Wikipedia

Ronald Fraser (actor)

This article is about the actor, 1930-1997. For other uses, see Ronald Fraser.

Ronald Fraser (11 April 1930 – 13 March 1997) was a British character actor, who appeared in numerous British plays, films and television shows from the 1950s to the 1990s.[1] Fraser was a familiar figure in West End clubs during the Sixties, having had a long-standing reputation as a heavy drinker.

Ronald Fraser
Fraser in Crooks in Cloisters 1964
Born
Ronald Gordon Fraser

(1930-04-11)11 April 1930
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England
Died13 March 1997(1997-03-13) (aged 66)
Hampstead, London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active1957–1997
Spouse
Elizabeth Howe
​
​
(m. 1956; div. 1964)​
Children2

His credits include The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961), Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Avengers (1965), The Killing of Sister George (1968), The Misfit (1970–1971), Pygmalion (1973), Swallows and Amazons (1974), Come Play With Me (1977), The Wild Geese (1978), Spooner's Patch (1979), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Tangiers (1982), Absolute Beginners (1986), Minder (1985–1989), Scandal (1989), Let Him Have It (1991), Taggart (1992), and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993).[1]

Background

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Ronald Fraser was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire,[2] the son of an interior decorator and builder from Scotland.[2] He attended Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School.[3] He was further educated in Scotland and did national service as a lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders.[2] Whilst serving in Benghazi, North Africa, he appeared in the Terence Rattigan comic play French Without Tears.[2]

He trained as an actor at RADA, graduating in 1953.[4] He appeared at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre, and joined the Old Vic repertory company in 1954, making his first London appearance in The Good Sailor, a stage adaptation of Herman Melville's novel, Billy Budd.[2]

In the West End, he appeared in The Long and the Short and the Tall (1959),[5] The Ginger Man, The Singular Man, Androcles and the Lion (1961),[5] The Showing Up of Blanco Posnet (1961),[5] Purple Dust by Seán O'Casey, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Joseph Papp's production of The Pirates of Penzance and High Society. He also played Falstaff in a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park. His only Broadway show was the flop La Grosse Valise by Robert Dhéry, Gérard Calvi and Harold Rome.[2][5]

He appeared in numerous television roles from 1954, and in nearly 50 films from 1957, mostly in comedies.[2] He was notable as Basil "Badger" Allenby-Johnson in the 1970s television series The Misfit (1970–1971).[1] In 1996 Fraser voiced the chief judge in The Willows in Winter.[1]

Selected filmography

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Film credits

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[3][2]

Television credits

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[3][2][1]

Personal life

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Fraser was a resident of Hampstead, London. He was a heavy drinker and a well-known figure in the local hostelries.[3] He was married from 1956 to 1964 to Elizabeth Howe, and the couple had two daughters.[2]

He died of a haemorrhage, aged 66, in London on 13 March 1997.[6][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ronald Fraser". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hayward, Anthony (15 March 1997). "Obituary: Ronald Fraser". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School - Famous Old Boys". ashtongrammar.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Rada Student & graduate profiles - Ronald Fraser". rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ronald Fraser Past productions". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  6. ^ GRO Register of Deaths: Mar 1997 D44A 2501D 255 Camden, DoB = 11 April 1930 aged 66
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