From 1962 to l971, McClure and James Drury defined cowhand bonding and branding for a generation of viewers in the popular TV series The Virginian. A native of Glendale, Calif., McClure briefly ran away from home and L.A.'s University High School (where Drury was a classmate) to learn roping and steering on a Nevada ranch. A gifted athlete who spent more time surfing than studying at UCLA, McClure was spotted by an agent cm the beach and soon landed in a soap commercial. He made appearances in several TV series, notably Checkmate, before he and Drury teamed up in The Virginian.
They also hit the drinking trail hard, according to Drury, who eventually gave up booze and persuaded McClure to do the same (along with cigarettes) in 1982. McClure's drinking may well have contributed to four divorces (he had two daughters from his earlier marriages: Tane, 36, and Valerie, 23). Yet he was always lively company (his Burt Lancaster impersonation Ws a Hollywood favorite), and he managed to keep Working (in 1975's The Land That Time Forgot and in 1994's Maverick) long after TV westerns bit the dust. "Anytime I laid eyes on Doug, I couldn't help smiling," says Drury. "He was the finest guy I ever knew."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
