Star of 'The Virginian' reflects on career

By G. Michael Dobbs, Managing Editor James Drury is ticking off the list of places he is scheduled to visit as part of the publicity tour to support the DVD release of the first season of the television show in which he starred, "The Virginian." "I just got back from Ohio and am going to the Mark Twain Festival in Missouri, then back to Ohio for the Roy Rogers Festival, then Harrisburg, Penn. and a gun show there, then to Reno [Nev.], Burbank, [Calif.], Utah, Sparks, [Nev.], Garland, Tx. ." he said during a recent telephone interview with PRIME. The veteran actor, now 76, hasn't starred in a television series since 1974, but clearly his fans haven't forgotten him or his work. He has participated in two recent reunions of the surviving cast of "The Virginian" and said both occasions were warmly received and "very gratifying." "It's nice to get an 'atta boy' after 50 years," he said with a hearty laugh. Drury starred as the titular character in the NBC television Western from 1962 to 1971. The show broke ground as being the first continuing dramatic series that ran 90 minutes. Unlike many television series today that only do 13 or 24 episodes a season, Drury explained Universal, the production company for "The Virginian," delivered 30 90-minute shows the first two seasons. "Looking back that seems impossible," he said. " . It had never been attempted before." Drury doesn't know why Universal and NBC wanted a 90-minute western every week "I wasn't privy to their thinking." "[Perhaps] Universal was feeling their oats and wanted to come up with something new and different and it worked for nine years," he said. Adopted from the 1902 Western novel by Owen Wister, "The Virginian" told the stories of the people living and working on the Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming. Drury's character was only known as "The Virginian," the foreman on the ranch. Throughout the series the character's real name and background were never revealed. Drury was a classically trained actor who was an up-and -coming performer in the 1950s. With contract work at MGM and Columbia, Drury had appeared in a number of small roles in movies and had also been busy doing guest shots on television series when the opportunity to star in "The Virginian" came about. He recalled that he and co-star Doug McClure, who played the ranch hand Trampas in the show, didn't hear until the Friday before the Monday when production began that either had been awarded the parts. The 90-minute format, which after commercials breaks resulted in a 75-minute film close to feature film length at that time required the use of the use of up to four or five production units, shooting various pieces of several shows at a time, Drury explained. He said that although it didn't happen too often, he remembered spending a day performing close-ups and saying lines from a number of shows as an economical use of his time. "The Virginian" was considered an "adult Western," a phrase used at the time to distinguish it from shows such featuring Roy Rogers or The Lone Ranger that were aimed at children. Because of the show's length, Drury explained the writers could create "juicy roles for guests stars." "An actor would walk over broken glass for a good role," he explained. During its run, "The Virginian" saw a long string of acclaimed actors on its sets, including Oscar-winners Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as well as audience favorites Pat O' Brien, Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin and many more. Drury still gets a kick today from the fact that future superstars Robert Redford and Harrison Ford had small guest roles on "The Virginian." The changing guest stars were a real attraction to Drury as a performer. "It wasn't work, it was so much fun" he said. "I couldn't believe it. You get up and go to work and there's George C. Scott." During his long run, unlike other television series stars, Drury never thought about directing an episode "I was far too busy acting in shows to think about directing." but he did have influence over the writing of the shows. If the script had his character saying or doing something that he didn't think was right for The Virginian, he talked to the writers about it and they made changes. "I was the unofficial keeper of continuity," he said. Drury and McClure were the only two cast members who appeared in all nine seasons of the show. He explained that in later seasons, the network cut down the number of episodes eventually to 24 and added new actors to the cast so storylines could revolve around new characters. Drury explained that his character appeared in more shows than originally planned. After the show ended in 1971, Drury found himself out of work. "I think I was typecast," he said. "When you do a show for nine years, it leaves an indelible mark. Most producers couldn't see me in any other role." Drury returned to television in 1974 with the series "Firehouse," in which he played the commander of a fire station and its unit. "It wasn't a high quality show," he remembered. "The writing was deficient. It was a dull show. In 21 minutes there would be three disasters. There were no close-ups [of the actors] so you couldn't establish a bond with the audience." He said he was paid "good money on a bad show," a condition he was happy to leave when the show was cancelled. Since then, Drury has worked in the oil and natural gas business and has been seen in guest shots on television shows and appearances in made-for-television moves. He participates in an active Web site www.thevirginian.net, although he admitted he doesn't own a computer himself. He described himself as "lifelong actor," and added, "It's a calling for me. Not a profession." He noted that Sir John Gielgud acted until he was 95 and said he hopes there's a "another role for me yet. "I'm no means retired, I'm just out of work, like a lot of folks," he said. For more information on the DVD release of "The Virginian," log onto www.timelessvideo.com.