William Fry was born in Ballarat and educated there and at the University of Melbourne. He became a teacher with the Victorian Education Department, filling posts mainly in the country, and married Lilian Gwendoline Macrae in 1936. During World War 2 he served with the Australian Imperial Forces in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and on his return to civilian life taught at Camperdown State School from 1946 to 1956. He then moved to Melbourne, eventually becoming headmaster of several state schools.

Fry was a Moorabbin city councillor from 1963 to 1972, serving a term as mayor in 1968-69. He entered the Legislative Council in 1967 as the Liberal member for Higinbotham, and became President in 1976. In 1979 he retired from both the Presidency and the Legislative Council. He and his wife had four sons. Fry was knighted in 1980.