Background
Reid was born in Manhattan, New York, the son of artist Christine Challenger Reid and banker Blair Reid.
Reid was born in Manhattan, New York, the son of artist Christine Challenger Reid and banker Blair Reid.
In 1935, Reid debuted on the radio program he March of Time, which led to him working regularly on radio dramas during the Golden Age of radio. Early on he took "Elliott" as his stage name. His credits include among other, many Orson Welles-directed stage and radio productions, such as The Mercury Theatre on the Air and also acted on Theatre Guild on the Air, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, Suspense, and the Columbia Broadcasting System Mystery Theater.
In some early performances he was credited as "Ted Reid".
He was so famous with his John F. Kennedy impersonation that, in 1962, he was invited to perform it in front of Kennedy in person. Kennedy was happy with the performance.
One reference book said, "His mimicking of John F. Kennedy opened up a mini-career in clubs in the early 1960s." Reid"s Broadway credits include Julius Caesar (1937-1938), The Shoemaker"s Holiday (1938), Macbeth (1948), Two Blind Mice (1949), The Live Wire (1950), Two on the Aisle (1951-1952), and From A to Z (1960). He co-starred as Felix Unger in a road production of The Odd Couple with Dan Dailey as Oscar Madison during the late 1960s.
He also appeared as an art collector in the 1992 Seinfeld episode "The Letter".
Reid died from heart failure on June 21, 2013, at the age of 93. Upon his death, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Move Over, Darling The Wheeler Dealers.