    She had a (promising) pilot for a cooking show which was never picked up.
    She was nicknamed 'The Commercial Queen' because she spent the latter half of her career singing in promotional spots.
    She was married three times (although the circumstances of her second marriage were less dysfunctional than they were heartbreaking).
    She was cast in '227' after Ruth Brown - who originated the part in the stage version and was Marla Gibbs' first choice - reportedly froze and 'lost her nerve' during the cold reading audition.
    She chose to leave 'Sesame Street' for '227' because she disliked having to regularly commute from Los Angeles to NYC for filming.
    Depending on her actual motivation, this may have been a miscalculation, as this was around the same time that 227's overall quality experienced a sharp downturn (it was cancelled two years later).
    In fact, it looked like her 'Rose' character was being quietly phased out in the last two seasons, first to focus more on the 'Sandra' character and later on a host of (unnecessary) new characters added to the show.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She started out as the lead singer of a local-campus singing group, Tiny and the Velours.
    She reportedly experienced spousal abuse during her first marriage.
    She supported herself by working at Bloomingdale's when she first moved to New York.
    She remained close personal friends with '227' co-stars Marla Gibbs and Jackee Harry.
    She was underrated as a vocalist (for instance, singing a show-stopping rendition of 'Home to Myself' on an episode of Ryan's Hope.
    She described her time on Sesame Street as 'the best job I ever had' and 'a big responsibility.'
    She said she realized it when she heard kids yelling 'Olivia' during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ('It dawned on me... I was in their house every day!')
    She met husband Kevin Peter Hall when he guest starred on '227' (their characters even married in last season episode, using the same minister who married them).
    Their marriage was tragically cut short after Peter contracted AIDS after receiving a blood transfusion (he died from complications related to Pneumonia).
    She was in talks with Sesame Workshop to make a return to the show in the Olivia role, but she died before it could come to fruition (a script was even drafted called 'Welcome Back, Olivia!')

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying