Raymond Burr
Encyclopedia
Raymond William Stacey Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason
and Ironside
. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain. He won two Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. His second hit series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations.
He is also widely known for his role as Steve Martin
in both Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
and Godzilla 1985.
In addition to acting, Burr owned an orchid business and had begun to grow a vineyard. He was a collector of wines and art, and was very fond of cooking.
After his death from cancer in 1993, Burr's personal life came into question as details of his known biography appeared to be unverifiable.
In 1996, Raymond Burr was ranked #44 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
, Canada
to William Johnston Burr (1889–1985), an Irish
hardware salesman, and his wife Minerva (née Smith, 1892–1974), a concert pianist and music teacher, who was of English
and Scottish
descent. After his parents divorced, Burr moved to Vallejo, California
with his mother and younger siblings, Geraldine and James Edmond. He attended a military academy for a while and graduated from Berkeley High School.
In later years, Burr freely invented stories of a happy childhood. He told the Modesto Bee in 1986, for example, that when he was twelve and a half years old, his mother sent him to New Mexico
for a year to work as a ranch hand. He was already his full adult height and rather large and "had fallen in with a group of college-aged kids who didn't realize how young Raymond was, and they let him tag along with them in activities and situations far too sophisticated for him to handle." He developed a passion for growing things and, while still a teenager, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps
for a year. Throughout his teenage years he had some acting work, making his stage debut at age 12 with a Vancouver stock company.
Burr may have served in the Coast Guard, but never in the United States Navy
as he and his publicists later claimed. Nor was he seriously wounded in the stomach during the Battle of Okinawa
in the latter stages of World War II
. Other invented biographical details that were made include years of college education at a variety of institutions, world travel, an acting tour of the United Kingdom, and success in high school athletics. Such claims were accepted as fact by the press during his lifetime and by his first biographer.
. In 1941, he landed his first Broadway role in Crazy with the Heat. He became a contract player at RKO studio, playing a film noir
villain
in Raw Deal
(1948).
Burr appeared in over 60 movies between 1946 and 1957. In 1976, Richard Schickel
cited his performance in Pitfall
(1948) as a prototype of film noir in contrast with the appealing television characters for which Burr later became famous. He received favorable notice for his role as an aggressive prosecutor in A Place in the Sun (1951), co-starring Elizabeth Taylor
, Montgomery Clift
and Shelly Winters. Perhaps his best-known film role of the period was that of a suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock
classic Rear Window
(1954), starring James Stewart
and Grace Kelly
. In 1956, he played the part of reporter Steve Martin
in Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
.
Burr emerged as a prolific television character actor in the early to mid 1950s. He made his guest-starring television debut on an episode of The Amazing Mr. Malone
. This part led to other roles in such programs as Dragnet, Chesterfield Sound Off Time, Four Star Playhouse
, Mr. & Mrs. North, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
, The Ford Television Theatre and Lux Video Theatre
.
During this time, Burr's distinctive voice could also be heard on network radio, appearing alongside Jack Webb
in the short-lived Pat Novak for Hire
on ABC radio, as well as in early episodes of NBC's Dragnet. He also made guest appearances on other Los Angeles-based shows, such as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
and landed a starring role in CBS
's Fort Laramie
(1956), which depicted nineteenth-century life at old Fort Laramie. One year later, Burr became a television star as Perry Mason.
in Perry Mason
, a new courtroom drama based on the highly successful novels written and created by Erle Stanley Gardner
that was to air on CBS. William Talman tried out for the title role
. The producers of the show allowed Burr to try for the title role and when Gardner, who was present at the audition, saw him he declared, "He is Perry Mason." Mason eventually became the role with which Burr was most closely identified. The series ran from 1957 to 1966, and Burr won Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for his performance as Perry Mason. The series has been re-run in syndication ever since. Beginning in 2006, the series has become available on DVD, with each calendar year seeing the release of one season as two separate volumes. Though Burr's character is often said never to have lost a case, he did lose two murder cases in early episodes of the series, once when his client misled him and another time when his client was later cleared.
In the early 1960s, Burr narrated one film and appeared in several others sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service
. They were designed to educate the public about accident prevention.
