Tom Drake was a renowned American actor with a remarkable career spanning several decades. Born Alfred Sinclair Alderdice in 1918 in Brooklyn, New York, he attended Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, New York, and Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
Drake initially began his acting career on Broadway in New York City, performing in plays such as "Run Sheep Run" (1938) and "Clean Beds" (1939),initially using the stage name "Richard Alden" before changing it to "Tom Drake".
In the early 1940s, Drake started appearing in theatrical films, initially with uncredited parts as an extra before earning his first film credit in the 1940 film "The Howards of Virginia", where he played the character James Howard.
Drake's career received a significant boost in 1942 when he starred in the hit Broadway play "Janie", which led to him being signed to a full contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. At the age of 24, however, he was found ineligible for military service in World War II due to a heart disease diagnosis.
Drake's most notable role during the War was as John Truett in the musical "Meet Me in St. Louis", opposite Judy Garland. Following the War, he appeared in over 30 films and several television series, eventually breaking out of typecasting in 1959 with his role as gang leader Abe McQuown in the Western film "Warlock".
By the early 1970s, Drake's career began to decline, with his final film role being the character Dr. Adam Forrest in the horror film "The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe" (1974). Drake passed away in 1982 due to lung cancer, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
