Ronald Fraser
Encyclopedia
Ronald Fraser was an English
character actor
, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.
, Lancashire
, England
, the son of an interior decorator. He was educated in Scotland
and did National Service
as a Lieutenant
in the Seaforth Highlanders
. He trained as an actor at RADA
and appeared at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre before appearing in repertory
theatre in London
and at the Old Vic
from 1954.
, London. He was a heavy drinker and a well known figure in the local hostelries. He died of a haemorrhage, aged 66 at London on 13 March 1997. The pallbearers at his funeral were Sean Connery
, Peter O'Toole
, Simon Ward
(who had played his son in The Misfit) and Chris Evans. Nicholas Whittaker, author of Platform Souls and Blue Period, worked in The Belsize Tavern in 1979 and 1980 and recalls Fraser's regular visits to the pub, usually in the company of actor James Villiers
. After closing time, the pair would often be found in the Beer & Curry restaurant opposite
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.
Background
Ronald Fraser was born in Ashton-under-LyneAshton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of an interior decorator. He was educated in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and did National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Seaforth Highlanders
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
. He trained as an actor at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
and appeared at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre before appearing in repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
theatre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
from 1954.
Film credits
- There Was a Crooked ManThere Was a Crooked Man (film)There Was a Crooked Man is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Stuart Burge. It starred Norman Wisdom, Alfred Marks, Andrew Cruickshank, Reginald Beckwith, and Susannah York. This is the only Norman Wisdom film that has not had a television viewing or released on video/DVD...
(1960) - The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961)
- The HellionsThe Hellions (film)The Hellions is a 1961 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin starring Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, Ronald Fraser and Colin Blakely that was set and filmed in South Africa. The film was about a lone law enforcement officer battling criminals in South Africa. The premise of...
(1961) - Don't Bother to KnockDon't Bother to Knock (1961 film)Don't Bother to Knock is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Richard Todd, Nicole Maurey, Elke Sommer and John Le Mesurier.-Synopsis:...
(1961) - Private PotterPrivate PotterPrivate Potter is a 1962 British drama film directed by Caspar Wrede and starring Tom Courtenay, Mogens Wieth, Ronald Fraser, and James Maxwell.-Plot:...
(1962) - The Pot CarriersThe Pot CarriersThe Pot Carriers is a 1962 British comedy drama film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Ronald Fraser, Paul Massie, Carole Lesley and Dennis Price...
(1962) - The Punch and Judy ManThe Punch and Judy ManThe Punch and Judy Man is a British comedy film from 1963 directed by Jeremy Summers. It was Tony Hancock's second film in a starring role, following The Rebel .-Plot:...
(1963) - Girl in the HeadlinesGirl in the HeadlinesGirl in the Headlines is a 1963 British detective film directed by Michael Truman and starring Ian Hendry, Ronald Fraser, Jeremy Brett and Jane Asher.-Cast:* Ian Hendry - Inspector Birkett* Ronald Fraser - Sergeant Saunders* Margaret Johnston - Mrs Gray...
(1963) - Victim FiveVictim FiveVictim Five is a 1964 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Lex Barker, Ronald Fraser, Ann Smyrner and Walter Rilla. A private detective joins forces with the South African police, hunting down a murder in Cape Town.-Cast:...
(1964) - Crooks in CloistersCrooks in CloistersCrooks in Cloisters is a British-made comedy released in 1964 and starring Ronald Fraser as 'Little Walter' , the boss of a gang of forgers, including Bernard Cribbins as 'Squirts' , Melvyn Hayes as 'Willy' , Grégoire Aslan as 'Lorenzo' , and Davy Kaye as 'Specs' .-Synopsis:After pulling off...
(1964) - The Beauty JungleThe Beauty Jungle-Plot:While on a seaside holiday a young typist is persuaded by a local journalist to enter a beauty contest. When she wins, she decides to give up her previous career and life and take up entering the contests full-time.-Cast:*Ian Hendry as Don Mackenzie...
(1964) - The Counterfeit ConstableThe Counterfeit ConstableThe Counterfeit Constable is a 1964 French comedy film directed by Robert Dhéry andPierre Tchernia and starring Ronald Fraser, Diana Dors and Arthur Mullard. Its French title is Allez France!. A French rugby supporter in England for a match at Twickenham is knocked out and loses two teeth...
(1964) - Flight of the PhoenixThe Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film)The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1965 American film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor...
(1965) - The WhisperersThe WhisperersThe Whisperers is a 1967 British drama film directed by Bryan Forbes. It is based on the 1961 novel by Robert Nicolson.- Plot :The Whisperers tells the story of an impoverished old woman living alone in a seedy apartment who enjoys a rich fantasy life as an heiress...
(1967) - FathomFathom (film)Fathom is a 1967 British spy comedy film directed by Leslie H. Martinson, starring Anthony Franciosa and Raquel Welch. Fathom Harvill is a dental assistant and an American skydiver touring Europe with a U.S. parachute team...
