Sally Fraser (December 12, 1932 – January 13, 2019) was an American actress who appeared on television and in numerous films. She became best known for appearing in low-budget science fiction films of the 1950s.

Biography

Spotted after singing on a local TV show, Fraser was encouraged to take drama lessons and eventually gained experience in stage plays. On television she appeared opposite

Tyler MacDuff Tyler Glenn Duff Jr. (September 12, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and television actor. Life and career MacDuff was born in Hollywood, California. He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High. MacDuff joined the U.S. Navy in 194 ...

in the episode "The Saga of Clement O'Toole" of the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series, ''

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

''. She also appeared on

Guy Madison Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hicko ...

's series, ''

The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 195 ...

''. She was in the 1954 TV presentation of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' starring

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...

, in the role of "Belle, sweetheart of Scrooge's youth, and as the Spirit of Christmas Past." On May 27, 1954, Fraser was part of the Anderson family in a pilot for the television version of ''Father Knows Best.'' The pilot was broadcast as an episode of ''

Ford Television Theatre ''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various titl ...

''. Fraser played the older daughter but (as with all others in the family except Robert Young) was not cast as part of the regular series. In 1955, Fraser (along with Jil Jarmyn) completed two pilot episodes of ''Behind the Scenes'' (not to be confused with a latter

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

series of the same name), a series about the "adventures of two girls trying for movie careers in Hollywood." Fraser eventually became typecast in low budget 1950s sci-fi films. She played a wife possessed by aliens in the

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

film ''

It Conquered the World ''It Conquered the World'' is an independently made 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and directed by Roger Corman, starring Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally Fraser. ''It Conquered the World'' was ...

'' (1956), the sister of the titular monster in ''

War of the Colossal Beast ''War of the Colossal Beast'' (a.k.a. ''Revenge of the Colossal Man'' and ''The Colossal Beast'') is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction film, written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon for his Carmel Productions, and starring Dean Park ...

'' (1958), and a mother protecting her baby in ''

Earth vs. the Spider ''Earth vs. the Spider'' (a.k.a. ''The Spider'') is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction horror film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon, who also provided the plot upon which the screenplay by George Wort ...

'' (1958). She was briefly onscreen as the United Nations receptionist who introduces

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

's character to

Philip Ober Philip Nott Ober (March 23, 1902 – September 13, 1982) was an American screen and stage actor. He later retired from acting to work as a diplomat. Ober is best remembered for his roles in the films ''From Here to Eternity'' (1953) and ''North ...

's Lester Townsend in Hitchcock's ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to ...

'', and also appeared in

Giant from the Unknown ''Giant from the Unknown'' (working titles ''Giant from Devil's Crag'' and ''The Diablo Giant'' ) is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white science fiction- horror film drama, produced by Marc Frederic and Arthur A. Jacobs, directed by ...

(1958). In 1959, Fraser appeared as Martha Maitland on an episode of '' The Texan''. She continued to work on television and the stage into the 1960s until she decided to retire to raise her family. Fraser moved to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

in the 1980s and lived on a cattle ranch.

Partial filmography

*''

All I Desire ''All I Desire'' is a 1953 American drama romance film directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Lyle Bettger, Marcia Henderson, Lori Nelson, and Maureen O'Sullivan. It is based on Carol Ryrie Brink's 1951 novel ...

'' (1953) – Daughter in Auditorium (uncredited) *''

Flight Nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacua ...

'' (1953) – Best Girl (uncredited) *'' It's a Dog's Life'' (1955) – Dorothy Wyndham *''

The Adventures of Champion ''The Adventures of Champion'' is an American adventure serial radio drama directed by William Burch about screen cowboy Gene Autry's horse Champion. Each 15-minute episode was broadcast weekday afternoons on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 194 ...

'' (1956, TV Series) – Beth Collier *''

'' (1956) – Joan Nelson *''

'' (1958) – Janet Cleveland *''

'' (1958) – Joyce Manning *''

'' (1958) – Mrs. Helen Kingman *'' Roadracers'' (1959) – Joanie Wilson *''

'' (1959) – UN Receptionist #1 (uncredited) *''

Elmer Gantry ''Elmer Gantry'' is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. The novel's protagonis ...

'' (1960) – Prostitute (uncredited) *''

Dangerous Charter ''Dangerous Charter'' is a 1962 seagoing adventure film shot in five days in 1958 on and around Santa Catalina Island. California, with no studio shooting. It was directed, co-produced and co-written by Robert Gottschalk as a showcase for his Pan ...

'' (1962) – June

References

External links

Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Sally 1932 births 2019 deaths American film actresses People from Williston, North Dakota People from Kootenai County, Idaho Actresses from North Dakota American television actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Idaho 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Minneapolis 21st-century American women