James Drury

Acting

James Drury

Born 1934-04-18 · New York City, New York, USA

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.

Acting credits

Maverick poster
6.9

Bret Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional $3k in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game beginning in a few days. He joins forces with a woman with a marvelous Southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.

Maverick

1994

Forbidden Planet poster
7.3

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

Forbidden Planet

1956

Ride the High Country poster
7.1

An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.

Ride the High Country

1962

Blackboard Jungle poster
6.9

Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both the school staff and the pupils. He is subjected to violence as well as duplicitous schemes.

Blackboard Jungle

1955

Pollyanna poster
7.0

A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.

Pollyanna

1960

The Last Wagon poster
6.5

When a handful of settlers survive an Apache attack on their wagon train they must put their lives into the hands of Comanche Todd, a white man who has lived with the Comanches most of his life and is wanted for the murder of three men.

The Last Wagon

1956

Love Me Tender poster
6.2

After the Civil War, Confederate soldiers Clint and Vance Reno steal a Union payroll, leading to conflict when the younger marries the woman his older brother loves.

Love Me Tender

1956

The Tender Trap poster
6.2

A young actress flirts demurely with a swinging Manhattan bachelor who thinks he has it made.

The Tender Trap

1955

Good Day for a Hanging poster
6.4

When the local sheriff is killed after a bank robbery, ex-lawman Ben Cutler collars the apparent killer, Eddie Campbell. Because of his background as a local youth who spent time living with the Cutlers, Eddie gets the benefit of the doubt from Ben's daughter and his wife-to-be. Ben is firm in his belief that Eddie is guilty, and as the matter is debated in a divisive court battle, it will soon become clear whether he's right.

Good Day for a Hanging

1959

The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw poster
4.8

Hawkes, Jones and Cassidy are on their way to the biggest poker game in history. But a few folks want to see them fold before they even get there.

The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw

1991

The Meanest Men in the West poster
4.2

Bronson and Marvin star as murderous half-brothers who are running from the law as well as each other. A climatic confrontation proves to each of them just how mean the other can be. "The Meanest Men in the West" is actually an amalgam of two episodes of the hit 1960's TV series, "The Virginian." In one installment, a wealthy man's daughter is kidnapped by a nasty gunslinger. But the crime is only just a means for the ruffian to draw the tough title character into a blood- thirsty revenge scheme. In the second, a drifter burglarizes the Shiloh ranch. Then an unhinged girl relies on the man to aid in her flight from home.

The Meanest Men in the West

1978

Ten Who Dared poster
6.0

The John Wesley Powell expedition of 1869 explores the dangerous Colorado River, withstands internal dissension, and finally discovers the Grand Canyon.

Ten Who Dared

1960

The Virginian poster
5.4

A cowboy finds himself betrayed by his best friend and must choose between bringing him to justice and alienating the pretty schoolteacher he is in love with.

The Virginian

2000

Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus poster
6.4

Angered at stern Uncle Daniel, Toby Tyler runs away from his foster home to join the circus, where he soon befriends Mr. Stubbs, the frisky chimpanzee. However, the circus isn't all fun and games when the evil candy vendor, Harry Tupper, convinces Toby that his Aunt Olive and Uncle Daniel don't love him or want him back. Toby resigns himself to circus life, but when he finally realizes that Tupper lied to him, and that his aunt and uncle truly love him, Toby happily returns home once again.

Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus

1960

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion poster
NR

Some of TV and film's popular western actors reunite in this tribute special hosted by Glenn Ford.

When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion

1979

The Bull of the West poster
5.7

Two episodes of the TV series "The Virginian" edited together: "Duel at Shiloh" (2 Jan. 1963) and "Nobility of Kings" (10 Nov. 1965).

The Bull of the West

1972

Diane poster
6.0

Asked by Francis I to tutor his son, Diane de Poitiers becomes the future King Henry II's mistress in 1500s France.

Diane

1956

Hell to Pay poster
6.5

Ten legendary Western stars are reunited in this action-packed tale of brothers at odds-one a decorated soldier and reluctant hero, the other a gambler who keeps company with card sharks and corrupt women-in a small mining town torn apart by civil war. When they fall for the same woman, the brothers become divided; and one man is left to face a band of ruthless killers on his own. A tribute to the great American Western, Hell to Pay is a gritty and mesmerizing tale of love, honor, duty, treachery and betrayal.

Hell to Pay

2005

The Devil and Miss Sarah poster
6.7

A notorious outlaw being escorted to prison by a homesteader and his wife turns out to have satanic powers. He uses them on the man's wife to try to possess her and help him escape.

The Devil and Miss Sarah

1971

Backtrack! poster
6.0

Sent to Mexico to buy a bull, a Wyoming cowhand (Doug McClure) teams up with three Texas Rangers to solve a robbery/murder. Edited from two episodes of the TV show, The Virginian (1962)

Backtrack!

1969

The Young Warriors poster
6.8

In World War II, a tough sergeant is put in charge of a squad of young recruits and assigned to lead them on a mission against the Germans.

The Young Warriors

1967

The Devil's Children poster
9.0

An old farmer, who has raised his daughter and son with the utmost severity, is soon faced with a mess in the family: the daughter sets fire to a barn, is shot while trying to escape, the son becomes an avenging murderer and almost sends an innocent. man to jail...

The Devil's Children

1962

The Final Hour poster
7.0

Two episodes of the TV series "The Virginian" edited together.

The Final Hour

1965

Return to the Titanic poster
NR

Explorer Mike Harris leads a second North Atlantic expedition to locate the RMS Titanic, joined by television star James Drury, as the team uses improved technology to investigate promising sonar clues on the ocean floor following their earlier search.

Return to the Titanic

1981

Behind the camera