Tom Drake (actor)

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Tom "Buddy" Drake (born August 5, 1918 in Brooklyn , New York City as Alfred Sinclair Alderdice , † August 11, 1982 in Torrance , California ) was an American actor . Between 1940 and 1978 he made around 130 film and television appearances.

Life

Tom Drake, born as Alfred Alderdice with Scottish-Norwegian ancestors, gained his first experience as an actor on Broadway in his hometown New York in the late 1930s . He played there in the plays Run Sheep Run and Clean Beds , especially the success of the latter piece made Hollywood aware of him. From 1940 he was cast in supporting roles in the films of MGM . A first major role in the war drama The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) fell victim to the film editing. He had greater success as a partner of Judy Garland in the film musical Meet Me In St. Louis, also made in 1944 . Drake was also used as the likeable “Boy Next Door” in other films of the 1940s. In his leading role in the family film The Legacy (1946), he asserted himself alongside actors such as Hume Cronyn , Charles Coburn , Jessica Tandy and Gladys Cooper . In the film musical Words and Music (1948) he appeared on the side of Mickey Rooney as the narrator of the film story.

One of his last major film roles was in Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) alongside Clifton Webb and Shirley Temple . From the beginning of the 1950s he only got supporting roles in films, while at the same time he took on guest roles in numerous television series . He had a notable character role in 1959 in the film Warlock , where he played the boss of a criminal gang. From around 1970 he only made sporadic film and television appearances, instead he built up a second job as a used car dealer. The actor died of lung cancer in 1982 at the age of 64. He is buried in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Drake at Allmovie
  2. ↑ Tom Drake at Allmovie
personal data
SURNAME Drake, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alderdice, Alfred Sinclair; Alden, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 5, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York City , New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH August 11, 1982
Place of death Torrance , California, United States