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Biography & Filmography

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JAMES CHILD DRURY was born April 18, 1934 in New York City, where his father was a Professor of Marketing at New York University. When James was six weeks old, his mother, a native of Oregon, and the family went to the home ranch. There were many trips back and forth from their home in New York and Oregon. Through the years he spent a great deal of his boyhood on the family ranch. Jim grew up with a love for horses and the outdoor life. His maternal grandfather taught him woodsman skills and marksmanship and was a great influence on the shaping of his values.

The acting bug first bit Jim at the age of 8, when he played King Herod in a children’s Christmas play. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 12 in a touring company of ‘Life With Father’. Trained as a classical actor at New York University and credited with 12 major Shakespeare roles and 18 major Shaw roles, Jim left the theatre in New York and went to Hollywood in 1954.

He worked in such classic films as ‘Blackboard Jungle’, ‘Forbidden Planet’, ‘The Tender Trap’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘The Last Wagon’, ‘Pollyanna’, ‘Ride the High Country’ and many others. Jim was guest star in numerous television series like ‘Playhouse 90′, ‘Gunsmoke’, ‘Rifleman’, ‘Cheyenne’, ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’, ‘Wagon Train’, ‘Rawhide’, ‘Death Valley Days’, before being chosen for the role of ‘The Virginian’ in 1962.

Averaging thirty 90-minute episodes a season, The Virginian series had one of the most demanding production schedules in TV history. “There were times when we had five 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.”

After portraying ‘The Virginian’ for nine years, he returned to the theatre across the U.S. in the ’70s. His stage credits are diverse with not only Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, but also a long line of well-known classics such as ‘The Odd Couple’, ‘The Rainmaker’, ‘A Thousand Clowns’, ‘Once More with Feeling’, ‘Forty Karats’, and ‘Prisoner of Second Avenue’ just to name a few. In 1974, he starred in television series ‘Firehouse’.

In 1991, James Drury was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Jim has appeared as Special Guest in numerous films and television shows like ‘Alias Smith and Jones’ (1971), ‘The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993), ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ (1993), ‘Kung Fu: TLC’ (1994 and 1995), the film ‘The Virginian’ (2000) and ‘Hell to Pay’ (2005). Known for his distinctive voice, he has done many documentaries and audio books.

Mr. Drury held rank of Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve and participated in many recruiting films and public appearances for the Navy. Mr. Drury’s interests are many. An avid sportsman, he enjoys scuba diving, tennis, golf, snow skiing, sailing. He has competed successfully in Cutting Horse Competitions, as well as Polo and Dressage.

James Drury has been a regular participant in shooting sports such as skeet, trap and cowboy shooting. Jim says, “Cowboy Action Shooting is the best way I know to promote our Second Amendment rights. It teaches all kinds of people; men and women, young and old, to handle firearms and shoot safely and responsibly. We share a sense of history and connection with the Old West.”

James Drury, 85, resided in Houston, TX. He passed away April 6, 2020. His beloved wife of over 40 years, Carl Ann, passed away in August 2019. Not considering himself in the least bit as retired, he had an extensive traveling schedule to Western Events, Festivals and Autograph Shows across the country speaking about the West and how cowboy values shaped our country and how those values still hold true to those who will adhere to them.



