Celebrity Biographies
Betsy drake
She shared the screen with the legendary Cary Grant in two comedies, “Home Sweet Home” and “Looking for a Husband,” and as if the latter’s title were a prophecy, she ended up becoming the legendary actor’s third wife. Betsy Drake passed away at the age of 92, on October 27, 2015, at her London residence.
Born on September 11, 1923, in the French capital, Betsy Drake was the daughter of wealthy American emigrants, but at that time the crash of 1929 destroyed her grandfather’s hotel in Chicago, so the family had to return to home. She grew up in Chicago, where she already discovered her acting vocation at school.
After reaching the age of majority, he moved to New York, where he worked in a hotel while trying to break into the acting world. She eventually befriended playwright Horton Foote , who offered her a part in his play “Only the Heart,” her first professional work.
With his work he caught the attention of producer Hall B. Wallis, who signed him to a contract with Warner. But when she landed in the movie mecca, she was quickly disenchanted, deciding she preferred the charts in the city of skyscrapers, so she declared herself insane to rescind her engagement with the production company, returning to New York theaters, where she was recruited by Elia Kazan for the lead role in “Deep Are the Roots” and became one of the founders of the Actors Studio with him.
His hatred of cinema began to disappear when he became friendly with Cary Grant , who came to see the latter play when it was being performed in London. Coincidentally, both coincided during the trip back to the American continent aboard the Queen Mary. The actor insisted that she had to return to the Seventh Art, and eventually she agreed to be recruited by David O. Selnick for RKO. Both starred in the romantic comedy In Search of a Husband .
Soon after, they were married in a private ceremony hosted by the best man, none other than tycoon Howard Hughes . After appearing together in Home Sweet Home they lived up to the title and established their own marital residence, purchasing Las Palomas Ranch in Palm Springs. She continued attached to the romantic comedy with titles such as A woman of care , along with Tony Randall .
Unfortunately, the screen still did not interest her much, so she soon concentrated on other interests, such as writing, eventually publishing the novel “Children, You Are Very Little” as Betsy Drake Grant.
After visiting her husband in Spain, where Pride and Passion was filming , she experienced one of the greatest tragedies of her life during the return trip, as she survived the sinking of the Andrea Doria liner, which collided with another vessel. 51 people lost their lives, but Betsy Drake was among the 700 who were rescued.
At that time, the rumors that Grant had been unfaithful to him with his co-star, Sophia Loren , quite unfounded knowing the character of the Italian actress, made a dent in the marriage. They ended up separating soon after, in 1958, and they divorced definitively in 1962. Although they remained close friends, she took this episode very badly, as well as the fact of not having had children, and turned to LSD, in a then-legal therapy, to try to get over it.
She ended up retiring to London, where she always denied rumors about Cary Grant ‘s sexuality , which supposedly would have been hell for her. “I didn’t have time to think about her homosexuality, we were too busy in bed,” Betsy Drake declared rudely .