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The Daily Pulse

James Drury of 'The Virginian' Fame's 3 Marriages

Author

Isabella Bartlett

Published Feb 16, 2026

Getty Images.

Late iconic famous person of "The Virginian," James Drury captured imaginations along with his Western cowboy roles, however he additionally captured the hearts of three women he all went directly to marry.

By the time James Drury changed into a staple on tv in the Western sequence "The Virginian" - which aired from 1962 till 1971, he already reached the tail end of this marriage to his first spouse, Cristall Orton.

James Drury as The Virginian from the television program "The Virginian" in 1971. | Source: Wikimedia Commons.

HIS FIRST MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

The pair tied the knot in 1957, and Cristall gave delivery to James' best two kids, James Drury Jr. and Timothy Drury ahead of they divorced in 1964.

Timothy, who's now grown up with a wife and a track career, completely adored his father, and he said right through an interview remaining 12 months:

“I’m very impressed by way of him increasingly every day, I see how much of an impact he had on me in that way. He’s a perfect guy, humorous as hell.”

James Drury in the identify function from the television program "The Virginian" between 1962 and 1971. | Source: Wikimedia Commons.

JAMES' SECOND WIFE

Four years after divorcing Cristall, James married Phyllis Mitchell - who additionally worked within the leisure business.

Working at the back of the scenes, Phyllis shined in the sound department on motion pictures equivalent to "Predator" and the 1988 action blockbuster "Die Hard." The born New-Yorker stayed married to Phyllis for Eleven years ahead of they divorced in 1979.

HIS THIRD MARRIAGE

Months after divorcing Phyllis, James tied the knot with Carl Ann Head, who remained by way of his facet until her (*3*) in August remaining 12 months. Only seven months later, James also handed from herbal reasons in Houston, Texas, on April 6.

Best remembered for his title role in the preferred Western collection "The Virginian," James died at the age of 85. The actor's assistant, Karen Lindsey, confirmed the sorrowful information, but she didn't specify a purpose at the time.

While James became a household identify because of his title function within the sequence, his previous appearances in Westerns reminiscent of "Cheyenne," "Wagon Train," and "Broken Arrow" paved his strategy to stardom.

"The Virginian" broke the mold with its "radical concept" of 90-minute episodes, and James Drury cherished every minute of it.

During an interview in 2016, James mentioned that it felt like "doing a movie every week," and added that it become the only western sequence to "ever" achieve success with 90-minute episodes.

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