Claudia Drake

Drake appeared in comedy films with Fatty Arbuckle and Ben Turpin when she was 3 years old. At age 5, she and her sister Ella (age 8) formed the La Marr sisters, and the duo performed in vaudeville. Drake described their routines as "a typical sister act — songs, dances, and funny sayings."^[2] When Drake was a child, Tom Mix was her family's neighbor. He taught her to shoot and ride.^[2]

When Drake was 12 years old, she was told that she was too old to continue performing. She went to school until she reached 16, when she decided to resume performing.^[2]

Misrepresenting her age as 18, Drake became a chorus girl at the Warner studio. She also performed swimming sequences for Ruby Keeler in Footlight Parade (1933). Another stint in vaudeville followed as she and Ella re-created their act and toured the United States. When Ella married, the sister act ended, and Drake worked solo for a while in vaudeville before she returned to films.^[2]

Busby Berkeley saw her singing in a casino and signed her to a contract with Warner Bros. Her roles in films included being leading lady in Hopalong Cassidy Westerns.^[3] Her work in Cassidy films varied from that of his previous leading ladies. Producer Harry Sherman said, "I've always wanted to turn loose on the screen a hard-ridin', hard-shootin' cowgirl"; Drake fulfilled that desire.^[2] No stunt doubles or off-camera tricks were used for her on-screen activities.^[2]

She appears in both leading and supporting roles in a variety of B movies, mostly Westerns, from the 1940s and 1950s. One of her more memorable supporting roles is the character Sue Harvey in the 1945 film noir Detour.^[4] During the 1950s she also performed in several American television series.