Ian Fraser (23 August 1933 – 31 October 2014) was an English composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger and music director. In a career that spanned over 50 years, he received eleven Emmy Awards out of 32 total nominations, making him the most-honored musician in television history. His first 23 Emmy nominations, received between 1977 and 1999, were consecutive, which is the longest run of individual nominations in the history of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. His professional associations were with such artists as actress-singer Julie Andrews, singer-songwriter

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

and composer-lyricist

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

. In addition to his many Emmy Awards and nominations, he received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and Golden Globe Award nominations as conductor and supervisor of Bricusse's score for the 1970 musical film '' Scrooge''.

Early life and career

Fraser was born in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on 23 August 1933. He attended Eastbourne College between 1945 and 1951. He served for five years in the British Armed Forces and performed as a solo concert pianist, harpist and percussionist with the

Royal Artillery Band The Royal Artillery Band was the first official, and permanent British military band (and former symphony orchestra) originating in 1557, but granted official status in 1762. Consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments (and until 2 ...

. Fraser met Anthony Newley while working at Decca Records in the 1950s and was hired as arranger and musical director of Newley and Leslie Bricusse's new stage musical, ''

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' is a 1961 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. According to Oscar Levant, the play's title was derived from graffiti. Plot The show, set against a circus backdr ...

''. The show was a hit upon its opening on West End in 1961, and when it transferred to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

the following year, Fraser went with it.

Subsequent collaborations with Bricusse, Newley and Julie Andrews

After ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' ended its Broadway run in 1964, Fraser decided to continue residing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, though he would frequently return to England for work. Living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he again worked with Bricusse on the musical '' Pickwick'', which, like ''Stop the World'', had transferred to Broadway from West End. After ''Pickwick'' closed in November 1965, Fraser relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He re-teamed with both Bricusse and Newley on the 1967 musical film ''

Doctor Dolittle Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting starting with the 1920 '' The Story of Doctor Dolittle''. He is a physician who shuns human patients in favour of animals, with whom he can speak in th ...

'', the aforementioned ''Scrooge'', and Hallmark Hall of Fame's 1976 TV musical ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. He also collaborated with Bricusse on the 1986 TV movie '' Babes in Toyland''. His professional relationship with Julie Andrews began in 1972 when he was hired as vocal arranger for ''

The Julie Andrews Hour ''The Julie Andrews Hour'' was a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC network in the United States. Known as the Julie Andrews Show in the UK and air ...

''. His many collaborations with Andrews since then have included five television specials, two Christmas albums (1973's ''Christmas with Julie Andrews'' and 1990's ''The Sounds of Christmas From Around the World''), the 45th Tony Awards in 1991, two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-nominated Broadway albums (1995's ''Broadway: The Music of Richard Rodgers'' and 1997's ''Broadway: Here I'll Stay - The Words of Alan Jay Lerner''), and Broadway's ''

Victor/Victoria ''Victor/Victoria'' is a 1982 musical comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, and John Rhys-Davies. The film was produced by Tony Adams and sco ...

'', which also re-teamed Fraser with Bricusse.

Other notable works

Fraser was the musical director for Bing Crosby's last Christmas special, ''Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas'' (1977), making him the last person to conduct the holiday classic " White Christmas" for Crosby. He also co-wrote the song " Peace on Earth" as a counterpoint to " The Little Drummer Boy" for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

to sing during a famed duet with Crosby. His other career highlights include having served as musical director for the 36th, 45th and

54th Primetime Emmy Awards The 54th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 22, 2002. Nominations were announced July 22, 2002. The ceremony was hosted by Conan O'Brien and was broadcast on NBC. Two networks, FX and VH1, received their first major nominations ...

as well as the

56th Academy Awards The 56th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1983 and took place on April 9, 1984, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p. ...

, six entries in the AFI 100 Years... series of specials and numerous ''

Christmas in Washington ''Christmas in Washington'' was an annual Christmas television special that originated on NBC and later aired on the TNT network. It ended in 2015 after a 33-year run. Background One of two annual holiday specials produced by George Stevens J ...

'' TV specials between 1984 and 2012. Fourteen of his Emmy nominations were for the latter programs, with his having won for the 1984 and 1988 specials.

Death

Fraser died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at his home in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, on October 31, 2014. He was 81.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Ian 1933 births 2014 deaths Deaths from cancer in California English composers English emigrants to the United States Primetime Emmy Award winners