James Child Drury (born April 18, 1934) is an American actor who played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971. The series had perhaps the most demanding production schedules in the history of network television.
Drury was born in New York, New York, where his father was a New York University professor of marketing. He grew up in both New York and Oregon.
After a series of b...
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James Child Drury (born April 18, 1934) is an American actor who played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series The Virginian, broadcast on NBC from 1962-1971. The series had perhaps the most demanding production schedules in the history of network television.
Drury was born in New York, New York, where his father was a New York University professor of marketing. He grew up in both New York and Oregon.
After a series of bit parts and playing second-lead for Walt Disney, Drury landed the top-billed leading role of the ranch foreman on The Virginian, a lavish series which ran for nine seasons. The show was based on Owen Wister's classic novel and the various screen versions that had been filmed since; Drury was probably cast because of a vague resemblance to Gary Cooper, who had played the part in an early movie version. In the series, as the novel, the actual name of "The Virginian" is never revealed. Drury also played the part in a refurbished version called...
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