Shelagh Fraser
Shelagh Fraser | |
---|---|
![]() Fraser inStar Wars(1977) | |
Born | Sheila[1]Mary Fraser 25 November 1920 Purley,Surrey, England |
Died | 29 August 2000 London, England | (aged 79)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1944–2000 |
Spouse(s) | Anthony Squire (m. 1961; div.?) |
Relatives | Moyra Fraser(sister) |
Sheila Mary Fraser(25 November 1920 – 29 August 2000) was an English actress. She is best known for her roles in the television serialA Family at War(1970–1971) and asLuke Skywalker's Aunt Beru inStar Wars(1977).
Early life
[edit]Shelagh Fraser was born inPurley,Surrey, on 25 November 1920. Her parents were John Newton Mappin Fraser and Vera Eleanor (née Beardshaw). Her father was a director of the jewelry companyMappin & Webb,and the family was sent to Australia to establish a branch of the family business there. They returned to the United Kingdom in 1924.[2][3][4]
As a child, Shelagh suffered fromspinal tuberculosis,but overcame the debilitating effects of the illness. She was educated at St Christopher's School inKingswoodand won a scholarship to train as an actor at Croydon Repertory Theatre Drama School. It was there that Fraser made her first stage appearance in 1938.[5][4]
Career
[edit]Fraser had a wide range of roles on the stage. She made herWest End theatredebut in 1944 at theComedy Theatreas Effie inThis Was a Woman.She went on to play Mabel Crumm inWhile the Sun Shines(1945), Hetty, inCall Home the Heart(1947), Lady Orreyd in a revival ofThe Second Mrs Tanqueray(1950). She took roles in a number of plays in the 1960s and 70s by noted contemporary playwrights such as the role of Flora inHarold Pinter'sA Slight Ache,Delia inAlan Ayckbourn'sBedroom Farce,Martha inEdward Albee'sWho's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?,and Amanda Wingfield inThe Glass MenageriebyTennessee Williams.[4]
In 1978 she appeared as Mrs. Wilson, a respectable lady who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to obtain the release ofunderworldcrime boss Bill Hayden in an episode of the hard-hitting British police dramaThe Professionals,the episode entitledWhen the Heat Cools Off.[6]
In cinema, Fraser often played demure character roles in films such as theMaster of Bankdam(1947) andRaising a Riot(1955), although she is also remembered for her roles as the vulgar Mrs Orreyd in the 1952 filmThe Second Mrs Tanqueray.In the 1970s she took one of her best-known roles as Jean Ashton, the embattled mother of a wartime family in Liverpool in the television serialA Family at War.In 1977 she played the part ofBeru Lars,the aunt ofLuke Skywalker,in the science fiction blockbusterStar Wars.In his casting notes, writer and directorGeorge Lucaswrote, "A little British, but okay". Fraser took part in location filming inMatmata, Tunisia,and her voice was later recorded at home for additionalwild tracklines and dialogue dubbing.[5][7]
Fraser appeared in more than 50 films and TV shows during her career, includingZ-Cars;Softly, Softly;A Family at War;The ProfessionalsandHeartbeaton television, and such films asThe Witches,Till Death Us Do Part,The Body Stealers,DoomwatchandHope and Glory.[8]She was a member of theBBC Repertory Companyand appeared in over 500BBC Radioplays.[4]
In the 1950, Fraser began to write for the theatre, and in the 1970s, she wrote two children's books,Captain JohnnyandPrincess Tai Lue.Building on her experience in radio, she also worked as a radio dramatist, and wrote her own radio play,The Maid's Room,about the relationship between a servant and her mistress. She also adaptedRose Macauley's novelThe World My WildernessandRebecca West's short story "The Salt of the Earth" forBBC Radio 4.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Fraser was married and divorced fromAnthony Squire.[9]She was the sister of ballerina/actressMoyra Fraser.[10]She died in 2000 following a long illness.[11][12]
