[3] He studied drama at New York University[2] and took additional classes at UCLA to complete his degree after he began acting in films at MGM.

[8] On Christmas Eve 1959, Drury appeared in "Ten Feet of Nothing" on the syndicated anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews.

[9] In 1960, Drury appeared in different roles in two episodes, "Fair Game" and "Vindication", of another ABC Western series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams as a Confederate adventurer roaming through the post-Civil War American West.

He made a guest appearance on the CBS drama series Perry Mason in 1961 in the role of musician and defendant Eddy King in "The Case of the Missing Melody".

In 1962, he was cast in a substantial role as a lascivious gold prospector in the early Sam Peckinpah Western Ride the High Country (1962) opposite Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea.

[11] Drury was put under a 7-year contract with Universal in 1962, and was the front-runner for the role, but he still had to audition three separate times and was required to lose 30 pounds in 30 days to secure the part.

[12] Drury and his Wilshire Boulevard Buffalo Hunters band performed 54 USO-sponsored shows for troops in Vietnam in three weeks in April 1966.

[13] In 1993, Drury had a guest-starring role as Captain Tom Price on the first three episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger, opposite Chuck Norris and Clarence Gilyard.