Tom Drake (real name Alfred Sinclair Alderdyce) is an American theater, film and television actor. He began his creative career in 1938 with a performance on the theater stage. In 1940 he first appeared on the screen in the film "Our City".
Tom has appeared in 123 television and film projects, including popular entertainment programs and documentaries.
Biography facts
Tom was born in the United States in 1918. His ancestors emigrated to America from Scotland and Norway. He received his primary education at the Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, then studied at the Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania.
During the Second World War, the young man was supposed to be drafted into the army, but due to heart problems, he was not accepted into the service.
Creative way
Tom was accepted into the theater troupe when he was 18 years old. But he began to speak actively only 2 years later under the names Alfred Alderdys, then he took the pseudonym Richard Alden. Much later, he began to call himself Tom Drake.
In January 1938, Tom began rehearsals for the piece "Trio for Saxaphones". The play was going to be staged in Philadelphia, and then on Broadway, but the premiere was postponed indefinitely.
In November of that year, Tom starred in the Raymond Knight comedy at the Windsor Theater. Over the next years, he embodied dozens of images on stage in classical and modern productions. Tom also made repeated radio recordings until mid-1979.
Tom came to the cinema in 1940. He quickly signed a deal with Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).
The artist has worked in many famous projects, including: "Two Girls and a Sailor", "Howards from Virginia", "Maisie Goes to Reno", "Miss Parkington", "This Man's Fleet", "Young Years", "Lights Out", "I'll Be Yours", "Nickname - Gentleman", "First Studio", "Suspense", "Crime Scene", "The Great Rupert", "Never Trust a Gambler", "Tales of Tomorrow", "The City He Burns "," Lassie "," Studio 57 "," Climax "," Disneyland "," Millionaire "," Smoke from the trunk "," Perry Mason "," Rawhide Mold "," Sheriff "," Bonanza "," Rebel ", The Untouchables, Ben Casey, The Hour of Alfred Hitchcock, Kulik, The Singing Nun, The Green Hornet, The Iron Side, Mennix, The Streets of San Francisco, Police Story, "Wild Abduction".
In the 1970s, he was less and less invited to shoot, he practically ceased to appear in public. And eventually he found another occupation, getting a job as a seller of used cars.
Drake played the last major role of Dr. Adam Forest in the film "The Specter of Edgar Alan Poe" in 1974.
The actor died at the age of 64 in a hospital in Thorens in the summer of 1982. For several years he was treated for lung cancer, but he could not cope with the disease. Drake was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in California.
Personal life
Not much is known about Tom's personal life. He married Isabelle Dunn (real name Eilenberger) in February 1945. But the marriage was short-lived. A year later, the husband and wife divorced.
He never met his love again, the famous artist failed to create a happy family.
