Artist:Alfred Drake
Song:Where Is The Life That Late I Led?
Album:Kiss Me, Kate: Original Broadway Cast
Though he is forgotten today, Alfred Drake was a big Broadway star in the 40s and 50s. He starred in several original musicals that became standards including Kiss Me, Kate. He won a Tony for Kismet. And he performed in TV productions of these shows. He was born Alfred Capurro Oct. 7, 1914 in New York City. His parents were Italian immigrants. Drake began performing in musicals while attending Brooklyn College. His first Broadway appearance was in Babes in Arms in 1937. But the show that made Drake a star was Oklahoma in 1943. From there he starred in Kiss Me, Kate, The King and I and he won a Tony for the 1953 show Kismet. Of course Kiss Me, Kate featured songs by Cole Porter. It's basically a backstage musical. It was first produced in 1948 starring Drake and Patricia Morison. Drake did not appear in any of the film versions of these musicals. But he did appear a lot on live TV. The original cast album for Kiss Me, Kate is available on CD. Drake continued to appear on Broadway in the 60s. His final show was in 1975. After a recurring appearance on the daytime soap The Edge of Night and an appearance in the 1983 Eddie Murphy film Trasding Places, Alfred Drake died on July 25, 1992 at age 77. Here's Alfred Drake performing Where Is The Life That Late I Led? on the 1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV production of Kiss Me, Kate. This show can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
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