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William Simpson "Bill" Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor on the British screen for many years. Fraser was born in Perth, Scotland and educated at Strathallan School. He began his career as a clerk in a bank before moving on to acting. In the early days when acting work was scarce, Fraser was often penniless, frequently sleeping rough on the Embankment at London. Before World War II he ran the Connaught Theatre in Worthing; when called up he served in a Royal Air Force Special Liaison Unit, reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant, where he met and became friends... MORE

William Simpson "Bill" Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor on the British screen for many years. Fraser was born in Perth, Scotland and educated at Strathallan School. He began his career as a clerk in a bank before moving on to acting. In the early days when acting work was scarce, Fraser was often penniless, frequently sleeping rough on the Embankment at London. Before World War II he ran the Connaught Theatre in Worthing; when called up he served in a Royal Air Force Special Liaison Unit, reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant, where he met and became friends with Eric Sykes. Just after the war a chance meeting in a London street led to Fraser's giving Sykes his first work as a writer for radio comedy and the two friends worked together many times over the following years. Fraser is also credited with giving Peter Cushing his first acting job Fraser often played irascible or belligerent characters on screen and had many roles as a policeman, soldier or judge. His first television appearance was on The Tony Hancock Show in 1956, after which he became a regular actor on Hancock's Half Hour. He then joined The Army Game as Sgt Claude Snudge, which led to a LESS