Fries was born March 9, 1930 in Racine, and was educated in local schools prior to receiving his BA (1952) and LLB (1957) degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been a practicing attorney in Watertown since 1959, and served four years as Watertown City Attorney. Among his other political and civic positions, Fries has served as chairman of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, as president of the Americans for Democratic Action, and as director of the Jefferson County Mental Health Association. As a Democrat, Fries unsuccessfully ran for several political offices, among them the State Senate, and his dual allegiance to both the Democrats and the Socialist Party led to controversy at the time of his candidacies. Fries also held a variety of positions within the Socialist Party, including secretary-treasurer, and editor of the Socialist Tribune newspaper.
