Sally Fraser(1932-2019)
- Actress
In her brief but noted screen career in the late 1950s, vivacious
blonde Sally Fraser ran screaming from spiders, aliens, monsters and
giants and straight into minor cult filmdom. While not handed many
roles that would show off her true acting mettle, Sally, whose slight
resemblance to Marjorie Lord was
noticeable, nevertheless photographed beautifully and was captivating
enough to leave her mark in 1950s films.
Born in Williston, North Dakota, on December 12, 1932, she moved to
Southern California with her family (the youngest of five children)
after spending a few years in Minneapolis. Her father subsequently
bought and operated a feed store in the Canoga Park area of Los Angeles
and worked there after school. As a young girl she expressed an
interest in singing and joined her church choir while taking voice
lessons. Spotted after singing on a local TV show, the pert beauty was
encouraged to take drama courses and started to gain experience in
local and summer stock plays, including "Bus Stop" with
Marie Wilson, "Separate Tables"
with Don Porter and
Signe Hasso and "The Moon Is Blue".
Finding a theatrical agent Sally's move into television came as a
result of her singing skills (in a way). It was a TV version of "A
Christmas Carol" starring Fredric March as
Scrooge and Basil Rathbone as Marley's
Ghost. She played both Belle and The Ghost of Christmas Past but her
singing voice would be dubbed by operatic diva
Marilyn Horne. She went on to appear in a
number of western shows such as
The Gene Autry Show (1950),
Annie Oakley (1954) and
Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951).
A vivacious presence in lighter fare, Sally made guest appearances on
"December Bride," "Bachelor Father," "Mr. Lucky" and took her last job
in the late 1960s in "Lassie".
As for films, following a bit role in her debut film
All I Desire (1953), she nabbed the
female lead opposite Edmund Gwenn and a
canine in the sentimental fantasy
It's a Dog's Life (1955). Sally
quickly found herself pocketed in low-budget 50s sci-fiers. She played
the wife of Peter Graves who
becomes possessed by aliens in the
Roger Corman quickie
It Conquered the World (1956);
the brave sister of the colossal man in
War of the Colossal Beast (1958);
and a mother protecting her baby in
The Spider (1958).
Others included
Giant from the Unknown (1958),
the racing car programmer
Roadracers (1959), and
Dangerous Charter (1962). Rare
quality films also came her way such as Hitchcock's
North by Northwest (1959) and
the Burt Lancaster starrer
Elmer Gantry (1960), but her roles
would be minuscule.
Fraser continued to work on stage ("Jenny Kissed Me" with
Rudy Vallee and "the musical "Of Thee I
Sing" with George D. Wallace) and TV
and well into the 60s until she decided to retire to raise her family.
Her husband, Allan Johnson, ran a manufacturing business for some time. They eventually moved to Harrison, Idaho in the 80s and lived on a cattle ranch. She died there on January 13, 2019, at age 86.
blonde Sally Fraser ran screaming from spiders, aliens, monsters and
giants and straight into minor cult filmdom. While not handed many
roles that would show off her true acting mettle, Sally, whose slight
resemblance to Marjorie Lord was
noticeable, nevertheless photographed beautifully and was captivating
enough to leave her mark in 1950s films.
Born in Williston, North Dakota, on December 12, 1932, she moved to
Southern California with her family (the youngest of five children)
after spending a few years in Minneapolis. Her father subsequently
bought and operated a feed store in the Canoga Park area of Los Angeles
and worked there after school. As a young girl she expressed an
interest in singing and joined her church choir while taking voice
lessons. Spotted after singing on a local TV show, the pert beauty was
encouraged to take drama courses and started to gain experience in
local and summer stock plays, including "Bus Stop" with
Marie Wilson, "Separate Tables"
with Don Porter and
Signe Hasso and "The Moon Is Blue".
Finding a theatrical agent Sally's move into television came as a
result of her singing skills (in a way). It was a TV version of "A
Christmas Carol" starring Fredric March as
Scrooge and Basil Rathbone as Marley's
Ghost. She played both Belle and The Ghost of Christmas Past but her
singing voice would be dubbed by operatic diva
Marilyn Horne. She went on to appear in a
number of western shows such as
The Gene Autry Show (1950),
Annie Oakley (1954) and
Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951).
A vivacious presence in lighter fare, Sally made guest appearances on
"December Bride," "Bachelor Father," "Mr. Lucky" and took her last job
in the late 1960s in "Lassie".
As for films, following a bit role in her debut film
All I Desire (1953), she nabbed the
female lead opposite Edmund Gwenn and a
canine in the sentimental fantasy
It's a Dog's Life (1955). Sally
quickly found herself pocketed in low-budget 50s sci-fiers. She played
the wife of Peter Graves who
becomes possessed by aliens in the
Roger Corman quickie
It Conquered the World (1956);
the brave sister of the colossal man in
War of the Colossal Beast (1958);
and a mother protecting her baby in
The Spider (1958).
Others included
Giant from the Unknown (1958),
the racing car programmer
Roadracers (1959), and
Dangerous Charter (1962). Rare
quality films also came her way such as Hitchcock's
North by Northwest (1959) and
the Burt Lancaster starrer
Elmer Gantry (1960), but her roles
would be minuscule.
Fraser continued to work on stage ("Jenny Kissed Me" with
Rudy Vallee and "the musical "Of Thee I
Sing" with George D. Wallace) and TV
and well into the 60s until she decided to retire to raise her family.
Her husband, Allan Johnson, ran a manufacturing business for some time. They eventually moved to Harrison, Idaho in the 80s and lived on a cattle ranch. She died there on January 13, 2019, at age 86.