Timothy Lee Reid is an American actor and film director best known for his roles in prime timeAmericantelevision programs, such as Venus Flytrap on WKRP in Cincinnati, Marcel "Downtown" Brown on Simon & Simon, Ray Campbell on Sister, Sister and William Barnett on That '70s Show. Reid starred in a CBS series, Frank's Place, as a professor who inherits a Louisiana restaurant. Reid is the founder and president of Legacy Media Institute, a non-profit organization "dedicated to bringing together leading professionals in the film and television industry, outstanding actors, and young men and women who wish to pursue a career in the entertainment media".
Early years
Reid was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in the Crestwood area of Chesapeake, Virginia, formerly Norfolk County, Virginia. He is the son of William Lee and Augustine Reid. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at Norfolk State College in 1968. Reid also became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. After graduation, he was hired by Dupont Corporation, where he worked for three years. Reid's entertainment career also began in 1968. He and insurance salesman Tom Dreesen met at a Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting near Chicago. They were "put together to promote an anti-drug program in the local schools" and, prompted by a comment from a child, decided to form a comedy team. The team, later billed as "Tim and Tom", was the first interracial comedy duo. Years later, Reid and Dreesen wrote a book about those years called Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White, co-written with sports writer Ron Rapoport.
Television acting career
Reid started out on the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show. Reid starred as DJ "Venus Flytrap" on the hit CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, in what is perhaps his best known TV role. Reid starred as Lieutenant Marcel Proust "Downtown" Brown, on the CBS detective series Simon & Simon. In 1988, Reid won an award from Viewers for Quality Television Awards as "Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series" in Frank's Place. In 1988, the same role earned him an Image Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series". Reid appeared in the initial movie version of Stephen King's epic horror novel It. He played the role of Mike Hanlon, librarian at the Derry, Maine Public Library and one of the seven main protagonists. Though he admitted having a great time working on the project, Reid later expressed his disappointment with the fact that his character was absent from the climactic showdown against the titular villain. He made an appearance as Sgt. Ray Bennett of the Seacouver Police Department in three first-season episodes of . He had a starring role in the series Sister Sister as Ray Campbell, for the entire six-season run. On April 13, 2009, Reid appeared opposite former co-star Tamera Mowry on the short-lived ABC Family series Roommates as Mr Daniels. Reid had a recurring role on That '70s Show as William Barnett.
Directing
Reid has directed various television programs as well the film Once Upon a Time...When We Were Coloredbased on a novel by Clifton L. Taulbert. He directed and adapted a children's TV show called Bobobobs which aired in the late 1980s. Reid is the creator of Stop the Madness, an after-school special video in the fight against drugs recorded on December 11, 1985.
New Millennium Studios
Tim and Daphne Maxwell Reid built New Millennium Studios in 1997. Located in Petersburg, Virginia the 57.4-acre site with its 14,850-square-foot sound studio was both the only Black owned film studio in the United States since the 1930s, but also one of the largest independent film studios outside of Hollywood. New Millennium Studios was used in dozens of movie and television productions, including scenes from the 2001 film "Hearts in Atlantis," of the Stephen King novel; parts of 2000's "The Contender," and elements of Steven Spielberg's 2012 film, "Lincoln," were all shot there. The Reids also produced feature films of their own. Due to "a lack of incentives in the state" to bring film production to Virginia, the Reids sold the property in March 2015 for $1.475 million to Four Square Property Management LLC, a company formed by Four Square Industrial Constructors, based in Chester, Virginia.
Personal life
In 1966, Reid married Rita Ann Sykes; they divorced on May 9, 1980. They have two children together: Timothy II and Tori Reid. On December 4, 1982, he married actress Daphne Maxwell Reid. Reid was named to the board of directors of the American Civil War Center in July 2011 at Tredegar Iron Works. On May 10, 2014, Reid received a VCU honorary doctorate for his many outstanding and distinguished contributions. He delivered a commencement speech during the ceremony. During the 1980s and 1990s Reid served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute.