(1967) - SebastianSebastian (1968 film)Sebastian is a 1968 British film directed by David Greene, produced by Michael Powell, Herbert Brodkin and Gerry Fisher, and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
(1968) - The Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers...
(1968) - Sinful DaveySinful Davey-Production:The film, directed by John Huston, is based on the autobiography of David Haggart entitled The Life Of David Haggart. The film, about a Scottish rogue, was filmed in Ireland and consequently much of the cast have Irish brogues instead of the more accurate Scottish accent.-Cast:*John...
(1969) - The Bed-Sitting RoomThe Bed-Sitting Room (film)The Bed-Sitting Room is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and based on the play of the same name. It was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1969) - Too Late the HeroToo Late the HeroToo Late the Hero is a 1970 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ken Takakura, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Lance Percival, Ronald Fraser, Harry Andrews and Percy Herbert.-Plot:...
(1970) - The Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer is a British 1970 cult satire film written by and starring Peter Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman, and directed by Kevin Billington .-Synopsis:...
(1970) - The Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly SinsThe Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins is a 1971 British comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of The Magnificent Seven and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each representing a sin and written by an array of British comedy-writing...
(Wrath segment) (1971) - Swallows and AmazonsSwallows and AmazonsSwallows and Amazons is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome; it was first published in 1930, with the action taking place in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District...
(1974) - Paper TigerPaper Tiger (film)Paper Tiger is a 1975 British film starring David Niven and child actor Ando.-Plot summary:Mr Bradbury , an apparently posh and well-educated, ex-military Englishman is hired as tutor to the son of a Japanese ambassador, Koichi Kagoyama...
(1975) - HardcoreHardcore (1977 film)Hardcore is a 1977 British comedy film directed by James Kenelm Clarke and starring Fiona Richmond, Anthony Steel, Graham Stark, Graham Crowden and Harry H. Corbett...
(1977) - Come Play With Me (1977)
- The Wild GeeseThe Wild GeeseThe Wild Geese is a British 1978 film about a group of mercenaries in Africa. It stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger...
(1978) - Trail of the Pink PantherTrail of the Pink PantherTrail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
(1982) - TangiersTangiers (1982 film)Tangiers is a 1982 American-Morrocan thriller film directed by Michael E. Briant and starring Ronny Cox, Billie Whitelaw and Glynis Barber.-Cast:* Ronny Cox ... Bob Steele* Billie Whitelaw ... Louise* Glynis Barber ... Beth...
(1982) - Let Him Have ItLet Him Have ItLet Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater...
(1991)
Television credits
- The Ordeal of Dr. ShannonThe Ordeal of Dr. ShannonThe Ordeal of Dr. Shannon is a 1962 American television adaption from A. J. Cronin's novel, Shannon's Way, which was originally published in 1948. The dramatization was written by Robert Stewart, directed by Joan Kemp-Welch, and produced by Lewis Freedman...
- The MisfitThe Misfit (TV series)The Misfit was an ATV sitcom series written by Roy Clarke and was broadcast from 1970 to 1971 on ITV.-Premise:Basil Allenby-Johnson returned from a colonial life in Malaya to an England he no longer recognised...
- PygmalionPygmalion (play)Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
- The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
- The Famous Five
- Pennies From Heaven
- Danger ManDanger ManDanger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
- Spooner's Patch
- MelissaMelissaMelissa is a given name for a female child. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα , "honey bee" and from μέλι , "honey". Compare Hittite melit, "honey"....
- MinderMinder (TV series)Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
- The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Horrocks.
- Life Without George
- Sword of HonourSword of HonourThe Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh is his look at the Second World War. It consists of three novels, Men at Arms , Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender , which loosely parallel his wartime experiences...
- LovejoyLovejoyLovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
- Brideshead RevisitedBrideshead Revisited (TV serial)Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
- Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(The Happiness PatrolThe Happiness PatrolThe Happiness Patrol is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts from 2 November to 16 November 1988.-Plot:...
) - The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
. - "TFI FridayTFI FridayTFI Friday is an entertainment show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000. The show produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first 5 series. The final series was hosted by a number of Guest Presenters. It was broadcast on...
"
Personal life
Fraser was a resident of HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London. He was a heavy drinker and a well known figure in the local hostelries. He died of a haemorrhage, aged 66 at London on 13 March 1997. The pallbearers at his funeral were Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
, Simon Ward
Simon Ward
Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
(who had played his son in The Misfit) and Chris Evans. Nicholas Whittaker, author of Platform Souls and Blue Period, worked in The Belsize Tavern in 1979 and 1980 and recalls Fraser's regular visits to the pub, usually in the company of actor James Villiers
James Villiers
James Michael Hyde Villiers was a British character actor and a familiar face on British television...
. After closing time, the pair would often be found in the Beer & Curry restaurant opposite