James Drury

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James Drury (1971)

James Child Drury (born April 18, 1934 in New York City , † April 6, 2020 in Houston , Texas ) was an American actor . He became known for his leading role as Virginian in the successful western series The People of Shiloh Ranch (1962–1971).

life and career

James Drury was born the son of a professor of marketing at New York University . He grew up in New York City and Oregon ; in the latter state his mother owned a ranch. Drury received a studio contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while he was still studying acting at New York University in 1954 . He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with an acting degree while playing early film roles. At MGM, Drury was initially only given minor supporting roles, which slowly changed when he switched to 20th Century Fox . Here he appeared as the brother of Elvis Presley in powder steam and hot songs (1956) and on the side of Pat Boone in Bernadine (1957).

In 1958, Drury played the title role in The Virginian , a television pilot based on a work by the writer Owen Wister . The pilot was initially unsuccessful; It was only four years late that Universal Pictures bought the rights to the story and cast Drury in the lead role of the rough but fair foreman of Shiloh Ranch. While the series bears the title The People of Shiloh Ranch in German-speaking countries , it is called " The Virginian " in the USA and thus clearly identifies the character played by Drury as the main character of the series. In addition to Doug McClure as "Trampas" Drury was the only actor who was used over the entire series with a total of 249 episodes; 171 episodes were shown in Germany. In addition to his work on The People of Shiloh Ranch , he appeared in Sam Peckinpah's 1962 Western Sacramento (1962) as a womanizer and prospector; He also played the leading role in the war film Sturm auf Höhe 404 in 1967 .

After the setting of The Virginian , the role offers for Drury decreased increasingly. In 1974 he played the lead role of a firefighter in the short-lived ABC series Firehouse . After all, he went into the private sector as a businessman and ran a horse ranch and a company that specialized in recycling asphalt. Despite his business success, he occasionally returned for roles in front of the camera. In the 1990s he played in the first three episodes of the series Walker, Texas Ranger to Captain Tom Price at the side of Chuck Norris . In 2000 he had a supporting role in the television movie Land of the Outlaws (The Virginian) , in which Bill Pullman played the role of Virginian. Drury's work includes more than 70 productions. In 1995 he received the Golden Boot Award for life's work as a western actor.

James Drury was married to Carl Ann Head from 1979 until her death in August 2019. He has two sons from his first marriage. His son Timothy Drury is a musician and was keyboardist for the rock group Whitesnake from 2003 to 2010 .

James Drury died of natural causes at his Texas home on April 6, 2020, shortly before his 86th birthday.

Filmography (selection)

literature

Web links

Commons : James Drury  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Drury, Star of 'The Virginian,' Dies at 85
  2. ^ Everett Aaker: Television Western Players, 1960-1975: A Biographical Dictionary . McFarland, 2017, ISBN 978-1-4766-6250-3 ( google.de [accessed April 7, 2020]).
  3. ↑ 'The Virginian' turns 80, recalls Oregon roots | Oregon | capitalpress.com. September 17, 2019, accessed April 7, 2020 .
  4. ↑ James Drury . In: The Capital Journal . Salem, Oregon Aug. 26, 1954, pp. 13 ( newspapers.com [accessed April 7, 2020]).
  5. ↑ James Drury | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved April 7, 2020 (American English).
  6. ↑ James Drury | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved April 7, 2020 (American English).
  7. ↑ James Drury in: A History of Television's The Virginian, 1962-1971 , by Paul Green, McFarland, 2009, 94
  8. ↑ James Drury (IMDb biography). Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  9. ↑ James Drury, Star of 'The Virginian,' Dies at 85. Retrieved April 7, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Dave McNary, James Drury, Star of Western Series 'The Virginian,' Dies at 85 , Variety, April 7, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Drury, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Drury, James Child (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 2020
Place of death Houston , Texas