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 Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, she was educated in Haiti, France and New York. Fraser began her acting career six weeks after graduating from high school; she was cast as the ingenue in the

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 Stree ...

production of ''

There Shall Be No Night ''There Shall Be No Night'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Robert E. Sherwood. Production The play was presented by the Theatre Guild on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now renamed the Neil Simon Theater), from April 29 thr ...

'', which won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for the 1940-1941 season. Fraser obtained a contract with

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

studios. She appeared in dozens of films. One of her first roles was in ''

The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...

'' 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 ''Roseanna McCoy'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Irving Reis. The screenplay by John Collier, based on the 1947 novel of the same title by Alberta Hannum, is a romanticized and semi-fictionalized account of the Hatfield–McCoy feud. ...

'', and '' So Big''. Her most notable role was as

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

' character's friend in the 1965 hit film ''

A Patch of Blue ''A Patch of Blue'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Guy Green about the friendship between an educated black man (played by Sidney Poitier) and an illiterate, blind, white 18-year-old girl (played by Elizabeth Hartman), and the proble ...

''. 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'' (she also appeared in the 1958 film version).

Television

She played Hazel Norris on the television version of ''

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

'',Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 340. Frances Warner in ''

McKeever and the Colonel ''McKeever and the Colonel'' is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from September 23, 1962 to June 16, 1963 on Sunday nights at 6:30 P.M. Eastern Time. Its setting was a fictional military academy known as Westfield. Dick Powell's Four S ...

'', Josie Ryan in ''Off We Go'', Mildred Hogan in ''

One Happy Family ''One Happy Family'' is an American sitcom television series where newlyweds Dick and Penny Cooper live with both her parents ("The Hogans") and grandparents ("The Hacketts") all in the same house together that aired from January 13 until June 23, ...

'', and Sgt. Bilko's longtime girlfriend, Joan, on ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

''. She also guest-starred on many popular television series, including three guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', 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 ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', 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."

Death

On May 5, 2005, Fraser died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, at the age of 85. She was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

and her ashes scattered at sea.

Personal life

Fraser was married to

Ray McDonald Raymondo Antoine McDonald (born September 2, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida, where he was a member o ...

from 1944 to 1952. The marriage ended in divorce. She later married Charles K. Peck Jr. but the marriage also ended in divorce. Fraser and McDonald had three children.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Elisabeth Fraser papers, 1920-1999
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Elisabeth 1920 births 2005 deaths Actresses from New York City American film actresses American television actresses People from Brooklyn People from Greater Los Angeles American expatriates in Haiti American expatriates in France 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women