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Elisabeth Fraser (born Elisabeth Fraser Jonker, January 8, 1920 – May 5, 2005) was an American actress, best known for playing brassy blondes.
Elisabeth Fraser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Elisabeth Fraser Jonker January 8, 1920 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 5, 2005 (aged 85) |
| Years active | 1941–1980 |
| Spouse(s) | Ray McDonald (1944–1952; divorced) Charles K. Peck Jr. (19??–19??; divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
Life and career
editBorn Elisabeth Fraser Jonker on January 8, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, she was educated in Haiti, France and New York.[1]
Fraser began her acting career six weeks after graduating from high school; she was cast as the ingenue in the Broadway production of There Shall Be No Night, which won the Pulitzer Prize for the 1940-1941 season. Fraser obtained a contract with Warner Brothers studios. She appeared in dozens of films.
One of her first roles was in The Man Who Came to Dinner as June Stanley, the young daughter of the Ohio couple forced to put up with Monty Woolley, who tells her to follow her heart to the man she loves, a trade unionist in her father's company, regardless of her father's feelings. She also appeared in All My Sons, Roseanna McCoy, and So Big.
Her most notable role was as Shelley Winters' character's friend in the 1965 hit film A Patch of Blue. She also played in the movie Ask Any Girl as Jeannie with Shirley MacLaine. Fraser's stage career spanned over three decades and included Broadway productions of The Best Man, The Family, and Tunnel of Love[2] (she also appeared in the 1958 film version).[3]
Television
editShe played Hazel Norris on the television version of Fibber McGee and Molly,[4] Frances Warner in McKeever and the Colonel,[4]: 673 Josie Ryan in Off We Go,[4]: 781 Mildred Hogan in One Happy Family,[4]: 789 and Sgt. Bilko's longtime girlfriend, Joan, on The Phil Silvers Show.[4]: 830 She also guest-starred on many popular television series, including three guest appearances on Perry Mason, such as the role of Estelle Paige in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise." She also made four appearances on Maude.
In 1966, she appeared in James Arness’s TV Western series Gunsmoke, playing “Daisy Lou” in S11E26’s “”Which Doctor?”.
Book
editFraser wrote a book, Once Upon a Dime. Newspaper columnist Terry Vernon described the book as "a humorous account of what happens to a divorced actress with three children who arrives in Hollywood."[5]
Death
editOn May 5, 2005, Fraser died of congestive heart failure in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 85. She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.[citation needed]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | One Foot in Heaven | Eileen Spence | |
| 1942 | The Man Who Came to Dinner | June Stanley | |
| Busses Roar | Betty | ||
| The Hidden Hand | Mary Winfield | ||
| Commandos Strike at Dawn | Anna Korstad | ||
| 1948 | All My Sons | Lydia Lubey | |
| 1949 | Roseanna McCoy | Bess McCoy | |
| Dear Wife | Kate Collins | ||
| 1950 | Hills of Oklahoma | Sharon Forbes | |
| 1951 | When I Grow Up | Mother Reed (modern) | |
| Callaway Went Thataway | Marie | ||
| Death of a Salesman | Miss Forsythe | Uncredited | |
| 1953 | So Big | Julie Hempel | |
| 1954 | The Steel Cage | Marie, Louie's Girl | (segment "The Chef") |
| Young at Heart | Amy Tuttle | ||
| 1958 | The Tunnel of Love | Alice Pepper | |
| 1959 | Ask Any Girl | Jennie Boyden | |
| 1962 | Two for the Seesaw | Sophie | |
| 1963 | Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? | Dora Ashley | |
| 1965 | A Patch of Blue | Sadie | |
| 1966 | Seconds | Plump Blonde | |
| The Glass Bottom Boat | Nina Bailey | ||
| 1967 | The Way West | Mrs. Fairman | |
| Tony Rome | Irma | ||
| The Graduate | Party Guest | Uncredited | |
| The Ballad of Josie | Widow Renfrew | ||
| 1980 | 9 to 5 | Uncredited, (final film role) |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Dorothy Forbes | Season 4 Episode 23: "I'll Take Care of You" |
| 1964 | The Addams Family | Madelyn Smith | Season 1 Episode 31: "Uncle Fester's Toupee" |
| 1967 | The Monkees | Judge | S2:E2, "The Picture Frame" |
References
edit- ^ "Elisabeth Fraser Wandered In and Lunts Gave Her Job". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York, Brooklyn. December 27, 1942. p. 29. Retrieved June 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "(Elisabeth Fraser search)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ "New Comedy Set At Manos Soon". The Evening Standard. Pennsylvania, Uniontown. The Evening Standard. December 6, 1958. p. 5. Retrieved June 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 340.
- ^ Vernon, Terry (January 13, 1961). "Tele-Vues". Independent. California, Long Beach. p. 27. Retrieved June 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Elisabeth Fraser at IMDb
- Elisabeth Fraser at the TCM Movie Database
- Elisabeth Fraser at the Internet Broadway Database
- Elisabeth Fraser papers, 1920-1999, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
