5 OF 19 
Betsy Drake; Cary Grant
5 of 19 portraits matching these criteria:
- set matching 'Tracy Granger gift'
© reserved; collection National Portrait Gallery, London
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Betsy Drake; Cary Grant
by Sanford H. Roth
gelatin silver print, early 1950s
13 1/2 in. x 10 1/8 in. (342 mm x 258 mm) image size
Given by the estate of Betsy Drake and Tracy Granger, 2016
Photographs Collection
NPG x199796
Sittersback to top
- Betsy Drake (1923-2015), Actress and writer; third wife of Cary Grant. Sitter in 18 portraits.
- Cary Grant (1904-1986), Film actor. Sitter in 18 portraits.
Linked publicationsback to top
- 100 Photographs, 2018, p. 79 Read entry
Betsy Drake (1923-2015) and Cary Grant (1904-86) first met by chance aboard the Queen Mary on a voyage from London to New York. She had just finished a London stage production that had captivated him. They were married on Christmas Day 1949, with film director Howard Hughes as best man. Grant, born Archibald Leach in Bristol, performed in British music halls before emigrating to New York in 1920 and becoming one of the most celebrated movie stars. This intimate and relaxed portrait by New York photographer Sanford H. Roth (1906-62) shows the couple at their home in Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, at the time when they were both appearing in the film Room for One More (1952). Drake went on to become a writer. They divorced in 1962 and she eventually settled in London.
Placesback to top
- Place made and portrayed: United States (sitters' home, Mulholland Drive, Hollywood)
Events of 1950back to top
Current affairs
Princess Anne is born at Clarence house, the only daughter of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.Art and science
C.S. Lewis publishes The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis was an Oxford Don, specialising in Medieval Literature and its use of allegory. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is often seen as an allegory of the Christian struggle between good and evil.International
Following the Soviet and American withdrawal from the occupation of North and South Korea respectively, the Korean War breaks out as each side seeks to unify Korea under its own political system. While the U.S.A., U.K and other UN nations came to the defence of South Korea, North Korea had support from the Soviet Union and China. The war continued until 1953.Comments back to top
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