John Fraser obit

John Fraser, prolific film actor of 1950s and 1960s once dubbed most handsome man in Britain – obituary

His string of film credits included The Dam Busters, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, El Cid and Repulsion 

He was not on the list.

The Scottish actor was battling oesophageal cancer for over a year before his death.

Mr Fraser starred as Flight Lieutenant J V 'Hoppy' Hopgood in the 1955 picture.

He escaped poverty in the Glasgow council estate where he was born to become one of Britain's best-loved film stars.

Despite appearing in films such as Tunes Of Glory, alongside Alec Guinness in 1960 and The Waltz of the Toreadors in 1962 with Peter Sellers, Mr Fraser shied away from the limelight due to his sexuality.

He met his partner, Rodney Pienaar, 68, in Cape Town and the pair were together for 42 years.

Mr Fraser died beside his partner at home in London on the morning of Saturday, November 7.

His first role came as the part of a page in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Salome but his career had to wait for him to complete his national service as a Royal Corps of Signals lieutenant with the British Army of the Rhine.

Reportedly, Mr Fraser got into an on-set fight with Ronald Lewis, after the other actor made comments about his homosexuality, while filming the 1958 film The Wind Cannot Read.

Fellow actor Mark Gatiss, known for his portrayal of Mycroft Holmes in the BBC's Sherlock, paid tribute to the late legend.

He said in a post on social media: "A very fine actor, a blistering Bosie, an outrageous memoirist and a beautiful, beautiful man. RIP John Fraser."

Selected filmography

 

Year     Title            Role            Awards

1996    Truth or Dare            Gordon Hillan   

1982    Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House            Uncle Gideon

1981    Doctor Who: Logopolis            The Monitor           

1976    Schizo            Leonard Hawthorne   

1975    The Doll      Peter Matty  

1968    Isadora            Roger  

1966    Doctor in Clover            Miles Grimsdyke       

1965    A Study in Terror            Lord Carfax 

1965            Repulsion        Colin   

1965            Operation Crossbow            Flight Lieutenant Kenny 

1963            Tamahine         Richard Poole  

1962    Waltz of the Toreadors            Lt. Finch   

1961    El Cid            Prince Alfonso           

1961    Fury at Smugglers' Bay            Christopher Trevenyan

1960    The Trials of Oscar Wilde   Lord Alfred Douglas            BAFTA nomination

1960    Tunes of Glory            Corporal Piper Ian Fraser 

1958    The Wind Cannot Read    Peter Munroe           

1957    The Good Companions            Inigo Jollifant

1955    Touch and Go Richard Kenyon           

1955    The Dam Busters            Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood DFC

1954    The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships            Drago  

1953    The Good Beginning            Johnny Lipson 

1953    Valley of Song            Cliff Lloyd  

1953    The Desert Rats            Artillery Man    

1953    Titanic            Steward