John Fraser (actor)
| John Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 March 1931 Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Actor, writer |
John Fraser (born 18 March 1931 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a BAFTA-nominated Scottish-born actor and writer.
Career
One of his earliest roles was as Inigo Jollifant in the second film version of J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1957). He went on to have leading roles in films such as El Cid, The Trials of Oscar Wilde (playing Lord Alfred Douglas), Roman Polanski's Repulsion, Isadora and Schizo. He made appearances on television series including Danger Man (1964), Randall and Hopkirk (1969), Columbo (1972), Doctor Who (1981) and The Bill (1995).
In 2004, he published his autobiography, Close Up, in which he wrote frankly about his gay life and friendships. In the book, Fraser wrote that actor Laurence Harvey was gay and that his long-term lover was his manager James Woolf.[1] 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."[1]
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Truth or Dare | Gordon Hillan |
| 1982 | Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House | Uncle Gideon |
| 1981 | Doctor Who: Logopolis | The Monitor |
| 1976 | Schizo | Leonard Hawthorne |
| 1975 | The Doll | Peter Matty |
| 1968 | Isadora | Roger |
| 1966 | Doctor in Clover | Miles Grimsdyke |
| 1965 | A Study in Terror | Lord Carfax |
| 1965 | Repulsion | Colin |
| 1965 | Operation Crossbow | Flight Lieutenant Kenny |
| 1963 | Tamahine | Richard Poole |
| 1962 | Waltz of the Toreadors | Lt Finch |
| 1961 | El Cid | Prince Alfonso |
| 1961 | Fury at Smugglers' Bay | Christopher Trevenyan |
| 1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Lord Alfred Douglas |
| 1960 | Tunes of Glory | Corporal Piper Ian Fraser |
| 1958 | The Wind Cannot Read | Peter Munroe |
| 1957 | The Good Companions | Inigo Jollifant |
| 1955 | Touch and Go | Richard Kenyon |
| 1955 | The Dam Busters | Flight Sergeant John Hopgood DFC |
| 1954 | The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships | Drago |
| 1953 | The Good Beginning | Johnny Lipson |
| 1953 | Valley of Song | Cliff Lloyd |
| 1953 | The Desert Rats | Artillery Man |
| 1953 | Titanic | Steward |
Bibliography of works
- 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
Footnotes
- 1 2 The Guardian "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde", 2 October 2004