The Only Main Actors Still Alive From The Virginian

After "Gunsmoke" paved the way for adult westerns on television, the floodgates opened up with every network trying to ride the success wave with oaters of their own like "Rawhide," "Bonanza," and "Wagon Train." Chief among them was "The Virginian," which holds the honor of being the third longest-running network western of all time. The NBC series ran for nine seasons and 249 episodes from 1962 to 1971. The distinction it holds over most of its cowboy television counterparts is that it was the first 90-minute Western series, with episodes running for 75 minutes plus commercials.

Loosely based on Owen Wister's 1902 novel "The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains," "The Virginian" had been adapted four times into feature films, with the version starring Gary Cooper considered among his best movies. Almost three decades later, James Drury performed a test drive for the character in a 1958 episode of the half-hour anthology series "Decision." Considerable changes were made to this version of the character; originally having Confederate sympathies, he became the foreman of a Wyoming homestead named the Shiloh Ranch. Throughout its nine-season run, the titular Virginian would mysteriously never get a name nor a backstory, and he would often work under a share of ranch owners.

The late 19th-century Western would alternate its cast roster across its lifespan. Most of the cast have sadly passed away in the time since its cancellation in the early '70s. Charles Bickford (John Grainger) was the only cast member to pass while the show was on the air, having died of pneumonia in 1967 at 76 years old. After the show's cancellation, Lee J. Cobb (Judge Garth) succumbed to a heart attack in 1976 at 64 years old. John McIntire (Clay Grainger) fell ill with emphysema and passed away in 1991 at 83 years old. Doug McClure (Trampas) died of lung cancer a few years later in 1995 at 59 years old. Series lead James Drury (The Virginian) died of natural causes in 2020 at 85 years old, as did Clu Gulager (Sheriff Ryker) in 2022 at 93. Sara Lane (Elizabeth Grainger) was the most recent "Virginian" alum to pass away at the time of writing, having died of breast cancer in 2023 at 73 years old.

As it would happen, however, given the series' rotation of actors, there are still quite a few alumni of "The Virginian" who remain with us.

Gary Clarke appeared throughout the first few years on "The Virginian" as Steve Hill, a good friend of McClure's Trampas and Drury's titular ranch hand. The character would be a mainstay in the first two seasons, become a guest star in the third season, and then ultimately leave the show with 63 episodes under his belt. A lot of Clarke's time in the industry was spent doing guest spots on series like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Laramie," "Wagon Train," "Gunsmoke," "Cannon," "Dynasty," and "The A-Team," among countless others. He also had recurring roles on the spy parody series "Get Smart" (of which he wrote six episodes too), the oft-forgotten television version of the John Wayne film "Hondo," and the detective drama "Michael Shayne," which featured the most amount of episodes of any shows he's been a part of since "The Virginian." Clarke's television output would slow down once the '90s came around.

When it came to the silver screen, Clarke mostly starred in B-movies and exploitation pictures. His first leading role was in the hot rod movie "Dragstrip Riot" in 1958, but he usually appeared in a supporting capacity with low-budget fare like "How to Make a Monster," ""Missile to the Moo," "Cat-Women of the Moon," "Date Bait" and "Wild Wild Winter." Clarke would sometimes play bit parts in George P. Cosmatos' "Tombstone" or Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy," with his latest role to date being a 2025 indie horror thriller entitled "House of Abraham" alongside "Insidious" star Lin Shaye.

Clarke also had a short-lived music career in 1962 with the single "Tomorrow May Never Come" for RCA Victor Records, in addition to releasing a cover of the "Virginian" theme song the following year for Decca Records.

"The Virginian" was mostly known to have a lot of male leads, which made Roberta Shore's presence as one of the few female leads even greater. For the first four seasons, she played Betsy, the young adopted daughter of Lee J. Cobb's Judge Garth. Betsy was often taken care of by Clarke's Steve and McClure's Trampas, who would come to her aid in troublesome times. Shore ultimately left the series only a few episodes into season 4; her last episode was "The Awakening," where her marriage to a minister prompted her in-universe move from the Shiloh Ranch after 70 episodes.

Prior to "The Virginian," Shore initially went by her birth name, Roberta Jymme Schourop, and sang with country-western singer Tex Williams in his show at Knott's Berry Farm at only 10 years old. The young starlet would eventually find her way to the television space with recurring roles on "Annette," "Father Knows Best," "The Mickey Mouse Club" (although not as a Mousketeer), "The Bob Cummings Show," and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Additionally, she would do some one-off appearances on shows such as "Maverick," "The Donna Reed Show," and "Laramie."

1959 was a busy year for Shore, as her big-screen output included Disney's animal comedy "The Shaggy Dog," a film adaptation of the Broadway show "Blue Denim," and a cameo in the romantic drama "A Summer Place." It's also worth noting that she has an uncredited role in Stanley Kubrick's provocative 1962 adaptation of "Lolita."

Once Shore left "The Virginian" in 1965, however, she also said goodbye to the industry at large at just 21 to become a Mormon and build her family over the remaining decades. Shore's last known screen credit is "The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey."

For the second, third, and fourth seasons of "The Virginian," Randy Boone played Randy Benton, a ranch hand who would feel lost without his guitar. The character was considered Gary Clarke's replacement. Boone got on the show by way of dropping out of college and hitchhiking all across the United States, playing his guitar. His talents were ultimately discovered in 1962 when he was cast on the NBC dramedy series "It's a Man's World" as Vern, a college student living on a houseboat in the Ohio River.

Boone nabbed some guest spots on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Twilight Zone," and "Wagon Train" before landing the Benton role. After playing the singing ranch hand for 70 episodes on "The Virginian," however, Boone made one-off appearances on "Combat!," "Bonanza," "Hondo," "Gunsmoke," "Kung Fu," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and the Michael Landon angelic drama "Highway to Heaven."

The only other television series Boone found himself in was the CBS western "Cimarron Strip" with Stuart Whitman in 1967 as reporter Francis Wilde. Boone's last known screen credit is a 1987 action comedy directed by Beau Bridges called "The Wild Pair," and he hasn't been involved in the industry since.

Don Quine joined "The Virginian" for the show's fifth and sixth seasons as Stacey Grainger, the grandson of John Grainger, who would often be seen as a big brother figure by Sara Lane's Elizabeth. When it came to Quine's acting career, he mostly stuck to television, barring the odd television movie here and there. Like most actors, he made guest appearances on shows such as "Rawhide," "Dr. Kildare," "The Fugitive," "The F.B.I.," "Lancer," and "Hawaii Five-0." Aside from "The Virginian," his only other recurring role was Joe Chernak on the late '60s soap opera "Peyton Place."

Outside of his acting career, Quine brought kickboxing to American audiences by co-founding the Professional Karate Association (PKA) in 1974. He's since authored books like "American Karate" and "Killer Payback," the first in a series of books called "Venture's Nest."