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John Fraser (actor)

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John Fraser
Born (1931-03-18) 18 March 1931 (age 93)
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)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. ^ a b The Guardian "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde", 2 October 2004