Alaina Reed Hall

Reed was born in Springfield, Ohio. 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.

During this time, Reed was the lead singer of Tiny and the Velours, a vocal group that performed regularly at Kent's popular student nightspot, The Fifth Quarter.

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),[1] Chicago, and Eubie!.[2]

In 1976, she won the role of Olivia on the children's series Sesame Street. Her character was a photographer and the younger sister of Gordon. In 1985, she starred in the Sesame Street movie Follow That Bird, reprising her role as Olivia. That same year, Hall co-starred on the sitcom 227, frequently traveling between New York City (where Sesame Street is taped) and Los Angeles (where 227 was taped). Due to this schedule, she left Sesame Street in 1988.

After 227 ended in 1990, Hall appeared in guest roles on various TV shows, including Herman's Head and Blossom. She also provided the voice for the animated characters on Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? and Sonic the Hedgehog. In 1995, Hall co-starred on the short-lived WB sitcom Cleghorne!, starring Ellen Cleghorne. The following year, she appeared in the television film The Cherokee Kid. She has since had recurring roles on Ally McBeal, Any Day Now, and ER.

In addition to stage and television work, Hall has also appeared in roles in feature films including Death Becomes Her (1992), Cruel Intentions (1999), and the 2007 independent feature I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks).

She was married three times and had two children. Her first marriage was to Richard Cook with whom she had two children. The marriage ended in divorce. In December 1988, Reed married actor Kevin Peter Hall after meeting him when he guest starred on 227.[3] Hall died in April 1991 of complications from AIDS-related pneumonia. Hall had contracted HIV after receiving a contaminated blood transfusion during surgery for injuries he sustained in a car accident a year prior.[4][5] In 2008, Hall married Tamim Amini to whom she remained married until her death.[6]

On December 17, 2009, Hall died of breast cancer in Santa Monica, California at age 63.[6]

• Alaina Reed Hall at the Internet Broadway Database
• Reed at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Alaina Reed Hall at IMDb