Noah Drake

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

is a fictional character on the

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daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. The role has been portrayed by Australian musician and actor

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

. In 2007, Springfield also played Drake's look-alike, fictional rock star

Eli Love This is a list of characters that have appeared or been mentioned on the American ABC soap opera ''General Hospital''. A Aaron :( Chad Brannon, 2009) Abigail :(Ivy Bethune, 1987) Sarah Abbott :(Eileen Dietz, 1981–83) ::Roommate to Heather ...

and at the 2013 Nurses Ball, Springfield portrayed himself during a performance of "

Jessie's Girl "Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album '' Working Class Dog'', which was released in February 1981. The song is about unrequited love and centers on a young man in love ...

Casting

Rick Springfield originated the role of Noah Drake in 1981, and played the character for two years before leaving to pursue his music career, last airing on January 27, 1983. Springfield was asked to return to the show in 2005 and first appeared on December 2. The stay was originally planned to be four episodes, but the series asked Springfield to stay on longer. He continued appearing until August 24, 2007. He returned again for a summer story arc the following year, from July 8 through September 22, 2008. In 2012, Springfield made a guest appearance during

Kimberly McCullough Kimberly Anne McCullough (born March 5, 1978) is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her role as Robin Scorpio on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', a role which she originated at age seven, playing the characte ...

's exit storyline. In 2013, Springfield made an appearance to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. Springfield also played himself, singing "Jessie's Girl" at the 2013 Nurses' Ball.

Storylines

1981–83

Soon after Dr. Noah Drake arrives at General Hospital in 1981, he gains a reputation of being a playboy. He becomes involved with nurse

Bobbie Spencer Barbara Jean "Bobbie" Spencer, RN is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'', portrayed by Jacklyn Zeman. She debuted in December 1977, after playing Lana McClain on the sister-soap ''One Life to Live''. Zeman went o ...

, but she realizes he is unable to commit to her. She fakes blindness in order to keep him by her side, but the lies contribute to the end of their relationship. Dr. Noah Drake leaves Port Charles and General Hospital to take a new position at a hospital in Atlanta, GA as a way to give himself a fresh start in life.

2005–13

Drake returns to the show in late 2005. The character is no longer practicing medicine as he has become an alcoholic after his wife died on his operating table. Drake returns to town at the request of

Robin Scorpio Robin Scorpio is a fictional character from the ABC Daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'' and its primetime SOAPnet spin-off '' General Hospital: Night Shift'', originated and portrayed by Kimberly McCullough on and off for over 30 years since ...

to aid her friend Jason Morgan, who had sustained severe brain damage. It is established that he is the father of

Patrick Drake Patrick Drake is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'', a protagonist in both seasons of its prime time SOAPnet spin-off '' General Hospital: Night Shift'' and one half of on-screen couple Patrick Drake and Robin Scor ...

, a new, hot-shot doctor at General Hospital. Patrick helps to get his father sober and Noah begins practicing medicine again. Patrick also goes against his father's wishes and donates part of his liver when Drake falls ill and needs a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

due to the years of heavy drinking. Drake appears sporadically from 2005 until 2007. In 2007, rock star

(also played by Springfield) is brought to General Hospital needing emergency surgery, and coincidentally looks just like Drake. Love refuses surgery due to his upcoming charity concert for LifeBEAT, a real-life charity that uses the music industry to raise awareness for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Anna Devane ''General Hospital'' is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the cit ...

convinces Drake to stand in for Love at the concert so that he can have the surgery. On August 23, 2007, Springfield sings on the show for the first time. Drake appears again in 2008 when he is revealed to have had an affair that resulted in another son, Matt Hunter. In March 2012, Noah was working with Doctors Without Borders and upon the death of his daughter-in-law

, he briefly returns to Port Charles to console Patrick. He returns again in April 2013 to attend the revived Nurses' Ball, being held in honor of his presumed-dead daughter-in-law Robin. He arranges for celebrity Rick Springfield to perform at the ball. Once the Nurse's Ball concludes, Drake runs into former girlfriend Bobbie Spencer as both board the same flight to Seattle, at which point Drake reveals to Spencer that he has accepted a job at the same hospital as her.

Reception

Springfield had signed on to his role on ''General Hospital'' in 1981 before his widespread music fame, when his song "

" hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that summer. Some credit his appearance on ''GH'' as the reason behind his rise in popularity; the summer of 1981 was a peak time for ''General Hospital'', pulling in 14 million viewers daily. Others credit the show and song simultaneously boosted the popularity of each other.''Soapography'', "

and

", aired June 16, 2007 on SOAPnet Springfield told PopMatters.com that the soap opera most likely had more to do with his popularity than his

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

appearances. Springfield did not sing on the show during his 1980s stint, as the producers did not think it fit with the character. During Springfield's reprisal in 2005,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

at the time

Jill Farren Phelps Jill Farren Phelps (born July 7, 1950) is an American television producer. She is known for her work with American soap operas, having served as executive producer of '' Santa Barbara'', '' Another World'', ''Guiding Light'', ''One Life to Live ...

said to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "Rick is a special kind of a character, because he has this other career. There's a tremendous amount of nostalgia that surrounds Noah Drake and Rick Springfield." Springfield described the character's lasting popularity to ''E! Entertainment'': "Thirty, 40 times a day I must get questions when I'm on the road about ''General Hospital'' or Noah Drake. It's constant," Springfield once told Soap Opera Weekly. "It amazes me that it's still so prevalent in the fans' minds."

References

External links

Noah Drake profile
at soapcentral.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Noah General Hospital characters Fictional physicians Television characters introduced in 1981 Male characters in television