Born 1918 as Alfred Sinclair Alderdice in Brooklyn, New York, American actor Tom Drake made films starting in 1940 and continuing until the mid-1970s, and also made TV acting appearances.
After appearing in the film The Howards of Virginia, Drake got his break after starring in the 1942 Broadway smash Janie, after which he was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM promoted him to leading roles with This Man’s Navy (1944) co starring Wallace Beery, and gave him 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.
Drake began appearing on episodes of TV shows such as The Ford Theatre Hour, Suspense, Lights Out, Tales of Tomorrow, The Unexpected. After television jobs for actors transitioned from live telecasts from New York to shows that were filmed in California, he had roles in the CBS series Lassie, NBC’s Cimarron City, ABC’s 77 Sunset Strip, ABC’s The Rebel, CBS’ Perry Mason, ABC’s Combat!, ABC’s Land of the Giants, NBC’s Adam-12, ABC’s The Streets of San Francisco and NBC’s Banacek. His last acting credit was in 1975.
Drake died of lung cancer at age 64 at Torrance Memorial Hospital in Torrance, California in 1982. Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of a young and handsome Tom Drake in the 1940s.
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