Harry L. Fraser

Harry L. Fraser was an American film director, with a career lasting from the 1920s to the early 1950s. He was born in San Francisco, and spend most of his life in his native California. Fraser was known during his lifetime for his contributions to the Western genre, directing or scripting films for the likes of Harry Carey, John Wayne, and even Rin Tin Tin. He also directed several serial films, involving cliffhangers and suspense. He was one of the pioneers of the superhero film, scripting a film featuring (in order) the Spider (in 1941) and Batman (in 1943) for Columbia Pictures and Captain America (in 1944) for Republic Pictures. In the 1950s, Fraser made the transition from film to television. He directed episodes of the television series "Craig Kennedy, Criminologist" (1951), adapting a popular detective character created by Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936). Fraser was 62-years-old by the time the series ended, and apparently went into retirement. In 1974, he died in his residence in Pomona, California.