Filmography


Episodic Television
  • “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues”
    • Chill Ride (1996) – Doctor Frieze
    • Gunfighters (1995) – Deacon
  • “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.”
    • Ned Zed (1994) – Ethan Emerson
    • Pilot (1993) – Ethan Emerson
  • “Walker, Texas Ranger”
    • A Shadow in the Night (1993) – Captain Tom Price
    • Borderline (1993) – Captain Tom Price
    • One Riot, One Ranger (1993) – Captain Tom Price
  • “All American Cowboy” (1985) (TV Special) – Host/Marshal
  • “The Fall Guy”
    • - Happy Trails (1983) – Virginian
  • “Firehouse” (1974) – Captain Spike Ryerson (13 episodes)
  • “Alias Smith and Jones”
    • The Long Chase (1972) – Sheriff Tankersley
    • Alias Smith & Jones (1971) – Sheriff Lom Trevors
  • “Ironside”
    • The Professionals (1971) – Al
  • “The Virginian” (1962-1971) – The Virginian (249 episodes)
  • “The Red Skelton Show”
    • The Auction (1971) – Auctioneer
  • “It Takes a Thief”
    • A Thief Is a Thief (1968) – Mr. Clifton, Ticket Agent
  • “Wagon Train”
    • The Cole Crawford Story (1962) – Cole Crawford
    • The Bleymier Story (1960) – Justin Claiborne
  • “The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor”
    • Walk a Crooked Line (1962) – Adrian
  • “Perry Mason”
    • The Case of the Missing Melody (1961) – Eddy King
  • “Rawhide”
    • Incident of the Night on the Town (1961) – Rance
    • Incident of the Boomerang (1961) – Johnny Adler
    • Incident with an Executioner (1959) – Kenley
  • “Stagecoach West”
    • Blind Man’s Bluff (1961) – Stace
  • “The Rifleman”
    • Death Trap (1961) – Spicer
    • The Marshal (1958) – Lloyd Carpenter
  • “Michael Shayne”
    • No Shroud for Shayne (1961) – Eddie
  • “Letter to Loretta”
    • The Preliminaries (1961) – Bob Prentiss
    • Linda (1960) – Tony
  • “Gunsmoke”
    • Old Faces (1961) – Tom Cook
    • Johnny Red (1959) – Johnny Red
    • Change of Heart (1959) – Jerry Cass
    • Reed Survives (1955) – Booth Rider
  • “The Rebel”
    • Vindication (1960) – Paul Travers
    • Fair Game (1960) – Bert Pace
  • “Bourbon Street Beat”
    • Wall of Silence (1960) – Joe Darle
  • “Lock Up”
    • The Case of Frank Cotty (1960) – Frank Cotty
  • “Men Into Space”
    • Tankers in Space (1960) – Maj. Nick Alborg
  • “Death Valley Days”
    • Ten Feet of Nothing (1959) – Joe Plato
  • “Cheyenne”
    • The Imposter (1959) – Bill Magruder
  • “Steve Canyon”
    • Sabotage (1959) – Lt. Richard Muller
    • The Muller Story (1959) – Lt. Richard Muller
  • “Black Saddle”
    • Client: Neal Adams (1959) – Neal Adams
  • “Lawman”
    • The Gang (1959) – Clay
    • The Outsider (1959) – Stan Bates
  • “Richard Diamond, Private Detective”
    • Murder at the Mansion (1959) – Harding Jr.
  • “Trackdown”
    • Stranger in Town (1959) – John Ward
  • “Have Gun – Will Travel”
    • Hunt the Man Down (1959) – Tony DeVries
  • “The Range Rider”
    • The Man Who Lost (1959)
  • “The Wonderful World of Disney”
    • Elfego Baca, Attorney at Law (1959) – Deputy Joe Monroe
  • “Zane Grey Theater”
    • Welcome Home a Stranger (1959) – Roy Richards
    • Wire (1958) Jess McHugh
  • “Bronco”
    • Freeze-Out (1958) – John Smith
  • “The Texan”
    • The Troubled Town (1958) – Johnny Kaler
  • “Playhouse 90″
    • Bitter Heritage (1958) – Jesse James, Jr.
  • “Decision” – The Virginian (1958) – The Virginian
  • “Man without a Gun”
    • Aftermath (1958)
  • “Broken Arrow”
    • Power (1958) Tahzay
  • “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”
    • The Right Kind of House (1958) – Michael Grimes
  • “The 20th Century-Fox Hour”
    • In Times Like These (1956) – Anton Cavrek
  • “Cameo Theatre” – The Grown Ones (1955)

Movies
  • “Hell to Pay” (2005) (Movie) –Sheriff JT Coffee
  • “The Virginian” (2000) (TV Movie) – Rider
  • “The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw” (1991) (TV Movie) – Jim
  • “The Devil and Miss Sarah” (1971) (TV Movie) – Gil Turner
  • “The Bull of the West” (1971) (TV Movie)
  • “Breakout” (1970) (TV Movie) – Joe Baker
  • "Backtrack!” (1969) (TV Movie) – Ramrod
  • “The Young Warriors (1967) (Movie) – Sergeant Cooley
  • “Ride the High Country” (1962) (Movie) – Billy Hammond
  • “Third of a Man” (1962) (Movie) – Emmet
  • “Ten Who Dared” (1960) (Movie) – Walter Powell
  • “Pollyanna” (1960) (Movie) – George Dodds
  • “Toby Tyler” (1960) (Movie) – Jim Weaver
  • “Good Day for a Hanging” (1959) (Movie) – Paul Ridgely
  • “Bernardine” (1957) (Movie) – Lt. Langley Beaumont
  • “Love Me Tender” (1956) (Movie) – Ray Reno
  • “The Last Wagon” (1956) (Movie) – Lt. Kelly
  • “Forbidden Planet” (1956) (Movie) – Crewman Strong
  • “Diane” (1956) (Movie) – Lieutenant
  • “The Tender Trap” (1955) (Movie) – Eddie
  • “Love Me or Leave Me” (1955) (Movie) – Assistant Director
  • “Blackboard Jungle” (1955) (Movie) – Hospital Attendant


Stage
  • Life With Father
  • 12 of the major roles in Shakespeare
  • 18 of the major roles in Shaw
  • The Tender Trap
  • Catch Me If You Can
  • A Thousand Clowns
  • Forty Carats (w/ Zsa Zsa Gabor)
  • Mary, Mary
  • Prisoner of Second Avenue
  • The Only Game in Town
  • Mr. Roberts
  • The Rain Maker
  • The Owl and the Pussycat
  • The Odd Couple
  • Once More With Feeling
  • California Suite (w/ Carolyn Jones)
  • Don Juan in Hell (w/ Patrick MacNee as the devil)

As Himself
  • “In the Bunkhouse with Red Steagall” (Dec. 2009)
  • “Way Out West” (1996) (TV Special)
  • Documentaries for Earthwave 1994
      Sturgeon: Ancient Survivors of the Deep
      River Invaders: The Scourge of Zebra Mussels
      A Vanishing Melody: The Call of the Piping Plover
  • “The Phil Donahue Show”With Cast of The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (1991)
  • “When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion” (1979) (TV Special)
  • “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”
    • Episode dated 1 October (1970)
  • “The Mike Douglas Show”
    • Episode dated 17 November (1969)
  • “The David Frost Show”
    • Episode #2.36 (1969)
  • “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”
    • Episode #2.23 (1969)
    • Episode #2.20 (1969)
  • “Dateline: Hollywood”
    • Episode dated 5 June (1967)
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