Wallace Reid Jr.: Movies & Filmography

William Wallace Reid Jr. (June 18, 1917 – February 28, 1990) was an American actor and architect who carried the legacy of one of Hollywood's most prominent early film families into his own brief but notable career. Born in Los Angeles, California, Reid was the son of celebrated silent film star Wallace Reid Sr. and the accomplished actress, producer, and screenwriter Dorothy Davenport, both towering figures in the early decades of American cinema. His paternal grandfather was Hal Reid, a well-known playwright and actor, while his maternal lineage boasted an equally impressive theatrical heritage: his grandmother was actress Alice Davenport, his maternal grandfather was actor Harry Davenport, and his maternal great-grandparents were the legendary stage performers Edward Loomis Davenport and Fanny Vining Davenport. Growing up surrounded by such artistic pedigree, it was perhaps inevitable that Reid would eventually find his way into the entertainment industry, though his true passions initially lay elsewhere.

By the time he was 15 years old, Reid had developed a deep fascination with automobiles and mechanical engineering. He frequently came home from school, changed clothes, and began working on a four-cylinder racing car that he and a friend were assembling from salvaged parts of old vehicles. This daring hobby occasionally led him into trouble, and in 1936 he served a 15-day jail sentence for reckless driving, an incident that drew considerable media attention given his family's fame. Reid eventually transitioned into the film industry, where he worked for the independent producer Willis Kent and appeared in approximately 10 films during the 1930s and early 1940s. His filmography, though modest, represented a continuation of the Reid family's longstanding connection to Hollywood. He later shifted his professional focus entirely, becoming a respected architect. Tragically, Reid died at the age of 72 on February 28, 1990, when the home-built Rutan Long-EZ airplane he was piloting crashed into Santa Monica Bay near his home during heavy fog conditions. His life, marked by creative reinvention and adventurous pursuits, ended as dramatically as it had been lived, leaving behind a legacy intertwined with the golden age of American cinema.