- James Drury was an American screen actor
- He is best known for 'The Virginian'
- HERE is his cause of death
James Drury made quite an impact on audiences all over the world. His charisma was unmatched by many other actors of his time. 'The Virginian' aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 and was well-received in its time. James Drury, who starred as the no-name, no-nonsense foreman on 'The Virginian,' one of the longest-running Westerns in the history of television, left a massive imprint on all fans when he passed away in 2020. He was 85 at the time.
James Drury inspired many actor an actor after him
James Child Drury was born on April 18, 1934, in New York City, where his father was a longtime professor of marketing at NYU. His mother was from Oregon, and he spent most of his younger days on one of her family’s ranches. His grandfather had come west with a wagon train from Missouri in 1875 or 1880, and taught him woodsman skills and marksmanship and instilled in him the values that Drury said he brought to his character.
But life was not easy for him. Drury overcame a polio diagnosis, and at age 12 and was expelled from school. But he was able to get into NYU, and he majored in drama. He was then signed by MGM and had small parts in 'Blackboard Jungle' and others. He appeared on many small-screen Westerns including an unsold 1958 pilot that made an earlier stab at 'The Virginian' before he began his nine-season stay in fictional Wyoming. Once cast on the show, Drury made himself a household name!
Also interesting:
What a legacy he left behind!
This was her fate...
'Little House on the Prairie': "Mary Ingalls" Cause Of Death
It was a very peculiar way to work on set. Each episode of 'The Virginian' lasted 90 minutes, which made for a grueling production schedule. "It was like doing a movie every week," Drury confessed in a 2016 interview. "We had 79 minutes and 30 seconds worth of film, which was as long as a lot of feature films of the day. It was a very radical concept...but no one has ever been successful with 90 minutes for a Western series except 'The Virginian'. But that didn't stop them from making TV history. Drury noted that producers had to turn in one episode every week. “But it took eight days to make one, so we had to make two or three at a time,” he said.
The rest is history as far as fans are concerned. Drury had a very full life on screen and off. He died from natural causes on April 6, 2020, 12 days short of his 86th birthday. But to this day, television actors are still taking a page out of his book when it comes to delivering a convincing performance.
