James Drury
James Child Drury Jr. (April 18, 1934 – April 6, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for having played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, which was broadcast on NBC from 1962 to 1971. Drury was born in New York City, the son of James Child Drury and Beatrice Crawford Drury. His father was a New York University professor of marketing. He grew up between New York City and Salem, Oregon, where his mother owned a farm. Drury contracted polio at the age of 10. He studied drama at New York University and took additional classes at UCLA to complete his degree after he began acting in films at MGM. On February 7, 1957, Drury married Cristall Othones, and fathered two sons, Timothy and James III. The couple divorced on November 23, 1964 and on April 27, 1968, he married Phyllis Jacqueline Mitchell; the marriage ended in divorce on January 30, 1979. His third marriage was to Carl Ann Head on July 30, 1979; it lasted until her death on August 25, 2019. Drury had three stepchildren from his previous marriages, a stepdaughter, Rhonda Brown, and two stepsons, Frederick Drury and Gary Schero. Drury died from natural causes on April 6, 2020.
74 acting credits
Acting · 74
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Perry Mason
1957
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Ironside
1967
The Rifleman
1958
Wagon Train
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
The Virginian
1962
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
Cheyenne
1955
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Lawman
1958
Rawhide
1959
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993
The Red Skelton Show
1951
Gunsmoke
1955
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
1993
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
The Texan
1958
Alias Smith and Jones
1971
The Bob Hope Show
1950
The Detectives
1959
The Rebel
1959
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1957
Black Saddle
1959
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
1993
Trackdown
1957
Bronco
1958
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968
It Takes a Thief
1968
Lock-Up
1959
Bourbon Street Beat
1959
Stagecoach West
1960
Broken Arrow
1956
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
Steve Canyon
1958
Letter to Loretta
1953
Maverick
1994
Forbidden Planet
1956
Cameo Theatre
1950
Firehouse
1974
Blackboard Jungle
1955
Ride the High Country
1962
Pollyanna
1960
The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
1991
The Ed Wynn Show
1958
Love Me Tender
1956
Diane
1956
The Meanest Men in the West
1978
The Last Wagon
1956
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
Good Day for a Hanging
1959
Walker, Texas Ranger: One Riot, One Ranger
1993
The Bull of the West
1972
The Virginian
2000
Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus
1960
Titanic: Secrets of the Shipwreck
2025
Backtrack!
1969
The Tender Trap
1955
Bernardine
1957
Third of a Man
1962
Ten Who Dared
1960
The Devil and Miss Sarah
1971
Breakout
1970
Hell to Pay
2005
The Devil's Children
1962
The Final Hour
1965
The Young Warriors
1967
Bitter Heritage
1958
The Brazen Bell
1964
Rapids Ahead/Bear Country
1960
The Cartoon Cowboys: Spirit of the Alamo
2015
Return to the Titanic
1981