RIP James Drury(The Virginian)

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

“If it's not true don’t say it. If it's not yours don’t take it and if it’s not right don’t do it.”

James Drury of "The Virginian" fame passed away on April, 6 2020.
Drury on his most famous role -

"I patterned my Virginian character after my maternal grandfather, John Hezekiah Crawford, an Oregon dirt farmer and rancher who raised cattle.
He came out to Oregon with a wagon train in 1880 or 1875. Granddad put me on my first horse when I was in diapers."

Drury’s no-nonsense yet courageous portrayal of the foreman of Shiloh Ranch is an iconic part of television history. He imbued the character with his
grandfather’s cowboy philosophy, “If it's not true don’t say it. If it's not yours don’t take it and if it’s not right don’t do it.”

The 90 minute series ran from 1962 - 1971, 249 episodes. It featured an incredible number of stars and future stars guesting over the years.
NBC lavished money on it to insure first class production values in every respect. Like it's brother NBC Western "Bonanza",
it was shot with the best color stock and film experts, as a way to prompt the audience to buy new color TVs from RCA, owner of NBC.
With the explosion of cable networks it's popularity has again risen in America and other countries as Westerns are evergreens and don't appear
dated.
I just got to say, I think the Drury family motto leading off this post is tremendous and if I was raising kids today I'd put it over the mirror in their rooms.


James Drury
Born: April 18, 1934, New York City
Died: April 6, 2020, Houston
Net worth: $1.5 million
Height: 6'0