Black hat clung to ‘The Virginian’ star James Drury

You have questions. I have some answers.

Back in the day, my family members were huge fans of “The Virginian.” Recently we wondered what became of its lead actor, James Drury, since none of us could recall seeing him in other movies or TV shows.

Drury had a string of roles of various sizes before the 1962 premiere of “The Virginian,” where he was the title character — with no other name. Those earlier roles included Disney films “Toby Tyler” and “Pollyanna” and the classic Western “Ride the High Country.” He continued with “The Virginian” and its renamed version “The Men from Shiloh,” which ended in 1971. Following that, he guest-starred in series such as “Alias Smith and Jones,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” and “The Fall Guy.” He also starred in the TV series “Firehouse,” which aired for a few months in 1974. In a 2018 interview cited by The New York Times, Drury said, “I had a great deal of issues getting past being seen as the man in the black hat.” But he found some satisfaction off-screen, including in the oil and gas business. He died in 2020 at the age of 85.

I have watched “Days of Our Lives” since 1965. I am 73 years old and don’t know about streaming and digital access. NBC is committing senior abuse moving “Days” to streaming. The last day they show “Days” on NBC is the last day I will ever watch NBC.

Several letters came in lamenting the move of “Days” from NBC to its streaming service Peacock in September, which I discussed in a previous column. Said another: “I’m mad as hell. … It all comes down to money. What a shame!”

Whatever happened to the actor Jon Hall?

Hall — who according to “The Film Encyclopedia” began acting as Charles Locher, then as Lloyd Crane before becoming Jon Hall in 1937 — came to fame as the star of “The Hurricane” in 1937. “Muscular and athletic, he was often seen in loincloth in South Seas films … or in Bedouin robes in Arabian Nights films,” says the encyclopedia. He starred on TV’s “Ramar of the Jungle” in the early 1950s. Struggling with cancer, he committed suicide in 1979; he was 66 years old.

I was scanning channels very late at night and I came across a movie in progress on TCM. It was in black and white, probably done in the 1930s and featured an all African American cast of entertainers and was entirely of a live radio broadcast show. There were two brothers who tapped danced and sang that were unbelievable. I’d love to watch the whole show as I’m sure anyone who likes early jazz, and gospel music would. I think some of the singers may be really famous. It was at least 40 minutes long. Any way you can find out the name of this movie?

At first your mention of tap-dancing brothers made me think this was the classic “Stormy Weather,” which featured Harold and Fayard Nicholas in one of the greatest dance numbers in movie history. But when we talked some more, it turned out you saw “The Black Network,” a short film from 1936.