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 Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s 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 The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

. His professional associations were with such artists as actress-singer

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

, singer-songwriter

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

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 '' D ...

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

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

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 in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on 23 August 1933. He attended

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...

between 1945 and 1951. He served for five years in the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

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 from ...

. Fraser met Anthony Newley while working at

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

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''. 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 Stre ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. 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 ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'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 mythical ...

''. 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'' is a television variety series starring Julie Andrews that was produced by ATV and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It aired on the ABC television network in the United States. It was known as ''The Julie Andrews Sho ...

''. 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-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 released by Metro-Goldwyn-Maye ...

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

Other notable works

Fraser was the musical director for

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

'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 In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

to "

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Austrian Trapp Family, the song was further popularized ...

" for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

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 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.m ...

, 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 TNT. It ended in 2015 after a 33-year run. Background One of two annual holiday specials produced by George Stevens Jr. (the othe ...

'' 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 Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at his home in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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