Tim Reid

1998 Honoree

Depending on the day of the week, you might find Tim Reid in Petersburg or Charlottesville, Virginia. You might even find him in Hollywood. Such is life for the director, producer, and star of the hit television show "Sister Sister".

The Emmy-nominated actor has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for the last three decades and won America's heart in the 1970s with his portrayal of Venus Flytrap on "WKRP in Cincinnati". Other television series and movies, including "Simon and Simon" and Stephen King's "IT", followed.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 19, 1943, Mr. Reid is no stranger to hard work. His family -- including his father, who left school after sixth grade, and his ninth-grade educated mother -- stressed self-reliance. Mr. Reid has remembered that philosophy throughout his life and puts it to good use through his continuous support of his native city and state.

Each year he sponsors the Tim Reid Celebrity Weekend at his alma mater, Norfolk State University, where he earned a B.S. degree in business administration in 1968. Since its inception, this event has raised thousands of dollars for the university.

Mr. Reid and his wife, Daphne Maxwell Reid of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" fame, furthered their support of the Commonwealth by establishing Virginia's first full-service film studio, New Millennium Studios in Petersburg. The ground breaking for this 59-acre, state-of-the-art facility took place in February 1997. The Reids, eight-year residents of Charlottesville, Virginia, saw this as an opportunity to expand Virginia's budding film industry and to give back to a community that has given so much to them.

Since he co-founded United Image Entertainment in 1990, a joint venture between Black Entertainment Television and Tim Reid Productions, Inc., Reid has produced such works as "Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored", what many critics called "one of the ten best films for 1996." The company has also produced the Cable Ace-nominated telefilm Race to Freedom and the theatrical feature Out of Sync.

To America's future directors, actors, and producers, Mr. Reid offers sound advice, "Never let anyone stop you from being a dreamer. Success is dreams realized."