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| {{Infobox person
| | #REDIRECT [[w:John Fraser (actor)]] |
| | image = John_Fraser_(actor).jpg
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| | caption = ''[[Picturegoer]]'' postcard, 1950s
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| | birth_name = John Alexander Fraser
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| | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|3|18|df=yes}}
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| | birth_place = [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]]
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| | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|11|6|1931|3|18|df=y}}
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| | death_place =
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| | occupation = {{hlist | Actor | writer}}
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| | years_active = 1952–1996
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| }}
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| '''John Alexander Fraser''' (18 March 1931 – 6 November 2020) was a Scottish actor and author.<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f9c18ae|title=John Fraser|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]}}</ref><ref name="HuffingtonPost">{{cite news|last1=Percival|first1=Ash|title=John Fraser, The Dam Busters Star, Dies Aged 89|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/john-fraser-dead-dies-dam-busters_uk_5faaaa08c5b623bfac54002d|work=The Huffington Post|date=10 November 2020}}</ref> He is best known for his performances in the films ''[[The Dam Busters (1955 film)|The Dam Busters]]'' (1955),
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| ''[[The Good Companions (1957 film)|The Good Companions]]'' (1957), ''[[The Trials of Oscar Wilde]]'' (1960), ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' (1961), ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]'' (1965) and ''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]'' (1968).
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| ==Career==
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| One of his earliest roles was as Inigo Jollifant in [[The Good Companions (1957 film)|the second film version]] of [[J.B. Priestley]]'s ''[[The Good Companions]]'' (1957).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ab5be42|title=The Good Companions (1957)|website=BFI}}</ref> Later, Fraser had leading roles in films such as ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'', ''[[Tunes of Glory]]'', ''[[The Trials of Oscar Wilde]]'' (playing [[Lord Alfred Douglas]]), [[Roman Polanski]]'s ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]'', ''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]'' and ''[[Schizo (1976 film)|Schizo]]''.<ref name=bfi/> He made appearances on television series including ''[[Danger Man]]'' (1964), ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)|Randall and Hopkirk]]'' (1969), ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' (1972), ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (1981) and ''[[The Bill]]'' (1995).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=6063|title=John Fraser|website=www.aveleyman.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/people/john-fraser/|title=John Fraser|last=TV.com|website=TV.com}}</ref>
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| He released several singles in the late 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.45cat.com/record/7n15118|title=John Fraser - Trolley Stop|via=www.45cat.com}}</ref>
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| In 2004, he published his autobiography, ''Close Up'', in which he wrote frankly about his gay life and friendships.<ref>{{cite book|title=Close Up : An Actor Telling Tales The Autobiography of John Fraser |last=Fraser |first=John |year=2004 |publisher=Oberon Books |location=London UK |isbn=978-1-84002-457-9 |edition=1st, Sarah Zaluckyj}}</ref> In the book, Fraser wrote that actor [[Laurence Harvey]] was gay and that his long-term lover was his manager [[John and James Woolf|James Woolf]].<ref name=Guardian>''The Guardian'' [https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,,1318021,00.html "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde"], 2 October 2004</ref> Of [[Dirk Bogarde]], Fraser wrote, "Dirk's life with [Anthony] [[Anthony Forwood|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."<ref name=Guardian/>
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| ==Personal life and death==
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| Fraser died from [[oesophageal cancer]] on 6 November 2020 at the age of 89.<ref name="HuffingtonPost" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=6063|title=John Fraser|website=www.aveleyman.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishpictures.com/|title=It's not just Michael Powell: British films of the 30s, 40s and 50s|website=www.britishpictures.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=John Fraser, prolific film actor of 1950s and 1960s once dubbed most handsome man in Britain – obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/11/09/john-fraser-prolific-film-actor-1950s-1960s-dubbed-handsome/|work=The Telegraph|date=9 November 2020}} {{paywall}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=In pictures: Scottish screen legend John Fraser dead at 89 after battle with cancer|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18861484.scots-actor-john-fraser-dead-89-cancer-battle/|access-date=2021-08-03|website=HeraldScotland|language=en}}</ref>
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| ==Selected filmography==
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| {|class="wikitable"
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| |-
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| !Year!!Title!!Role!!Awards
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| |-
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| |1996||''Truth or Dare''||Gordon Hillan||
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| |-
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| |1982||''[[Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House]]''||Uncle Gideon||
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| |-
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| |1981||''[[Doctor Who]]'': ''[[Logopolis]]''||The Monitor||
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| |-
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| |1976||''[[Schizo (1976 film)|Schizo]]''||Leonard Hawthorne||
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| |-
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| |1975||''The Doll''||Peter Matty||
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| |-
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| |1968||''[[Isadora (film)|Isadora]]''||Roger||
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| |-
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| |1966||''[[Doctor in Clover]]''||Miles Grimsdyke||
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| |-
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| |1965||''[[A Study in Terror]]''||Lord Carfax||
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| |-
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| |1965||''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]''||Colin||
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| |-
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| |1965||''[[Operation Crossbow (film)|Operation Crossbow]]''||Flight Lieutenant Kenny||
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| |-
