Alfred drake sings oh what a beautiful mornin rare video clip
Biography
Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, 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 Oklahoma!; Kiss Me, Kate; Kismet; and for playing 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 actor; he starred in only one film, Tars and Spars (1946), but played several roles on television. He appeared in a minor film role as president of the stock exchange in the classic comedy Trading Places (1983), with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. 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 BurtonHamlet 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. His final stage appearance in a musical was in 1973 as Honore LaChaisse in Lerner and Loewe'sGigi. Two years later he starred in a revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.
As a director he staged the 1974 premiere of The Royal Rape of Ruari Macasmunde at the Virginia Museum Theater. He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.
He was also a published author - writing at least a few plays: Dr. Willy Nilly, an adaptation of Molière's The Doctor in Spite of Himself, an adaptation of Goldoni's The Liar, and even at least one book on cards (specifically Gin Rummy).
Death
Alfred Drake died of heart failure, after a long fight with cancer, in New York City at the age of 77.
Family life
Alfred Drake is survived by his wife Esther, his two daughters Candace Olmsted and Samantha Drake, and two grandchildren.
Musical Comedy Theatre (1952) ("The Barkleys of Broadway")
Filmography
Actor
1985
The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (TV Movie) as
The Great Ak (voice)
1985
Spenser: For Hire (TV Series) as
Roman St. George
- Autumn Thieves (1985) - Roman St. George
1983
Trading Places as
President of Exchange
1982
The Edge of Night (TV Series) as
Dwight Endicott
1975
The Wide World of Mystery (TV Series) as
Fred Carter
- Visit from a Dead Man (1975) - Fred Carter
1964
Hamlet as
Claudius
1963
The DuPont Show of the Week (TV Series) as
Loui Zakin
- The Legend of Lylah Clare (1963) - Loui Zakin
1960
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) as
Singer
- Episode #14.24 (1961) - Singer
- Episode #14.12 (1960) - Singer
1960
Play of the Week (TV Series) as
Mosca, Volpone's servant
- Volpone (1960) - Mosca, Volpone's servant
1959
The Voice of Firestone (TV Series)
- From Oklahoma to Music Man (1959)
1958
Kiss Me, Kate (TV Movie) as
Frederick Graham (Petruchio)
1957
The Yeomen of the Guard (TV Movie) as
Jack Point
1956
The Alcoa Hour (TV Series) as
King
- Key Largo (1956) - King
1956
The Adventures of Marco Polo (TV Movie) as
Marco Polo
1955
Max Liebman Presents: Naughty Marietta (TV Movie) as
Capt. Dick Warrington
1952
Cameo Theatre (TV Series)
- Dark of the Moon (1952)
1951
Celanese Theatre (TV Series) as
George Simon
- Counsellor-at-Law (1951) - George Simon
1951
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (TV Series)
- The French Governor (1951)
1950
The Billy Rose Show (TV Series)
- If You're an Actor--Act! (1950)
1949
The Philco Television Playhouse (TV Series) as
Captain Brown
- Quality Street (1949) - Captain Brown
1946
Tars and Spars as
Howard Young
Soundtrack
2014
Brows Held High (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)
- 10 Things I Hate About You (2014) - (performer: "Kiss Me Kate")
1971
The 25th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) (performer: "Where Is the Life That Late I Led?", "The Olive Tree")
1959
Music from Shubert Alley (TV Special) (performer: "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'", "Love Me Tonight")
1958
The Voice of Firestone (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)
- Episode #10.8 (1958) - (performer: "The Olive Tree", "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", "Wunderbar", "While Hearts are Singing")
1956
The Adventures of Marco Polo (TV Movie) (performer: "Beyond the Sunrise", "Market Day", "Population", "The Tartar Song", "Who, Me?", "Is It You", "You'll Be Seeing Me" (Reprise), "Epilogue")
Self
1990
American Masters (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story (1990) - Self
1990
The 44th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) as
Self - Tony of Honor Recipient
1988
Hanya: Portrait of a Pioneer (Documentary) as
Narrator
1985
Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of American Music (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1982
Night of 100 Stars (TV Special) as
Self
1978
Watch Your Mouth (TV Series) as
Self
- The Star (1978) - Self
1975
Bicentennial Minutes (TV Series short) as
Self - Narrator
- Episode #1.525 (1975) - Self - Narrator
1975
Dinah! (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #2.47 (1975) - Self
1974
The 28th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) as
Self - Nominee
1973
The Merv Griffin Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Alfred Drake, Pamela Mason, Uri Geller, Captain Edgar Mitchell (1973) - Self
1972
Your Money or Your Wife (TV Movie) as
Self
1972
The 26th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) as
Self - Performer
1971
The 25th Annual Tony Awards (TV Special) as
Self - Performer
1965
Today (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 21 May 1965 (1965) - Self
1958
The Voice of Firestone (TV Series) as
Self
- The Music of the 1920's (1963) - Self
- Episode #10.8 (1958) - Self
1959
The Bell Telephone Hour (TV Series) as
Self - Singer / Self - Host
- Music of Love (1962) - Self - Host
- Much Ado About Music (1961) - Self - Singer
- And Freedom Sings (1960) - Self - Singer
- A Night of Music (1959) - Self - Singer
1961
PM East (TV Series) as
Self
- Broadway Musicals (1961) - Self
1960
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) as
Self - Singer
- Episode #14.40 (1961) - Self - Singer
- Episode #13.28 (1960) - Self - Singer
1961
Golden Showcase (TV Series) as
Self - Host
- Romeos and Juliets - A Theme with Variations (1961) - Self - Host
1959
Showtime (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #2.6 (1960) - Self
- Episode #1.8 (1959) - Self
- Episode #1.7 (1959) - Self
1960
First Night (TV Movie) as
Self
1959
Music from Shubert Alley (TV Special) as
Self
1959
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #3.22 (1959) - Self
1959
The Garry Moore Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Alfred Drake, Vivian Blaine, Georgie Kaye, The Kingston Trio (1959) - Self
1953
The Arthur Murray Party (TV Series) as
Self - Musical Comedy Star / Self - Singer / Self - Singer Actor / ...
- Episode #9.7 (1958) - Self - Musical Comedy Star
- Alfred Drake (1954) - Self - Singer
- Alfred Drake (1954) - Self - Singer Actor
- Episode #4.11 (1953) - Self - actor-singer
1957
The Big Record (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #1.4 (1957) - Self
1956
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (TV Series) as
Self - Singer
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Alfred Drake, Erin O'Brien, T.C. Jones, Jim Henson & the Muppets, Rod Alexander Dancers, Les Brown & His Band of Renown (1956) - Self - Singer
1956
Max Liebman Spectaculars (TV Series) as
Self - Narrator
- The Music of Gershwin (1956) - Self - Narrator
1954
The Tonight Show (TV Series) as
Self - Broadway cast of 'Kismet'
- Eugene List, Elaine Stritch, Alfred Drake, Doretta Morrow, and the cast of "Kismet". (1954) - Self - Broadway cast of 'Kismet'
1953
Celebrity Parade for Cerebral Palsy (TV Special) as
Self
1951
The Eyes Have It (TV Series) as
Self - Guest panelist
- Bill Corum, Galdys Swarthout, Alfred Drake (1951) - Self - Guest panelist
1951
Richard Rodgers' Jubilee Show (TV Special) as
Self
1951
The Philco Television Playhouse (TV Series) as
Self
- Salute to Richard Rodgers (1951) - Self
1948
Strange Victory (Documentary) as
Narrator
1945
Diary of a Sergeant (Documentary short) as
Harold Russell (voice, uncredited)
Archive Footage
2014
Michael Grade's Stars of the Musical Theatre (TV Movie documentary)
2007
Insider Trading: The Making of 'Trading Places' (Video documentary short) as
President of Exchange (uncredited)
2007
Trading Places: Dressing the Part (Video documentary short) as
President of Exchange (uncredited)
2005
Great Performances (TV Series) as
Self - Performer
- Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of the Tony Awards (2005) - Self - Performer
2004
Broadway: The American Musical (TV Mini Series documentary) as
Curly McLain / Petruchio
- Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin': 1943-1960 (2004) - Curly McLain / Petruchio
1999
Biography (TV Series documentary) as
President of Exchange
- Don Ameche: Hollywood's Class Act (1999) - President of Exchange (uncredited)
