John Fraser was very good looking. In fact, he may have been too good looking for his own good since he rarely got much of a chance to show he could be more than a pleasant, decorative leading man. On the other hand, he seems to have been rarely out of work during a career that covered more than 50 years so maybe he did okay.
He had a bit of a rough start on a Glasgow council estate with both his parents dying young. He and his two sisters were brought up by an aunt. His escape was amateur dramatics. After National Service he joined the Pitlochry Festival Theatre as an ASM and was soon getting radio and TV work.
In 1952 he signed with ABPC who were quick to push him forward as the next (safe) heartthrob. They even had a go at making him a recording star with his role in the musical remake of The Good Companions. Throughout his heartthrob years he continued his stage career with stints in the West End and at the Old Vic. His best film role came at the end of the 50s playing Bosie in The Trials of Oscar Wilde, which got him a BAFTA nomination.
The film roles got rarer, but there was still a place for him on the stage and on telly. He co-founded the London Shakespeare Group with Gary Raymond and Delena Kidd and toured extensively with it. He also had a one-man show about JM Barry. On TV he starred in several shows such as The Practice and Thundercloud and guested on many others.
He lived for many years with his partner in Tuscany, though had moved back to London by the time of his death.
| 1953 | Titanic |
| 1953 | The Desert Rats |
| 1953 | Valley of Song |
| 1953 | The Good Beginning |
| 1954 | The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships |
| 1955 | The Dam Busters |
| 1955 | Touch and Go |
| 1957 | The Good Companions |
| 1958 | The Wind Cannot Read |
| 1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde |
| 1960 | Tunes of Glory |
| 1961 | Fury at Smugglers' Bay |
| 1961 | El Cid |
| 1962 | Waltz of the Toreadors |
| 1963 | Tamahine |
| 1964 | Operation Crossbow |
| 1965 | Repulsion |
| 1965 | A Study in Terror |
| 1966 | Doctor in Clover |
| 1968 | Isadora |
| 1976 | Schizo |