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| |1963|| ''[[Tamahine]]''||Richard Poole||
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| |-
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| |1962||''[[Waltz of the Toreadors (film)|Waltz of the Toreadors]]''||Lt. Finch||
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| |-
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| |1961||''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]''||Prince Alfonso||
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| |-
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| |1961||''[[Fury at Smugglers' Bay]]''||Christopher Trevenyan||
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| |-
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| |1960||''[[The Trials of Oscar Wilde]]''||[[Lord Alfred Douglas]]||BAFTA nomination<ref name=bafta>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1961/film/british-actor|title=BAFTA Awards|website=awards.bafta.org}}</ref>
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| |-
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| |1960||''[[Tunes of Glory]]''||Corporal Piper Ian Fraser||
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| |1958||''[[The Wind Cannot Read]]''||Peter Munroe||
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| |1957||''[[The Good Companions (1957 film)|The Good Companions]]''||Inigo Jollifant||
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| |-
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| |1955||''[[Touch and Go (1955 film)|Touch and Go]]''||Richard Kenyon||
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| |1955||''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dam Busters]]''||Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood DFC||
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| |1954||''[[The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships]]''||Drago||
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| |1953||''[[The Good Beginning]]''||Johnny Lipson||
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| |1953||''[[Valley of Song]]''||Cliff Lloyd||
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| |-
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| |1953||''[[The Desert Rats (film)|The Desert Rats]]''||Artillery Man||
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| |-
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| |1953||''[[Titanic (1953 film)|Titanic]]''||Steward||
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| |}
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| ==Selected recordings==
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| * 1957 - Bye Bye Love / Why Don't They Understand
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| * 1958 - Presenting John Fraser (EP) with Tony Osborne, the Beryl Stott Group, the Kim Drake Orchestra
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| * 1958 - Trolley Stop / Bye Bye Love with the Beryl Stott Group
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| * 1959 - Bye Bye Baby Goodbye
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| * 1960 - Jaula Dorada / Adios Adios Muchacha / Adios Amor / Por Que No Comprenden
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| ==Footnotes==
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| <references />
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| ==Bibliography of works==
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| * {{Cite book
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| |last=Fraser
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| |first=John
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| |title=Close Up
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| |isbn=1-84002-504-2
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| |publisher=Oberon
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| |year=2004
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| }}
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| * {{Cite book
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| |last=Fraser
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| |first=J.
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| |title=In Place of Reason
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| |isbn=0-333-40718-0
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| |year=1986
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| |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]
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| }}
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| * {{Cite book
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| |last=Fraser
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| |first=J.
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| |title=The Bard in the Bush
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| |year=1978
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| |publisher=[[Panther (publisher)|Granada]]
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| |isbn=0-246-11014-7
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| }}
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| * {{Cite book
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| |last=Fraser
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| |first=J.
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| |title=Clap Hands If You Believe in Fairies
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| |isbn=0-00-221116-5
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| |year=1969
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| |publisher=[[HarperCollins|Collins]]
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| }}
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| ==External links==
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| * {{IMDb name|292159}}
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| * {{discogs artist|John Fraser (4)}}
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| * [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/11/john-fraser-obituary The Guardian obituary]
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| {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, John}}
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| [[Category:1931 births]]
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| [[Category:2020 deaths]]
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| [[Category:20th-century Scottish male actors]]
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| [[Category:21st-century Scottish male actors]]
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| [[Category:Welsh gay actors]]
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| [[Category:British gay writers]]
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| [[Category:LGBT writers from Scotland]]
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| [[Category:Male actors from Glasgow]]
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| [[Category:Scottish expatriates in Italy]]
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| [[Category:Scottish male film actors]]
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| [[Category:Scottish male stage actors]]
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| [[Category:Scottish male television actors]]
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| [[Category:Scottish writers]]
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| [[Category:20th-century LGBT people]]
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| [[Category:21st-century LGBT people]]
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