William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' When We Are Married''.

Early life

Fraser was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and educated at Strathallan School. He began his career as a clerk in a bank before beginning to act. In the early days when acting work was scarce, Fraser was often penniless, frequently sleeping rough on the Embankment in London. Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he ran the Connaught Theatre in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

; when called up he served in a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Special Liaison Unit A Special Liaison Unit (SLU) was a unit within the British military during the Second World War tasked with disseminating intelligence from the Ultra program in World War II to military commanders in the field. Origin The breakthroughs at Bletchle ...

, reaching the rank of flight lieutenant, where he met and became friends with

Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...

. Just after the war a chance meeting in a London street led to Fraser's giving Sykes his first work as a writer for radio comedy and the two friends worked together many times over the following years. Fraser is also credited with giving

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

his first acting job.

Career

Fraser often played irascible or belligerent characters on screen and had many roles as a policeman, soldier or judge. His first television appearance was on '' The Tony Hancock Show'' in 1956, after which he briefly became a regular actor on ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

''. He then joined ''

The Army Game ''The Army Game'' is a British television sitcom that aired on ITV from 19 June 1957 to 20 June 1961. It was the first ITV sitcom and was made by Granada, and created by Sid Colin. It follows the exploits of Hut 29, a dysfunctional group of ...

'' as Sgt Claude Snudge, followed by a sequel called '' Bootsie and Snudge''. He also played Snudge in the 1964 series ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

''. Later comedic roles included parts in the TV dramatisation of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾'' as well as ''

Ripping Yarns ''Ripping Yarns'' is a British television adventure comedy anthology series. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame and transmitted on BBC 2. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two se ...

'', '' The Train Now Standing'', ''

The Corn is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...

'' and '' Father, Dear Father''. He also appeared in the comedy films '' The Amorous Milkman'' and '' Doctor at Large''; the big-screen version of ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...

''; and the

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

trilogy '' Up Pompeii!'', '' Up the Front'' and '' Up the Chastity Belt''. He had a recurring role on ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'' as Judge Roger Bullingham, an unsympathetic, usually apoplectic judge privately nicknamed "the Mad Bull" by defence

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

Horace Rumpole. Fraser's straight parts included Boanerges in '' The Apple Cart'' and Eddie Waters in ''

Comedians A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...

'', both for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. He made appearances on '' The Professionals'' and '' The Avengers'' (as yet another eccentric, a blustery colonel). He also featured in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story '' Meglos'' in 1980, and appeared in the spin-off show '' K-9 and Company'' the following year. In the early 1980s, he was in two series of a straight drama on BBC1, ''Flesh and Blood''; his performance in its first episode of an industrialist sitting at the bedside of his dying wife was regarded by many as a ''tour de force''. He appeared as Mr Micawber in the TV dramatisation of ''David Copperfield'' in 1966. He played Serjeant Buzzfuzz in the TV musical '' Pickwick'' for the

in 1969; and his last role was as Mr Casby in the film version of ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in Serial (literature), serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea pris ...

'' (1988). He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1981 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Royalty Theatre in London. Fraser also appeared in an early advertisement for the

Austin Metro The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced from 1980 to 1998, first by British Leyland (BL) and later by the Rover Group. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro (styled AUSTIN miniMETRO). The Mini Metro was inte ...

. In 1985 he was cast as Bert Baxter in '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole''. During those periods when Fraser was not acting, he ran a small sweetshop and tobacconists at Ilford Lane in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Bill Fraser played husband to Googie Withers in the Chichester Theatre production of Maugham's ''The Circle''. It transferred to the West End and played at the Haymarket, and then toured Britain. Also in the cast were Susan Hampshire and

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

, who was married to Googie Withers.

Awards

In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play '' When We Are Married''.

Death

He died from

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, aged 79, leaving a widow, the actress Pamela Cundell, whom he had married in 1981.

Selected filmography

* '' Murder in the Family'' (1938) - Police Sergeant Feathers (uncredited) * '' East of Piccadilly'' (1941) - Maxie * '' The Common Touch'' (1941) - Harris * '' Forbidden'' (1949) - Railway Porter (uncredited) * '' Helter Skelter'' (1949) - Oliver Cromwell * '' Meet Me Tonight'' (1952) - Bert Bentley: Red Peppers * '' Lady in the Fog'' (1952) - Sales Manager * ''

Time Bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

'' (1953) - Constable J. Reed * '' The Captain's Paradise'' (1953) - Absalom (taxi driver) * '' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) - Band Leader * '' Duel in the Jungle'' (1954) - Smith - Hotel Clerk * '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) - J. Montague Brown * '' Orders Are Orders'' (1954) - Private Slee * '' Alias John Preston'' (1955) - Joe Newton * '' Jumping for Joy'' (1956) - Drunk in Pool Hall (uncredited) * '' Charley Moon'' (1956) - Marber * '' Doctor at Large'' (1957) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Second Fiddle'' (1957) - Nixon * '' Just My Luck'' (1957) - Powell (uncredited) * '' Three Sundays to Live'' (1957) - Prison Warder (uncredited) * '' Another Time, Another Place'' (1958) - R.E. Sergeant * '' The Man Who Liked Funerals'' (1959) - Jeremy Bentham * '' Doctor in Love'' (1960) - Police Sergeant (uncredited) * '' The Fast Lady'' (1962) - 3rd Golfer (uncredited) * '' What a Crazy World'' (1963) - Milligan * '' The Americanization of Emily'' (1964) - Port Commander * '' Joey Boy'' (1965) - Sgt. Maj. Dobbs * '' A Home of Your Own'' (1965) - The Shop Steward * '' Masquerade'' (1965) - Dunwoody * '' A Touch of Uplift'' (1965) - Charles Trotter * '' I've Gotta Horse'' (1965) - Mr. Bartholemew * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1966) - Mr. Micawber * '' Diamonds for Breakfast'' (1968) - Bookseller * '' The Best House in London'' (1969) - Inspector MacPherson * '' Captain Nemo and the Underwater City'' (1969) - Barnaby Bath * '' All the Way Up'' (1970) - Arnold Makepiece * '' Up Pompeii'' (1971) - Prosperus Maximus * '' Up the Chastity Belt'' (1971) - Sir Braggart * '' Up the Front'' (1972) - Groping * '' That's Your Funeral'' (1972) - Basil Bulstrode * '' Go for a Take'' (1972) - TV Studio Doorman * '' Not Now Darling'' (1973) - Commissionaire * ''

'' (1973) - Mr. Granger (uncredited) * '' Dead Cert'' (1974) - Uncle George * '' Moments'' (1974) - Mr. Fleming * '' The Amorous Milkman'' (1975) - Gerald * '' Eye of the Needle'' (1981) - Mr. Porter * '' Pirates'' (1986) - Governor * ''

'' (1987) - Mr. Casby (final film role)

References

External links

Performances listed in the Theatre Archive, University of Bristol

Rotten Tomatoes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Bill 1908 births 1987 deaths Military personnel from Perth, Scotland Male actors from Hertfordshire People educated at Strathallan School Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors Scottish male comedians 20th-century Scottish male actors Laurence Olivier Award winners Deaths from emphysema 20th-century Scottish comedians Actors from Perth, Scotland Male actors from Perth and Kinross