Selected filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1944 | Welcome, Mr. Washington | Millie | |
1945 | I Live in Grosvenor Square | 2nd Girl in Guard's Van | |
1947 | Meet Me at Dawn | Minor Role | Uncredited |
Master of Bankdam | Alice France | ||
1948 | Esther Waters | Margaret | |
1949 | The History of Mr. Polly | Minnie Larkins | |
1950 | Your Witness | Ellen Foster | |
Trio | Minor Role | Uncredited | |
1952 | Salute the Toff | Myra Lorne | |
The Second Mrs Tanqueray | |||
1955 | Raising a Riot | Mary Kent | |
1956 | The Last Man to Hang? | Mrs Bracket | |
1958 | The Son of Robin Hood | Constance | |
1966 | The Witches | Mrs Creek | |
1968 | Till Death Us Do Part | Mike's Mother | |
1969 | The Body Stealers | Mrs Thatcher | |
A Touch of Love | Miss Gurnsey | ||
Staircase | Cub Mistress | ||
Two Gentlemen Sharing | Helen Marriott | ||
1972 | Doomwatch | Mrs. Betty Straker | |
1973 | Nothing But the Night | Mrs Alison | |
1974 | Persecution | Mrs Banks | akaSheba,The Graveyard,The Terror of Sheba |
1977 | Star Wars | Aunt Beru | |
1987 | Hope and Glory | WVS Woman |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | Emergency – Ward 10 | Brownie Bevan | 9 episodes |
1963 | Maigret | Claire Jusserand | Episode:Maigret's Little Joke |
1966 | Gideon's Way | Lady Copthorne | Episode:Morna |
1970–1971 | A Family at War | Jean Ashton | |
1971 | Doomwatch | Joan Prentice | Episode:The Islanders |
1976 | Beasts | Dorothy Pummery | Episode:Baby |
1978 | The Professionals | Elsa Coran Mrs Wilson |
Episode:A Stirring of Dust Episode:When the Heat Cools Off |
2000 | Midsomer Murders | Jane Rochelle | Episode:Judgement Day |
2017 | Star Wars Rebels | Aunt Beru | Episode:Twin Suns,uncredited (archive audio) |
References
[edit]- ^"Index entry".FreeBMD.ONS.RetrievedJanuary 3,2011.
- ^Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 1999, vol. 1, p. 147
- ^Herbert, Ian; Parker, John; Baxter, Christine; Finley, Robert E. (1977).Who's who in the Theatre.Pitman. p. 627.ISBN9780273001638.Retrieved19 July2018.
- ^abcdeGranger, Derek (20 September 2000)."Obituaries: Shelagh Fraser".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 19 July 2018.Retrieved19 July2018.
- ^abMcFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony (2013).The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth Edition.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780719091391.Retrieved19 July2018.
- ^""The Professionals" when the Heat Cools off (TV Episode 1978) - IMDb ".IMDb.
- ^Rinzler, J. W. (2008).The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film.Ebury Press. pp. 179, 229.ISBN9780091924997.Retrieved19 July2018.
- ^"Shelagh Fraser".BFI.Archived fromthe originalon April 4, 2017.
- ^"Shelagh Fraser".Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group Limited.20 September 2000.Retrieved25 October2018.
- ^Coveney, Michael(15 December 2009)."Moyra Fraser obituary".The Guardian.Guardian News and Media Limited.Retrieved25 October2018.
- ^Granger, Derek (20 September 2000)."Shelagh Fraser".The Guardian.Retrieved8 December2023.
- ^"STAR WARS STAR DIES".TVGuide.com.
External links
[edit]- Shelagh FraseratIMDb
- Shelagh FraseronWookieepedia,aStar Warswiki
- 1920 births
- 2000 deaths
- English film actresses
- English television actresses
- Actors from the London Borough of Croydon
- 20th-century English actresses
- English radio actresses
- English children's writers
- English dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century British women writers
- Writers from the London Borough of Croydon
- English expatriates in Australia
- Actresses from Surrey
- People from Purley, London