Drake Bell - Page 3

“It’s kind of scary,” he says. “Maybe I should stay with a BMW so I can have air bags and full seat beats. But the old cars are just so beautiful. I can’t stay away from them.”

His recovery after the accident was eased by the support of family and friends, including many top names in the world of pool and billiards. Mom Robin Dodson was inducted to the BCA Hall of Fame in 2005; that tends to keep one in the loop with the game.

“All the women on the pro tour are like aunts to me,” Drake says. “I remember my mom, Jeanette Lee, and all them sitting around in their pajamas in hotel rooms, hanging out. I was just a little kid. It was like a bunch of moms having a big sleepover.”

“One time Gerda Hofstatter hit me in the face with a badminton racquet, on accident, at the house,” he recalls. “I went for the birdie at the same time she did and got smacked with the racquet. I have a picture of me with a big cut over my eye and a giant smile on my face laughing about it after.”

The pool table was an ever present feature in his house while growing up and Drake spent enough time at tournaments and in pool halls to absorb a few skills. Just the same, he is quick to point out that his talents are in music and acting.

“I learned enough about playing pool to beat my friends,” he says. “But you wouldn’t expect that my mom is who she is if you saw me play. At all.”

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