Larry Richard Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 21, 1949. Like many from the Sooner state, his father was an engineer in the oil industry, while his mother raised the family. After high school, Larry graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
His first film was a 1971 moonshine flick entitled This Stuff'll Kill Ya. Over the next 45 years, he'd amass more than 80 credits in film and television, but he is best remembered for his portrayal of Benny Stulwicz, a mentally disabled man, on the hit NBC drama L.A. Law, for which he'd win two Emmy awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
In the 1990s, Drake made a new name for himself in the horror genre, appearing in the Darkman film series and Dr. Giggles. He also appeared in the comedy sequel American Pie 2.
Drake's death was rather sudden. On March 17, 2016, he was found dead in his home. His manager later revealed that Drake was in poor health in the months prior his passing. His final cause of death was listed as blood cancer. He was 67 years old.
Larry Drake was cremated and his ashes were interred at the famed Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a place where this blogger hopes to one day work.
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| Location: East Lake View Mausoleum, Niche AD-4 |
Rest in peace.
Trivia
- The inscription on Larry's marker, "scio, non sugit," is Latin for "I know, it doesn't suck." This blogger would love to know the backstory for that!
- In 1992, Drake reprised his role of Durant for a proposed Darkman series on FOX. It was never picked up by the network, but you can watch the pilot episode on YouTube.
- In addition to his on-screen work, Drake was a popular voice-over artist as well. His most notable role was that of "Pops" on the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo. Take a listen on YouTube.
- Does anyone besides me and his mother remember that Pat Sajak once left Wheel of Fortune to host his own nighttime talk show? Here's a clip from 1989, in which he interviewed Larry about L.A. Law. Skip to the 19-minute mark.
