Hugh Fraser

Prior to becoming a famous actor in Britain, Hugh Fraser was known as the co-writer of the theme song to the long-running children's show "Rainbow," which is often seen as the British equivalent of "Sesame Street." After his music career failed to pan out, Fraser tried his hand at acting. He received his first big break in 1978, when he portrayed former British Prime Minister Anthony Eden in the seven-part miniseries "Edward & Mrs. Simpson." As a result of this performance, Fraser was subsequently typecast as aristocratic characters, this being the case in 1988 when he played Sir Charles Warren, the Head of the London Metropolitan Police, in the British film "Jack the Ripper." Fraser's most notable role came as Captain Hastings, the amateur sleuth and best friend of detective Hercule Poirot, in the television series "Agatha Christie's Poirot." Fraser also narrates the audio books of several of Christie's mystery and crime novels.