Everybody needs an attaboy sometimes: Keeping up with James Drury
If natural causes had not felled James Drury on April 6, 2020, just 12 days shy of his 86th birthday, it seems certain that he would have continued extolling the virtues of The Virginian, COVID-19 be damned. Drury, who made hearts flutter with his ready-for-action rendering of television’s long-running Shiloh ranch foreman with no name, was a frequent guest at cowboy nostalgia festivals in his twilight years.
Typically antagonizing the white-hatted hero, Drury sat in on tons of episodic sagebrush sagas as far back as his fifth credited role in the inaugural 1955 season of Gunsmoke [i.e. “Reed Survives” plus three additional Dodge City stops]. Have Gun Will Travel, Cheyenne, Death Valley Days, The Rebel, The Rifleman, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Alias Smith and Jones, the cheesy Walker, Texas Ranger, and the tongue-in-cheek Adventures of Brisco County Jr. all benefitted from Drury’s ramrod presence. There was no question of his cowboy bona fides.
Drury’s movie arsenal, though not as prolific as his TV resume, was bolstered by his debut role as an uncredited hospital attendant in Glenn Ford’s Blackboard Jungle, one of Elvis Presley’s notorious rebel brothers in Love Me Tender, the cult sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, and Disney’s tender Pollyanna with Hayley Mills. When his nine-year stint on The Virginian ignited the same year as his co-starring turn in Sam Peckinpah’s early masterpiece Ride the High Country in 1962, Drury was on his way to household name status.
Did the actor have a role model in mind for his most famous portrayal? “My maternal grandfather, John Crawford, was a quintessential Westerner,” admitted Drury in an exclusive May 2013 interview plugging his fifth and ultimately final appearance at the Midsouth Nostalgia Festival near Memphis. “He came West with a wagon train when he was 16 years old and settled in Oregon. He had been a cowboy, rancher, dirt farmer — all the things of the land that you can be. I split my childhood between New York City and working on my grandfather’s ranch. I was very proud to use some of his mannerisms and expressions in The Virginian. All actors do that — they visualize whatever character they think will fit the pistol and then they try to emulate it. That’s what I did, and it worked out pretty well.”
In uncovering the man behind the celluloid image, Drury remained remarkably unaffected by the pitfalls of celebrity. Personality-wise, the silent cowboy characterized himself as “pretty laidback and studious. I do a lot of reading along with some writing. I just try to stay out of everybody’s path and keep things going in a way that will make my life as pleasant as possible.”
Drury’s third marriage was built to last. “I’ve been with a wonderful gal named Carl Ann Head since 1975,” maintained Drury. “We were married on July 30, 1979. I spend a lot of time with her” [Head sadly preceded him in death by seven months]. His tough guy image, tempered by a strong sense of humor, never deserted him. “I try to avoid controversy and gunfights, but I’m ready anytime somebody wants to try me. That’s my motto.”
Drury commemorated the 50th anniversary of The Virginian with numerous activities around the USA. “There was a big get-together at the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles where we had eight of the surviving cast members in attendance,” said Drury. “It was a wonderful celebration. It was a big boost to us and people became aware of the show again. When we went back on the air on the INSP channel and Starz Encore Westerns, it became another big boost. It’s just amazing when you consider what longevity the series has. People still respond to it. They watch the episodes time and time again. I am very gratified by that.
The celluloid legend hated flying and racked up thousands of interstate miles actually driving himself. The grueling travel had unmistakable rewards. “Going to festivals gives me a chance to see a lot of my old friends,” revealed the Peckinpah alumnus. “I always enjoy catching up with my Virginian costars, such as Gary Clarke and Roberta Shore, or my buddy Robert Fuller, who guest-starred in two episodes — ‘A Welcoming Town’ [1967] and ‘Flight from Memory’ [1971]. It’s great to get together with people you worked side by side with as a young man, and it feels like it was yesterday. We all have that immediacy because we remember when we were making films together. I’ve always enjoyed that aspect of it.
“Of course, my fan club, ‘The Posse’, arrives from all over the country to see me. They’re lifelong fans of The Virginian. I had no idea I had so many people out there who were so dedicated [Drury’s Facebook fan club numbers well over 15,000 members; official website TheVirginian.Net contains a thorough video history and photo archive].
“The fans could just not be nicer. They come in, buy our merchandise and pictures, and give us all kinds of attaboys. That means patting somebody on the back and saying, ‘Attaboy!’ Life is full of trouble and everybody needs an attaboy every day if they can get it. The fans sure give me that, and I appreciate it very much.”
***********DON’T GO ANYWHERE YET!************
In PART TWO, the perpetual good guy divulges that he encountered none other than box office champion John Wayne outside a Paramount wardrobe department in the late ’50s. To read the rest of the tantalizing tale, head on over to “James Drury’s Brush With Greatness: Encountering Genuine Article John Wayne.” The third chapter revolves around Ride the High Country, while the fourth installment details Drury’s Love Me Tender experiences with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
© Jeremy Roberts, 2013, 2017. All rights reserved. To touch base, email [email protected] and mention which story led you my way. I appreciate it sincerely.