John Fraser (actor)

John Fraser
Picturegoer postcard, 1950s
Born
John Alexander Fraser

(1931-03-18)18 March 1931
Glasgow, Scotland
Died7 November 2020(2020-11-07) (aged 89)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
Years active1952–1996
PartnerRodney Pienaar

John Alexander Fraser (18 March 1931 – 7 November 2020) was a Scottish actor and author.[1] [2][3] He is best known for his performances in the films The Dam Busters (1955), The Good Companions (1957), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), El Cid (1961), Repulsion (1965) and Isadora (1968).

Fraser received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor for his performance as Lord Alfred Douglas in The Trials of Oscar Wilde.[4]

Career

One of his earliest roles was as Inigo Jollifant in the second film version of J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1957).[5] Later, Fraser had leading roles in films such as El Cid, Tunes of Glory, The Trials of Oscar Wilde (playing Lord Alfred Douglas), Roman Polanski's Repulsion, Isadora and Schizo.[2] He made appearances on television series including Danger Man (1964), Casting the Runes (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (1969), Columbo (1972), Doctor Who (1981), and The Bill (1995).[6][7]

He released several singles in the late 1950s.[8]

In 2004, he published his autobiography, Close Up, in which he wrote frankly about his gay life and friendships.[9] In the book, Fraser wrote that actor Laurence Harvey was gay and that his long-term lover was his manager James Woolf.[10] Of Dirk Bogarde, Fraser wrote, "Dirk's life with [Anthony] Forwood had been so respectable, their love for each other so profound and so enduring, it would have been a glorious day for the pursuit of understanding and the promotion of tolerance if he had screwed up the courage ... to make one dignified allusion to his true nature. Self-love is no substitute for self-respect."[10]

Personal life and death

Fraser was gay. He later said that he had refused to "live a lie", and believed that his sexuality had affected his career in an era when male homosexuality remained criminalised in Britain.[11]

Fraser's long-term partner was Rodney Pienaar, an artist whom he met while working in South Africa in the 1970s.[1] The couple later settled in Tuscany, but returned to live in London in 2010.[1]

Fraser died from oesophageal cancer on 6 November 2020 at the age of 89, [3][12][13][14][15][11] and was survived by his partner of 42 years.[11]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1961 British Academy Film Awards Best British Actor The Trials of Oscar Wilde Nominated[4]

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleAwards / Notes
1953The Good BeginningJohnny Lipson
1953Valley of SongCliff Lloyd
1953The Desert RatsArtillery Man
1953TitanicSteward
1954The Face That Launched a Thousand ShipsDrago
1955Touch and GoRichard Kenyon
1955The Dam BustersFlight Lieutenant John Hopgood DFC
1957The Good CompanionsInigo Jollifant
1958The Wind Cannot ReadPeter Munroe
1960The Trials of Oscar WildeLord Alfred DouglasBAFTA nomination[16]
1960Tunes of GloryCorporal Piper Ian Fraser
1961El CidPrince Alfonso
1961Fury at Smugglers' BayChristopher Trevenyan
1962Waltz of the ToreadorsLt. Finch
1963TamahineRichard Poole
1965A Study in TerrorLord Carfax
1965RepulsionColin
1965Operation CrossbowFlight Lieutenant Kenny
1966Doctor in CloverMiles Grimsdyke.[17]
1968IsadoraRoger
1975The DollPeter Matty3 episodes
1976SchizoLeonard Hawthorne
1978Wilde AllianceColonel StoneEpisode: The Private Army of Colonel Stone
1980 Lady Killers John Church Episode: Not for the Nervous
1981 Lady Killers Hawley Harvey Crippen Episode: Miss Elmore
1981Doctor Who: LogopolisThe Monitor
1982Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor HouseUncle Gideon6 episodes
1996Truth or DareGordon Hillan

Selected recordings

  • 1957 - Bye Bye Love / Why Don't They Understand
  • 1958 - Presenting John Fraser (EP) with Tony Osborne, the Beryl Stott Group, the Kim Drake Orchestra
  • 1958 - Trolley Stop / Bye Bye Love with the Beryl Stott Group
  • 1959 - Bye Bye Baby Goodbye
  • 1960 - Jaula Dorada / Adios Adios Muchacha / Adios Amor / Por Que No Comprenden

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Baxter, Brian (11 November 2020). "John Fraser obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "John Fraser". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 Percival, Ash (10 November 2020). "John Fraser, The Dam Busters Star, Dies Aged 89". HuffPost.
  4. 1 2 "British Actor in 1961". BAFTA. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Good Companions (1957)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "John Fraser". aveleyman.com.
  7. ↑ TV.com. "John Fraser". TV.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "John Fraser - Trolley Stop" – via 45cat.com.
  9. ↑ Fraser, John (2004). Close Up : An Actor Telling Tales The Autobiography of John Fraser (1st, Sarah Zaluckyj ed.). London UK: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-84002-457-9.
  10. 1 2 The Guardian "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde", 2 October 2004
  11. 1 2 3 Hayward, Anthony (23 November 2020). "John Fraser: 'Dam Busters' star who shunned Hollywood". The Independent. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "John Fraser". aveleyman.com.
  13. ↑ "It's not just Michael Powell: British films of the 30s, 40s and 50s". britishpictures.com.
  14. ↑ "John Fraser, prolific film actor of 1950s and 1960s once dubbed most handsome man in Britain – obituary". The Telegraph. 9 November 2020. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ "In pictures: Scottish screen legend John Fraser dead at 89 after battle with cancer". The Herald. Glasgow. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
  17. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (11 August 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1965 to 1967". Filmink. Retrieved 11 August 2025.

Bibliography of works

  • Fraser, John (2007). The Wild Beast May Break Them. Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906221-26-3.
  • Fraser, John (2004). Close Up. Oberon. ISBN 1-84002-504-2.
  • Fraser, J. (1986). In Place of Reason. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-40718-0.
  • Fraser, J. (1978). The Bard in the Bush. Granada. ISBN 0-246-11014-7.
  • Fraser, J. (1969). Clap Hands If You Believe in Fairies. Collins. ISBN 0-00-221116-5.


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