Tom Drake (born Alfred Sinclair Alderdice; August 5, 1918August 11, 1982) was an American actor. Drake made films starting in 1940 and continuing until the mid-1970s, and also made TV acting appearances.
Retrieved 11th December 2008

Early life and career

Drake was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, and attended Iona Preparatory School and graduated from

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

. He was excused from serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

due to heart problems. Despite this limitation, he did act in British training films. Billed as Alfred Alderdice, Drake appeared on Broadway in ''Run Sheep Run'' (1938) and ''Clean Beds'' (1939). After appearing in the film ''The Howards of Virginia'' (billed as Richard Alden), he got his break after starring in the 1942

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

smash ''Janie'', after which he was signed to a contract with

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

MGM

Tom Drake in Meet Me in St Louis trailer

MGM started Drake in a supporting role in '' Two Girls and a Sailor'' (1944). He was third billed in a "B", '' Maisie Goes to Reno'' (1944) then had small roles in some "A" pictures, ''

Marriage Is a Private Affair ''Marriage is a Private Affair'' is a 1944 war-comedy film, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, based on novel ''Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1941) by Judith Kelly. It stars Lana Turner, Frances Gifford and James Craig. Plot During World War II ...

'' (1944) and ''

Mrs. Parkington ''Mrs. Parkington'' is a 1944 drama film. It tells the story of a woman's life, told via flashbacks, from boarding house maid to society matron. The movie was adapted by Polly James and Robert Thoeren from the novel by Louis Bromfield. It was ...

'' (1944). He was more prominently featured in his role as

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

's leading man in 1944's ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis ...

''. He played John Truitt, the "boy next door". MGM promoted him to leading roles with ''

This Man's Navy ''This Man's Navy'' (aka ''Airship Squadron No. 4.'' and ''Lighter Than Air'') is a 1945 World War II film about U.S. Navy blimps directed by William A. Wellman and starring Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, Jan Clayton and James Gleason. The support ...

'' (1944) co starring

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...

. MGM gave Drake the star role in '' The Green Years'' (1946), which was a huge hit.. It was followed by '' Courage of Lassie'' (1946), another big hit, and '' Faithful in My Fashion'' (1946), which lost money. Universal borrowed him to play

Deanna Durbin Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...

's leading man in '' I'll Be Yours'' (1947). Back at MGM Drake was a support in '' The Beginning or the End'' (1947) and '' Cass Timberlane'' (1947), and teamed with Beery again in '' Alias a Gentleman'' (1948). He did another Lassie film, '' Hills of Home'' (1948) and played composer

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

in the loosely-based biography '' Words and Music'' (1948). ''Cass Timberlane'' was popular but the other films all lost money. Drake was borrowed by Fox to play the romantic lead in '' Mr. Belvedere Goes to College'' (1949) then at MGM was in '' Scene of the Crime'' (1949) with

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metr ...

. He made ''

The Great Rupert ''The Great Rupert'' is a 1950 comedy family film starring Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake and Terry Moore, produced by George Pal and directed by Irving Pichel. It is based on a story written by Ted Allan that has also been published as a children' ...

'' (1950) for

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

Later career

Drake began appearing on episodes of TV shows such as ''

The Ford Theatre Hour ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

'', ''Suspense'', ''Lights Out'', ''Tales of Tomorrow'', ''The Unexpected''. He went to Columbia for '' Never Trust a Gambler'' (1951) and to Allied Artists for ''

Disc Jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

'' (1951). He appeared in '' F.B.I. Girl'' (1951), and '' Sangaree'' (1953). After television jobs for actors transitioned from live telecasts from New York to shows that were filmed in California, Drake had roles in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with anot ...

'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Cimarron City'',

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'', ABC's '' The Rebel'', CBS’ ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'', ABC's ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers ...

'', ABC's ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968, and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the G ...

'', NBC's ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...

'', ABC's ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is an American television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ow ...

'' and NBC's ''

Banacek ''Banacek'' is an American detective television series starring George Peppard that aired on NBC from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several othe ...

''. He continued to appear in features, starring in '' The Cyclops'' (1957), '' Date with Disaster'' (1957) (a rare lead), and '' Raintree County'' (1957). He played the leader of a gang of criminals in ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver". The term came to apply special ...

