Owen Wister's 1902 novel, The Virginian, the "granddaddy of all cowboy yarns," has spawned many stage and film adaptations. But to viewers who made The Virginian one of the longest-running Westerns in TV history (1962-71), James Drury is the one true Virginian, against whom all others must be measured.

That's why, when Bill Pullman directed and starred in a new movie version this year, he included Drury. Fittingly, Drury's cameo appearance was a man with no name.

Averaging more than 30 90-minute episodes a year, Drury's series had one of the most demanding production schedules in TV history, which explains why he practically quit acting in the years that followed.

"There were times when we had four Virginian episodes shooting on the same day," he recalls. "I would literally ride on horseback from set to set to give two lines here, three lines there, then over here to do 10 pages of script."

Drury, now 66, settled in Houston in the mid-1970s. He and Carl Ann, his wife of more than 20 years, have lived there ever since. "I asked her where she wanted to live for the rest of her life," Drury says. "She said, 'Well, I live in Houston,' which meant the end of that discussion."

Drury has been "in and out of the oil business" for years, and he recently recorded a series of novels by Acclaimed Western Author Kirby Jonas, for a books-on-tape company called Books in Motion. "Who knows?" the actor says. "It could be the start of a new career."

James Drury's Filmography
Provided by the: Internet Movie Database

• Hell to Pay (2005) .... JT Coffee
• The Virginian (2000) (TV) .... Rider
• The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991) (TV) .... Jim
• All American Cowboy (1985) (TV) .... Host/Marshal
• Firehouse (1974) TV Series .... Captain Spike Ryerson
• The Bull of the West (1971) (TV) .... Man from Virginia
• The Devil and Miss Sarah (1971) (TV) .... Gil Turner
• Alias Smith and Jones (1970) (TV) .... Sheriff Lom Trevors
• Breakout (1970) (TV) .... Joe Baker
• The Men from Shiloh (1970) (TV series) ... The Virginian
• Backtrack! (1969) .... The Virginian
• Meanest Men in the West, The (1967) (TV)
• The Young Warriors (1967) .... Sergeant Cooley ... aka Eagle Warriors
• The Brazen Bell (1962)
• The Devil's Children (1962)
• The Final Hour (1962)
• Third of a Man (1962) .... Emmet
• Ride the High Country (1962) .... Billy Hammond ... aka Guns in the Afternoon
• The Virginian (1962) (TV Series) .... The Virginian
• Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960) .... Jim Weaver
• Ten Who Dared (1960) .... Walter Powell
• Pollyanna (1960) .... George Dodds
• Good Day for a Hanging (1958) .... Paul Ridgely
• Bernardine (1957) .... Lt. Langley Beaumont
• Diane (1956) (uncredited) .... Lieutenant
• The Last Wagon (1956) .... Lieutenant Kelly
• Love Me Tender (1956) .... Ray Reno
• Forbidden Planet (1956) .... Joe Strong
• The Tender Trap (1955) .... Eddie
• Love Me or Leave Me (1955) (uncredited) .... Assistant director

 

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Notable TV guest appearances

"Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993) playing "Captain Tom Price" in episode: "A Shadow in the Night"
"Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993) playing "Captain Tom Price" in episode: "Borderline"
"Walker, Texas Ranger" (1993) playing "Captain Tom Price" in episode: "One Riot, One Ranger"
"The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." (1993) playing "Ethan Emerson" in episode: "Ned Zed"
"The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." (1993) playing "Ethan Emerson" in episode: "Pilot"
"Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1992) playing "Doctor" in episode: "Chill Ride"

"Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1992) playing "Deacon" in episode: "Gunfighters"
"The Fall Guy" (1981) playing "Virginian" in episode: "Happy Trails"
"Alias Smith and Jones" (1971) playing "Sheriff Tankersley" in episode: "The Long Chase"
"Alias Smith and Jones" (1971) playing "Sheriff Lom Trevors" in episode: "Alias Smith & Jones"
"It Takes a Thief" (1968) playing "Mr. Clifton, ticket agent" in episode: "A Thief is a Thief"
"Rawhide" (1959) playing "Rance" in episode: "Incident of the Night on the Town"
"Stagecoach West" (1960) in episode: "Blind Man's Bluff"
"Rawhide" (1959) playing "Johnny Adler" in episode: "Incident of the Boomerang"
"The Rebel" (1959) in episode: "Vindication"
"The Rebel " (1959) in episode: "Fair Game"
"Black Saddle" (1959) playing "Neal Adams" in episode: "Client: Neal Adams"
"Rawhide" (1959) playing "Kenley" in episode: "Incident with an Executioner"
"Lawman" (1958) in episode: "Gauge, The" (episode # 1.26) 3/2/1959
"Bronco" (1958) in episode: "Freeze-Out"

"The Rifleman" (1958) playing "Stark" in episode: "Death Trap"
"The Rifleman" (1958) playing "Lloyd Carpenter" in episode: "The Marshal"

"Perry Mason" (1957) playing "Eddy King" in episode: "The Case of the Missing Melody"

"Richard Diamond, Private Detective" (1957) in episode: "Murder at the Mansion"

"Trackdown" (1957) in episode: "Stranger in Town"
"Man Without a Gun" (1957) in episode: "Aftermath"

"Wagon Train" (1957) in episode: "The Bleymier Story"

"Wagon Train" (1957) playing "Cole Crawford" in episode: "The Cole Crawford Story"
"Broken Arrow" (1956) in episode: "Power"

"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Welcome Home a Stranger"
"Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Wire"

"Cheyenne" (1955) in episode: "The Imposter"

"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Tom Cook" in episode: "Old Faces"

"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Johnny Red" in episode: "Johnny Red"

"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Jerry Cass" in episode: "Change of Heart"
"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Booth Rider" in episode: "Reed Survives"