Oscar Fraley

Oscar Fraley (August 2, 1914 – January 6, 1994) was the co-author, with Eliot Ness, of the famous American memoir The Untouchables.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fraley grew up across the Delaware River in Woodbury, New Jersey.

He worked for United Press International as a sports reporter from 1940–1965 but still managed to write during his free time. Over the course of his lifetime, Fraley penned 31 books, including Hoffa, The Real Story (Stein and Day, 1975).

In 1956, he was introduced to Ness while working as a reporter for UPI. It was this encounter that served as the inspiration for The Untouchables (1957). By 1957, Fraley had written most of the proofs for the manuscript of the book. Ness read these proofs shortly before his own death that same year, and the book was released a month after Ness' death.

The Untouchables went on to sell 1.5 million copies and served as the basis for the television series and movie of the same name. This book, among Fraley's other books about the Untouchables, was heavily spiced with fiction, including fictional characters and events, to make the books more appealing to a general audience. The 21-page manuscript that Ness wrote for the book was a more trustworthy source and only included the real events that Ness experienced during his career. Ness' manuscript is housed in the archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio.

The book was adapted in multiple media and inspired many additional works. The best-known eponymous adaptations include: The Untouchables (1959 TV series), starring Robert Stack as Ness and narrated by Walter Winchell; The Untouchables (1987) film by Brian De Palma, starring Kevin Costner as Ness, and featuring Sean Connery and Robert De Niro; and the short-lived The Untouchables (1993 TV series).

Oscar Fraley died on Thursday, January 6, 1994 in Fort Lauderdale’s in Broward General Hospital. The cause was heart failure after surgery for a strangulated hernia.