Elisabeth Fraser
{{Short description|American actress (1920–2005)}}
{{other uses}}
{{More citations needed |date=January 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elisabeth Fraser
| image = Elisabeth Fraser.JPG
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Elisabeth Fraser Jonker
| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|01|8}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|5|5|1920|01|8|mf=y}}
| death_place = Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| othername =
| occupation =
| years_active = 1941–1980
| spouse = Ray McDonald (1944–1952; divorced)
Charles K. Peck Jr. (19??–19??; divorced)
| children = 3
}}
Elisabeth Fraser (born Elisabeth Fraser Jonker, January 8, 1920 – May 5, 2005) was an American actress, best known for playing brassy blondes.
Life and career
Born Elisabeth Fraser Jonker on January 8, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, she was educated in Haiti, France and New York.{{cite news|title=Elisabeth Fraser Wandered In and Lunts Gave Her Job|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5659097/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=December 27, 1942|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=29|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 22, 2016}} {{Open access}}
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{{cite web|title=(Elisabeth Fraser search)|url=http://www.playbill.com/searchpage/search?shows=on&qasset=00000150-ac82-d16d-a550-ecbe41d40008&|website=Playbill Vault|accessdate=22 June 2016}} (she also appeared in the 1958 film version).{{cite news|title=New Comedy Set At Manos Soon|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5659606/the_evening_standard/|work=The Evening Standard|agency=The Evening Standard|date=December 6, 1958|location=Pennsylvania, Uniontown|page=5|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 22, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Television
She played Hazel Norris on the television version of Fibber McGee and Molly,Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6477-7}}. P. 340. Frances Warner in McKeever and the Colonel,{{r|etvs|page1=673}} Josie Ryan in Off We Go,{{r|etvs|page1=781}} Mildred Hogan in One Happy Family,{{r|etvs|page1=789}} and Sgt. Bilko's longtime girlfriend, Joan, on The Phil Silvers Show.{{r|etvs|page1=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
Fraser 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."{{cite news|last1=Vernon|first1=Terry|title=Tele-Vues|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5659554/independent/|work=Independent|date=January 13, 1961|location=California, Long Beach|page=27|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 22, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Death
On 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 |date=September 2023}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | One Foot in Heaven | Eileen Spence | |
| rowspan=4 | 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 | |
| rowspan=2 | 1949 | Roseanna McCoy | Bess McCoy | |
| Dear Wife | Kate Collins | ||
| 1950 | Hills of Oklahoma | Sharon Forbes | |
| rowspan=3 | 1951 | When I Grow Up | Mother Reed (modern) | |
| Callaway Went Thataway | Marie | ||
| Death of a Salesman | Miss Forsythe | Uncredited | |
| 1953 | So Big | Julie Hempel | |
| rowspan=2 | 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 | |
| rowspan=2 | 1966 | Seconds | Plump Blonde | |
| The Glass Bottom Boat | Nina Bailey | ||
| rowspan=4 | 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
| class="wikitable" | |||
| 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
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0292116|Elisabeth Fraser}}
- {{tcmdb name|id=65488|name=Elisabeth Fraser}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- [http://archives.nypl.org/the/21528 Elisabeth Fraser papers, 1920-1999], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Elisabeth}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Actresses from Brooklyn
Category:Actresses from Greater Los Angeles
Category:American expatriates in Haiti
Category:American expatriates in France