Burr moved from CBS to Universal Studios
, where he played the title role in the television drama Ironside
, which ran on NBC. In the pilot episode, San Francisco Chief of Detective
s Robert T. Ironside is wounded by a sniper during an attempt on his life and is left an invalid in a wheelchair. This role gave Burr another hit series, the first crime drama show ever to star a disabled police officer. The show, which ran from 1967 to 1975, earned Burr six Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Burr's weight, always an issue for him in getting roles, became a public relations problem when Johnny Carson
began making jokes about him during his Tonight Show
monologues. Burr refused to appear as Carson's guest from then on and told Us Weekly
years later: "I have been asked a number of times to do his show and I won't do it. Because I like NBC. He's doing an NBC show. If I went on I'd have some things to say, not just about the bad jokes he's done about me, but bad jokes he does about everybody who can't fight back because they aren't there. And that wouldn't be good for NBC." In later life his distinctive physique and manner could be used as a reference that would be universally recognized. One journal for librarians published a writer's opinion that "asking persons without cataloging experience to design automated catalogs...is as practical as asking Raymond Burr to pole vault."
NBC failed in two attempts to launch Burr as the star of a new series. In a two-hour television movie format, Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence aired in February 1976 with Burr again in the role of the lawyer who outwits the district attorney. Despite good reviews for Burr, the critical reception was poor and NBC decided against developing it into a series. In 1977, Burr starred in the short-lived TV series Kingston: Confidential
, a critical failure that was scheduled opposite the extraordinarily popular Charlie's Angels
. It was cancelled after thirteen weeks. Burr took on a shorter project next, playing an underworld boss in a six-hour miniseries, 79 Park Avenue
One last attempt to launch a series followed on CBS. The two-hour premiere of The Jourdan Chance aroused little interest.
In 1985, Burr was approached by producers Dean Hargrove
and Fred Silverman
to star in a made-for-TV movie Perry Mason Returns. Burr recalled in a 1986 interview, "They asked me to do a new "Godzilla" the same week they asked me to do another Perry Mason, so I did them both." He agreed to do the Mason movie if Barbara Hale returned to reprise her role as Della Street. Hale agreed and when Perry Mason Returns aired in December 1985, her character became the defendant. The rest of the original cast had died, but Hale's real-life son William Katt
played the role of Paul Drake, Jr. The movie was so successful Burr made 26 more before his death. Many episodes were filmed in and around Denver, Colorado.
By 1993, when Burr signed with NBC for another season of Mason films, he was using a wheelchair full-time because of his failing health. In his final Mason movie, The Case of the Killer Kiss, he was shown either sitting or standing while leaning on a table, but only once standing unsupported for a few seconds. Twelve more Mason movies were scheduled before Burr's death, including one scheduled to film the month he died.
In 1993, as he had with the Perry Mason TV movies, Burr decided to do an Ironside reunion movie. In May of that year, The Return of Ironside aired, reuniting the entire original cast of the 1967-1975 series. Burr's illness precluded any further such reunions.
, as he tried to prevent the forced return of Jewish children from Istanbul to Nazi Germany.
Burr co-starred in such TV films as Eischied: Only The Pretty Girls Die and Disaster On The Coastliner (both 1979), The Curse of King Tut's Tomb and The Night the City Screamed (both 1980), and Peter and Paul
(1981). He also had a supporting role in Dennis Hopper
's controversial film Out of the Blue
(1980) and spoofed his Perry Mason image in Airplane II: The Sequel
(1982).
Burr reprised his 1956 role in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in Godzilla 1985: The Legend Is Reborn
. The film won Burr a nomination for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
. Burr delivered the film's closing lines: "For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain."
Burr also worked as media spokesman for the now-defunct British Columbia-based real estate company Block Bros. in TV, radio, and print ads during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1983, he made a rare stage appearance when he starred in the thriller Underground
at the Royal Alexandra Theatre
, Toronto
and after a UK tour, at the Prince of Wales Theatre
, London
.
On January 20, 1987, he hosted the television special that later served as the pilot for the long-running series Unsolved Mysteries
.
. A son, Michael Evan, was said to have resulted from another invented marriage to Laura Andrina Morgan. Burr provided the only evidence of the boy's existence and death from leukemia at age 10. As late as 1991, Burr told Parade magazine that when he realized his son was dying, he took him on a one-year tour of the United States. He said, "Before my boy left, before his time was gone, I wanted him to see the beauty of his country and its people." His publicist knew that Burr worked in Hollywood throughout the year he said he was touring with his son. As with Burr's claims to have served in the U.S. military, many of these fictions were believed and widely reported.
