Early Life
Drake was born in a small town outside of Richmond, Virginia. He traced his family's roots in Virginia back to 1638. When he was 10-years-old, he moved with his family to California, after his father had developed an incurable skin condition. They settled in Manhattan Beach. Eleven years later, he found himself working as a contract player for RKO.
During World War II Drake joined the United States Marine Corps. He was one of Carlson's Raiders at Guadalcanal who were surrounded by the Japanese. Drake was wounded and was sent home for an operation on his knee at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. At the end of 1943, he was transferred to the Long Beach Naval Hospital.
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