The Other Drake - Dr. Charles Drake - 1980
Performs Brain Surgery on the Singer Della Reese
The Source:
"Notes on People" Positive Response," Judith Cummings and Albin Krebs, The New York Times, Oct. 16, 1980.
Reese was flown to London to have emergency surgery by Dr. Drake. Here is related background from the Wikipedia entry:
"While singing "Little Boy Lost" on a taping of The Tonight Show, being guest hosted by Richard Dawson, in October 1979, Reese suffered a brain aneurysm. According to Reese, she was taken to two Los Angeles hospitals, which assumed she had a drug "overdose" because she was "Black and an entertainer". Reese's son, a psychiatrist, sent for her physician who "came immediately" to prove there were no drugs in Reese's system. A test officially revealed the aneurysm and Reese was sent to a brain surgeon at a London, Ontario hospital. The surgeon ultimately performed a five-hour surgery on Reese before she lost vision in her left eye. She ultimately made a full recovery and credited her spiritual faith in helping her recover."
Reese died in 2017 at the age of 86.
Dr. Drake died in 1998.
For a good profile of Dr. Drake see, "Dr. Charles Drake: Medical Miracleworker," which was originally published in The Forest City News, May 31, 1994. (Do you remember that paper?)
The photograph is from that source.
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