In the late 1950s Burr was rumored to be romantically involved with Natalie Wood
. Wood's agent sent her on public dates so she could be noticed by directors and producers and so that the actors could present themselves in public as heterosexuals. The dates also helped to disguise Wood's intimate relationship with Robert Wagner
, whom she later married. Burr felt enough attraction to Wood to resent Warner Bros.
' decision to promote her attachment to Tab Hunter
instead. Robert Benevides later said: "He was a little bitter about it. He was really in love with her, I guess."
Later accounts of Burr's life explain that he hid his sexuality to protect his career. In 2000 AP
reporter, Bob Thomas, recalled the situation:
Art Marks, a producer of Perry Mason, recalled Burr's talk of wives and children: "I know he was just putting on a show....That was my gut feeling. I think the wives and the loving women, the Natalie Wood thing, were a bit of a cover." In 2006, Dean Hargrove
, who worked on Perry Mason Returns, said: "I had always assumed that Raymond was gay, because he had a relationship with Robert Benevides for a very long time. Whether or not he had relationships with women, I had no idea. I did know that I had trouble keeping track of whether he was married or not in these stories. Raymond had the ability to mythologize himself, to some extent, and some of his stories about his past...tended to grow as time went by."
A 2007 memoir by actor, Paul Picerni
, described several experiences with Burr about 1951 on the set of A Place in the Sun, when he felt Burr expressed sexual interest in him. He wrote: "I saw him staring at me. With his big blue eyes. And with this strange expression on his face. For the first time in my life, I felt like a DAME. Then it hit me: He'd been giving me all this bullshit about his wife and his two kids in London, when in fact he was gay, and he was makin' a move on me!" He remembered Burr "was a great guy and very subtle in his homosexuality."
s in the United States.
He developed his interest in cultivating and hybridizing orchids into an orchid business with Benevides. Over twenty years their company, Sea God Nurseries, had nurseries in Fiji, Hawaii, the Azores, and California, and was responsible for adding more than 1,500 new orchids to the worldwide catalog. Burr named one the "Barbara Hale Orchid" after his Perry Mason costar.
Together Burr and Benevides cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Port grapes, as well as orchids, at Burr's farmland holdings in Sonoma County, California. After Burr's death, Benevides named the property after Burr: "I finally decided it should be called Raymond Burr Vineyards. He didn't want it named after him, I know that. We had talked about that possibility and he didn't like that at all, but we're making great wines now. It's a memorial to him, to his idea, and I think it deserves to be named after him." The land is still in production and is known as the Raymond Burr Vineyards.
In 1965 Burr purchased the Naitauba, a 4000 acres (16.2 km²) island in Fiji
. There, he and Benevides oversaw the raising of copra (coconut meat) and cattle, as well as orchids. They spent two months a year there and Burr planned to retire there permanently. Medical problems made that impossible and he sold the property in 1983.
in Sacramento, California
. Burr raised money for the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
in Sanibel, Florida
, donating a considerable collection of Fijian cowries and cones from his island in the Fijis. In 1993, Sonoma State University awarded Burr an honorary doctorate. He supported medical and education institutions in Denver, and in 1993, the University of Colorado
awarded him an honorary doctorate for his acting work. Burr also founded financed the American Fijian Foundation that funded academic research, including efforts to develop a dictionary of the language.
Burr made repeated trips on behalf of the United Service Organizations
(USO). He toured both Korea
and Vietnam
during wartime and once spent six months touring Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. He sometimes organized his own troupe and toured bases both in the U.S. and overseas, often small installations that the USO did not serve, like one tour of Greenland, Baffinland, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Returning from Vietnam in 1965, he made a speaking tour of the U.S. to advocate an intensified war effort. As the war became more controversial, he modified his tone, called for more attention to the sacrifice of the troops, and said: "My only position on the war is that I wish it were over." In October 1967, NBC aired Raymond Burr Visits Vietnam, a documentary of one of his visits that received mixed reviews, ranging from "The impressions he came up with are neither weighty nor particularly revealing" (Chicago Tribune) to "His questions...were intelligent and elicited some interesting replies." (Los Angeles Times).
ranch near Healdsburg. He was 76 years old.
Burr was interred with his parents at Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, British Columbia
, Canada
. On October 1, 1993, a gathering of about 600 family members and friends of Burr mourned him at a memorial service at the Pasadena Playhouse
in Pasadena, California
. The private memorial was attended by Robert Benevides, Barbara Hale
, Don Galloway
, Don Mitchell
, Barbara Anderson
, Elizabeth Baur, Dean Hargrove
, William R. Moses
, and Christian I. Nyby II
.
