Drake, Alfred [né Alfredo Capurro] (1914–92), actor and singer. A “Broadway old‐timer” is reputed to have said, “Nobody looks at a woman like Alfred Drake. It turns out he looks at everything like that. It's a good look.” Whatever the reason for his particular magnetism, the darkly handsome Drake was the finest leading man of the 1940s and 1950s, combining a superb baritone voice with exceptional acting and comic skills. He studied singing in his native New York, then made his debut in the chorus of several 1935 Gilbert and Sullivan revivals and White Horse Inn (1936). After playing increasingly important roles in Babes in Arms (1937), The Two Bouquets (1938), One for the Money (1939), The Straw Hat Revue (1939), and Two for the Show (1940), Drake won widespread recognition when he created the role of Curly in Oklahoma! (1943). He was applauded for his performances in Sing Out, Sweet Land (1944), The Beggar's Holiday (1946), The Cradle Will Rock (1947), and Joy to the World (1948), before starring as the shrew‐taming Fred Graham in Kiss Me, Kate (1948). After a brief appearance as the egotistical David Petri in The Gambler (1952), he scored again as the wily Hajj in Kismet (1953), then played Othello and Benedick for the American Shakespeare Festival. Drake later garnered excellent notices in three failures, Kean (1961), Lorenzo (1963), and Gigi (1973). Drake helped adapt several Italian plays, including The Gambler, and directed a number of shows.
Alfred Drake
| American Theater Guide: Alfred Drake |
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Alfred Drake |
| Actor: Alfred Drake |
- Born: Oct 07, 1914 in Bronx, New York City, New York
- Died: Jul 25, 1992 in New York, New York
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '40s-'80s, 2000s
- Major Genres: Theater, Comedy
- Career Highlights: Tars and Spars, Hamlet, Hanya: Portrait of a Pioneer
- First Major Screen Credit: Tars and Spars (1946)
Biography
Alfred Drake achieved most of his fame working in Broadway musicals such as Oklahoma! and Kiss Me Kate, but he has also worked on television and occasionally in feature films. In 1954 he won a Tony for playing a street poet in Kismet. With his rich baritone voice and strong stage presence, Drake was well-suited to Shakespeare and in films earned much acclaim for portraying Claudius in Richard Burton's version of Hamlet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide| Filmography: Alfred Drake |
| Wikipedia: Alfred Drake |
| Alfred Drake | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alfred Capurro October 7, 1914 New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | July 25, 1992 (aged 77) New York City, New York, USA |
| Spouse(s) | Alma Tollefsen (?-? divorced)
(1944 – his death; 2 children) |
Alfred Drake (October 7, 1914 - July 25, 1992) was an American actor and singer.
Born Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from the town of Recco, in the Province of Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College. He is best known for his leading roles in the original Broadway productions of such American musicals as Oklahoma!, Kiss Me, Kate, and Kean, and for the roles of Marshall Blackstone in the original production of Babes in Arms (in which he sang the title song) and Hajj in Kismet for which he received the Tony Award. He was also a prolific Shakespearean, notably starring as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing opposite Katharine Hepburn.
Drake was mostly a stage and television star; he starred in only one film,Tars and Spars, but played several roles on television. His first musical television appearance was as Captain Dick Warrington in the January 15, 1955 live telecast of the operetta "Naughty Marietta". His 1964 stage performance as Claudius in the Richard Burton Hamlet was filmed live on the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, using a "quickie" process called Electronovision, and shown in movie theatres in a very limited engagement. It was also recorded on LP. Today's audiences may remember him as the President of the Stock Exchange in the 1983 Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd film Trading Places. His final stage appearance in a musical was in 1973 as Honore LaChaisse in Lerner and Loewe's Gigi. Two years later he starred in a revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.
Alfred Drake died of heart failure, after a long fight with cancer, in New York City at the age of 77.[1]
Contents |
Family life
Alfred Drake is survived by his wife Esther, his two daughters Candace Olmsted and Samantha Drake, and two grandchildren.[1]
Theatre credits
- The Gondoliers (1935)
- The Yeomen of the Guard (1935)
- The Pirates of Penzance (1935)
- The Mikado (1935)
- White Horse Inn (1936)
- Babes in Arms (1937)
- The Two Bouquets (1938)
- One for the Money (1939)
- The Straw Hat Revue (1939)
- Two for the Show (1940)
- As You Like It (1941)
- Oklahoma! (1943)
- Sing Out, Sweet Land (1944)
- Beggar's Holiday (1946)
- The Cradle Will Rock (1947)
- Kiss Me, Kate (1948)
- Joy to the World (1948)
- The Liar (1950)
- Courtin' Time (1951) - rare outing as a director
- The King and I (1952)
- The Gambler (1952)
- Kismet (1953)
- Kean (1961)
- Zenda (1963)
- Lorenzo (1963)
- Hamlet (1964)
- Those That Play the Clowns (1966)
- Song of the Grasshopper (1967)
- Gigi (1973)
- The Skin of Our Teeth (1975)
References
- ^ a b Alfred Drake — New York Times
External links
- Alfred Drake at the Internet Broadway Database
- Alfred Drake at the Internet Movie Database
- Alfred Drake — Broadway — The American Musical — Stars over Broadway
- Alfred Drake — Overview — AllMovie
- Alfred Drake — Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- Alfred Drake performing in "Oklahoma!" on Broadway in 1943
- Alfred Drake and others — Who's Who in Musicals
- Alfred Drake Obituary — The New York Times
- Alfred Drake Obituary — The Independent, U.K.
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 | Broadway's Greatest Leading Men (2000 Album by Various Artists) |
| Naughty Marietta (1955 Theater Film) |
| Kismet [1965 New York Revival Cast Recording] (1965 Album by 1965 New York Revival Cast) |
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Broadway's Greatest Leading Men (2000 Album by Various Artists)
- Naughty Marietta (1955 Theater Film)
- Kismet [1965 New York Revival Cast Recording] (1965 Album by 1965 New York Revival Cast)
- Oklahoma!, Vol. 2 (1945 Album by Original Broadway Cast)
- Roberta/Vagabond King (2002 Album by 1944 Studio Cast/1951 Studio Cast)
- Roberta; The Vagabond King (Highlights) (Classical Album)
- Babes in Arms (American Theater)
- The Taming of the Shrew (American Theater)
- Bill Johnson (Vocal Music Artist, '40s, '50s)
- Something Wonderful: Bryn Terfel Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein (1996 Album by Bryn Terfel)
- Kiss Me, Kate [Original Broadway Cast] [Bonus Track] (1949 Album by Original Broadway Cast)
- A Time of Hope: Broadway 1935-1946 (2005 Album by Various Artists)
- Kismet [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [MCA] (1955 Album by Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Original Cast! 100 Years of the American Musical Theater: The Fifties, Part 1 (1993 Album by Various Artists)
