Betsy Drake, actress and Cary Grant’s third wife, dies at 92

Betsy Drake, an actress and third wife to Cary Grant, has died. She was 92 years old.

A friend told The Hollywood Reporter that Drake died on Oct. 27 at her London home. She moved there after she and Grant divorced in 1962 and retiring from Hollywood.

Grant met Drake in 1949 after he saw her perform on the stage. They married on Christmas Day 1949 and Grant helped her get a contract at RKO. The two starred together in Every Girl Should Be Married and Room For One More. During their marriage, Drake introduced Grant to LSD therapy, which was still legal until 1966.

Drake’s other credits include Dancing in the Dark, The Second Woman and Pretty Baby. She was also in the unique Frank Tashlin film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?.

In 1956, she survived the sinking of the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria.

Drake had hoped to make a third film with Grant and wrote Houseboat for the two of them. However, Grant had an affair with Sophia Loren, so he had the script rewritten so Loren could appear in it. Drake’s name didn’t appear on the film.

As People notes, Grant and Drake separated in 1958, but didn’t get a divorce until 1962. It was his longest marriage and the two did remain friends until Grant died in 1986.