'' (1959) and was in '' Money, Women and Guns'' (1958). He also had a minor role in the film ''

The Singing Nun Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers (17 October 1933 – 29 March 1985), better known as and often called The Singing Nun in English-speaking countries, was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic singer-songwriter and former member ...

'' (1966), playing

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News ...

's producer Mr. Fitzpatrick. His last acting credit was in 1975.

Personal life

Tom Drake was married to Isabelle Dunn during the 1940s. Drake was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and supported

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

during the 1952 presidential election.''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers

Death

Drake died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

at age 64 at Torrance Memorial Hospital in

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

on August 11, 1982. His body is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Filmography

Features: *''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'' (1940) - Best Man at Wedding (uncredited) (film debut) *''

The Mortal Storm ''The Mortal Storm'' is a 1940 American drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.''Harrison's Reports'' film review; June 22, 1940, page 98. It was directed by Frank Borzage and stars Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The film shows the ...

'' (1940) - Student in Second Classroom Scene (uncredited) *'' The Howards of Virginia'' (1940) - James Howard at 16 *'' Northern Pursuit'' (1943) - Heinzmann (uncredited) *'' Two Girls and a Sailor'' (1944) - Frank Miller *''

The White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

'' (1944) - Dying American Soldier (uncredited) *'' Maisie Goes to Reno'' (1944) - Sgt. William (Bill) Fullerton *''

'' (1944) - Bill Rice *''

'' (1944) - Ned Talbot *''

'' (1944) - John Truitt *''

'' (1945) - Jess Weaver *'' Main Street After Dark'' (1945) - Radio Broadcaster (voice, uncredited) *'' The Green Years'' (1946) - Robert Shannon as a Young Man *'' Courage of Lassie'' (1946) - Sergeant Smitty *'' Faithful in My Fashion'' (1946) - Jeff Compton *'' I'll Be Yours'' (1947) - George Prescott *'' The Beginning or the End'' (1947) - Matt Cochran *'' Cass Timberlane'' (1947) - Jamie Wargate *'' Alias a Gentleman'' (1948) - Johnny Lorgen *'' Hills of Home'' (1948) - Tammas Milton *'' Words and Music'' (1948) - Richard 'Dick' Rodgers *'' Mr. Belvedere Goes to College'' (1949) - Bill Chase *'' Scene of the Crime'' (1949) - Detective 'C.C.' Gordon *''

'' (1950) - Peter 'Pete' Dingle *'' Never Trust a Gambler'' (1951) - Police Sgt. Ed Donovan *''

'' (1951) - Johnny *''

FBI Girl ''FBI Girl'' is a 1951 American film noir crime film about a female FBI employee who becomes involved in a government plot involving corruption and murder. The film was directed by William A. Berke, and stars Cesar Romero, George Brent and Au ...

'' (1951) - Carl Chercourt *'' Sangaree'' (1953) - Dr. Roy Darby *'' Betrayed Women'' (1955) - Jeff Darrell *'' Sudden Danger'' (1955) - Wallace Curtis *'' The Cyclops'' (1957) - Lee Brand *'' Date with Disaster'' (1957) - Miles Harrington *'' Raintree County'' (1957) - Bobby Drake *'' Money, Women and Guns'' (1958) - Jess Ryerson *''

'' (1959) - Abe McQuown *'' The Bramble Bush'' (1960) - Larry McFie *''

The Sandpiper ''The Sandpiper'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the third of eleven films starring the power couple. Plot Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother liv ...

'' (1965) - Walter Robinson *'' House of the Black Death'' (1965) - Paul Desard *'' Johnny Reno'' (1966) - Joe Conners *''

'' (1966) - Fitzpatrick *'' Red Tomahawk'' (1967) - Bill Kane *'' Deadly Inheritance'' (1968) - Phil Sutton *'' Warkill'' (1968) - Inspector Gerard Greville *'' Cycle Psycho'' (1973) - Dick Ridelander *''The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe'' (1974) - Dr. Adam Forrest (final film)

Selected Television Appearances

* ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'' (1965) (Season 3 Episode 29: "Off Season") as Sheriff Dade

References

External links

* * as (Alfred Alderdice) {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Tom 1918 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Roman Catholics American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American Roman Catholics Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City California Democrats Catholics from California Catholics from New York (state) Deaths from lung cancer in California Male actors from Brooklyn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players New York (state) Democrats