[2] Drake was born in Brooklyn, New York,[3] and attended Iona Preparatory School and graduated from Mercersburg Academy.

[5] After appearing in the film The Howards of Virginia (billed as Richard Alden),[3] he got his break after starring in the 1942 Broadway smash Janie,[6] after which he was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

[9] Back at MGM Drake was a support in The Beginning or the End (1947) and Cass Timberlane (1947), and teamed with Beery again in Alias a Gentleman (1948).

He did another Lassie film, Hills of Home (1948) and played composer Richard Rodgers in the loosely-based biography Words and Music (1948).

[8] Drake was borrowed by Fox to play the romantic lead in Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949) then at MGM was in Scene of the Crime (1949) with Van Johnson.

Drake began appearing on episodes of TV shows such as The Ford Theatre Hour, Suspense, Lights Out, Tales of Tomorrow, The Unexpected.

He continued to appear in features, starring in The Cyclops, Date with Disaster (1957) (a rare lead), and Raintree County (1957).