He was one of a group of actors, including Fletcher Markle, Alan Young, Lister Sinclair, Len Peterson, Arthur Hill, Bernie Braden and Andrew Allan, who emerged in Vancouver prior to World War II, and eventually moved to Toronto to become part of the CBC's "Golden Age of Radio".
He also worked with other notables throughout his long radio career, including Jane Mallett, Toby Robins, Barry Morse, James Doohan, and Christopher Plummer.
Ill with cancer, Drainie left the series in its second year, and was replaced by Patrick Watson.
[3] His widow, Claire, subsequently married Canadian theatre impresario Nathan A. Taylor.
He was also posthumously inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame with a Star Walk plaque on Granville Street.