Claudia Drake

Claudia Drake
Claudia Drake
	Drake (left) with Donald Woods in Enemy of Women, 1944
Born	Olga Gloria Fishbine; January 30, 1918; Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	October 19, 1997 (aged 79); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1933 – 1958 (film)

Claudia Drake (born Olga Gloria Fishbine, January 30, 1918 – October 19, 1997) was an American actress and singer.^[1]

Early years

Drake appeared in comedy films with Fatty Arbuckle and Ben Turpin when she was 3 years old. At age 5, she and her sister Ella (age 8) formed the La Marr sisters, and the duo performed in vaudeville. Drake described their routines as "a typical sister act — songs, dances, and funny sayings."^[2] When Drake was a child, Tom Mix was her family's neighbor. He taught her to shoot and ride.^[2]

When Drake was 12 years old, she was told that she was too old to continue performing. She went to school until she reached 16, when she decided to resume performing.^[2]

Career

Misrepresenting her age as 18, Drake became a chorus girl at the Warner studio. She also performed swimming sequences for Ruby Keeler in Footlight Parade (1933). Another stint in vaudeville followed as she and Ella re-created their act and toured the United States. When Ella married, the sister act ended, and Drake worked solo for a while in vaudeville before she returned to films.^[2]

Busby Berkeley saw her singing in a casino and signed her to a contract with Warner Bros. Her roles in films included being leading lady in Hopalong Cassidy Westerns.^[3] Her work in Cassidy films varied from that of his previous leading ladies. Producer Harry Sherman said, "I've always wanted to turn loose on the screen a hard-ridin', hard-shootin' cowgirl"; Drake fulfilled that desire.^[2] No stunt doubles or off-camera tricks were used for her on-screen activities.^[2]

She appears in both leading and supporting roles in a variety of B movies, mostly Westerns, from the 1940s and 1950s. One of her more memorable supporting roles is the character Sue Harvey in the 1945 film noir Detour.^[4] During the 1950s she also performed in several American television series.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1933	Footlight Parade	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
1941	No Greater Sin	Flo	Uncredited
1942	Flying with Music	Jill Parker
1942	Reunion in France	Girl	Uncredited
1943	Border Patrol	Inez La Barca
1943	False Colors	Faith Lawton
1943	Campus Rhythm	Cynthia Walker
1944	Enemy of Women	Maria Brandt
1945	The Lady Confesses	Lucille Compton
1945	Bedside Manner	Tanya Punchinskaya
1945	Why Girls Leave Home	Marianna Mason
1945	The Crimson Canary	Anita Lane
1945	Detour	Sue Harvey
1946	Live Wires	Jeanette
1946	The Face of Marble	Elaine Randolph
1946	The Gentleman from Texas	Kitty Malone
1946	Lawless Breed	Cherie
1946	Lone Star Moonlight	Mimi Carston
1946	Renegade Girl	Mary Manson
1947	The Return of Rin Tin Tin	Mrs. Graham
1948	Lady at Midnight	Carolyn 'Sugar' Gold
1948	Indian Agent	Torquoise
1949	The Cowboy and the Indians	Lucy Broken Arm
1952	The Pace That Thrills	Pearl
1953	Northern Patrol	Oweena
1954	Day of Triumph	Martha	Uncredited
1957	Calypso Joe	Astra Vargas

References

^ "California Birth and Death Records, 1818-1994", digital image of original birth certificate of Olga Gloria Fishbine, January 30, 1918, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, California; Bureau of Vital Statistics, California State Board of Health, Sacramento. FamilySearch database.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Johnson, Erskine (June 16, 1943). "In Hollywood". Tallahassee Democrat. Newspaper Enterprise. p. 4. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
^ Morton, Lisa; Adamson, Kent (February 18, 2015). Savage Detours: The Life and Work of Ann Savage. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5706-9. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
^ Renzi p.203