The Edge of Night Classic Character Recap: Adam Drake

Originally introduced as daytime’s answer to James Bond, The Edge of Night’s Adam Drake soon holstered his pistol and put his long-cast-aside law degree to good use. For an entire decade – alongside Mike Karr, his best friend and most trusted ally – Adam reigned as one of the all-time greatest legal eagles in soap opera history.

Who Is Adam Drake?

CEA Agent Adam Drake, heeding his bosses’ directive, arrived in Monticello and availed himself to the city’s police force. The boys in blue were up to their necks in an industrial espionage caper involving the top-secret “Project R” case file which had been photocopied and transferred onto microdot.

The investigation was complicated by a homicide, but Adam quickly deduced the culprit. Hoping to convince the guilty party that he was on the take and could be brought into their confidence, Adam convinced crime reporter Nancy Pollock Karr – who was happily married to Mike – to work with him and stage a hot and heavy affair.

The plot culminated in a dramatic shootout on a military airstrip and all the villains were either killed in the melee or taken into police custody. With the case now over, Adam decided to retire from his agency and instead remain in Monticello. There, Adam and Mike settled their differences and he became a partner in Mike’s private practice.

An Edge of Night First
The first client that Adam was called to represent was accused murderous Julie Jamison, who was charged with slaying Harry Constable, the proprietor of the establishment where she sang.

Adam’s vehement defense of Julie culminated in a first for The Edge of Night – and for all of daytime as well. During the episode that featured Adam’s closing summation to the assembled jury, actor Donald May was the only person to speak for the entire 22-minute segment.

But even Adam’s eloquent speech couldn’t sway the hard-hearted jury who found Julie guilty and passed a sentence that she should be hanged on Christmas Eve morn. Refusing to accept the verdict, Adam turned sleuth and worked to smoke out the truly guilty party. Just in the nick of time, he managed to successfully extract a confession from Ernie Tuttle – the man who had framed Julie for the crime he committed.

From Eligible Bachelor to Husband Dear

Although Adam continued to be sweet on his partner’s missus, he also dated a number of single ladies including Nancy’s younger sister Cookie and Roxanne Carey. However, he would soon meet his match in the form of flame-haired shop owner Nicole Travis.

Initially, the two couldn’t stand each other. Adam resented Nicole’s needling her way between the Karrs and he detested her spoiled and haughty demeanor. Nicole, on the other hand, found Adam to be a boring do-gooder square.

However, she would soon be in need of Adam’s legal prowess when she found herself arrested for murder. By the time the debacle was cleared up – and the guilty party arrested – lawyer and client were madly in love with one another.

But, Adam Drake chaffed at the idea of making their new coupling official and stalled any time Nicole attempted to broach the subject of marriage. In a bit of divine karma, Adam’s stubborn refusal to fully commit nearly cost him his freedom.

Nicole became the object of psychiatrist Jake Berman’s twisted obsession and when Berman wound up shot to death, Adam was arrested for the crime. It was only the timely intervention of young Kevin Jamison that proved Adam was innocent.

With the trial now behind them, Nicole finally laid down an ultimatum for Adam. Propose to her by New Year’s Day or she would leave him forever. Still, Adam refused to budge. Until the very last minute! After successfully navigating the crowded New York streets, Adam managed to track Nicole down and pop the question just as the countdown clock hit zero!

Man of the People and Widower
In 1974 – following much prompting from Geraldine Whitney – Adam announced his candidacy for State Senate. However, crime boss Walter LePage made it his life’s mission to insure that Adam would never make it to election day.

To that end, he hired assassin after assassin to shorten Adam’s life expectancy but he managed to survive both a stabbing and death by arsenic. And, although Adam survived the bomb planted on his belated honeymoon yacht, Nicole was lost at sea and presumed dead.

Adam soldiered on without his wife and remained single for quite some time. Later, he fell in love with ADA Brandy Henderson – his frequent foe inside the courtroom – and proposed. But the engagement fizzled when – miracle of miracles – Nicole was revealed to be alive.

Tragic End on The Edge of Night
The couple reunited and were further blessed when Nicole discovered that she was pregnant. But as the months wore on Nicole’s condition became more concerning and it was decided that she needed to be placed in a specialty clinic.

Adam promised to join her as soon as he wrapped his latest case – The People vs. Mike Karr for the murder of Bea Richardson. After leaving town to track down a lead, Adam returned armed with the knowledge of who really offed Richardson. But before he could tell anyone what he knew – or commit the name to paper – Adam was felled by a trio of bullets and expired draped over his typewriter.