Charles Drake

Charles Drake (born Charles Ruppert; October 2, 1917 – September 10, 1994) was an American actor. Biography Drake was born in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Bros., but he was not immediately successful. Drake served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Drake returned to Hollywood in 1945 and was cast in Conflict which starred Humphrey Bogart. His contract with Warner Brothers eventually ended. In the 1940s, he did some freelance work, including A Night in Casablanca (1946). In 1949, he moved to Universal Studios, where he co-starred with James Stewart and Shelley Winters in Winchester '73 (1950) and again co-starred with Stewart in the film Harvey (also 1950) a screen adaptation of the Broadway play. He co-starred in the Audie Murphy biopic To Hell and Back (1955), as Murphy's close friend "Brandon". In 1955, Drake turned to television as one of the stock-company players on Montgomery's Summer Stock, a summer replacement for Robert Montgomery Presents and from 1957 he hosted the syndicated TV espionage weekly Schilling Playhouse (also known as Rendezvous). In 1956 Drake appeared as Tom Sweeny with Murphy and Anne Bancroft in Walk the Proud Land.