R. William Ide III, president of the American Bar Association
, paid tribute to the way Burr's Perry Mason presented lawyers "in a professional and dignified manner" and helped "to educate many people who previously had not had access to the justice system." Though lawyers once complained of the character's implausibly perfect track record, Ide complimented Burr because he "strove for such authenticity in his courtroom characterizations that we regard his passing as though we lost one of our own." The New York Times added that Mason "made the presumption of innocence
real...[and] also made lawyers look good. Not long before Burr died, Mason was named second after F. Lee Bailey in a poll that asked Americans to name the attorney, fictional or not, they most admired.
Because Burr had not revealed his homosexuality during his lifetime, initial press accounts gave it sensational treatment. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
reported that People
magazine was preparing a story on Burr's "secret life" and asked: "Are the inevitable rumors true?" The Sunday Mail
invented a feminine Burr "wearing a pink frilly apron and doing the ironing. He fussed around like the woman of the house."
Burr bequeathed his estate to Robert Benevides and excluded all relatives, including a sister, nieces, and nephews. His will was challenged by a niece and nephew, Minerva and James, the children of his late brother, James E. Burr, without success. The tabloids estimated that the estate was worth $32 million, but Benevides' attorney, John Hopkins said that was an overestimate.
twice, in 1959 and 1961, for his performance as Perry Mason. He was also nominated a further seven times, once for Mason and six times for Ironside. For the latter role, he was also nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
The Thomas M. Cooley Law School
in Lansing, Michigan, awards the Raymond Burr Award for Excellence in Criminal Law.
Burr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6656 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2008, Canada Post
issued a postage stamp in its "Canadians in Hollywood" series featuring Burr.
Burr received the 2009 Canadian Legends Award and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.
The garden at the entrance to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
in Florida honors Burr, who was a benefactor and fund-raiser for the Museum.
The Raymond Burr Performing Arts Centre in New Westminster, British Columbia
, opened in October 2000, near a city block bearing the Burr family name, and closed in 2006. Originally a movie theatre, under ownership of the Famous Players chain (as the Columbia Theatre), it was an intimate, 238-seat theatre. Initial plans included expanding the venue to a 650-seat regional performing arts facility. When in operation, it was the custom to have a picture of Raymond Burr included somewhere on each set, with the first toast on the opening night of every production always dedicated to his memory. The Centre was commonly referred to as the "Burr Theatre," or simply as "the Burr." It is owned by the City of New Westminster, which placed it for sale on 15 June 2009.
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain. He won two Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons between 1957 and 1966. His second hit series, Ironside, earned him six Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations.
He is also widely known for his role as Steve Martin
Steve Martin (Godzilla)
Steve Martin is a fictional American reporter played by actor Raymond Burr. The journalist first appears in the 1956 Godzilla film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, the American version of the original Japanese Godzilla....
in both Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 Japanese/American black-and-white science fiction kaiju film. It is an "Americanized" version of the original Godzilla film, which had previously been shown subtitled in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe...
and Godzilla 1985.
In addition to acting, Burr owned an orchid business and had begun to grow a vineyard. He was a collector of wines and art, and was very fond of cooking.
After his death from cancer in 1993, Burr's personal life came into question as details of his known biography appeared to be unverifiable.
In 1996, Raymond Burr was ranked #44 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
Early life
Burr was born Raymond William Stacey Burr in New Westminster, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to William Johnston Burr (1889–1985), an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
hardware salesman, and his wife Minerva (née Smith, 1892–1974), a concert pianist and music teacher, who was of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
descent. After his parents divorced, Burr moved to Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
with his mother and younger siblings, Geraldine and James Edmond. He attended a military academy for a while and graduated from Berkeley High School.
In later years, Burr freely invented stories of a happy childhood. He told the Modesto Bee in 1986, for example, that when he was twelve and a half years old, his mother sent him to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
for a year to work as a ranch hand. He was already his full adult height and rather large and "had fallen in with a group of college-aged kids who didn't realize how young Raymond was, and they let him tag along with them in activities and situations far too sophisticated for him to handle." He developed a passion for growing things and, while still a teenager, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
for a year. Throughout his teenage years he had some acting work, making his stage debut at age 12 with a Vancouver stock company.
Burr may have served in the Coast Guard, but never in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as he and his publicists later claimed. Nor was he seriously wounded in the stomach during the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
in the latter stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Other invented biographical details that were made include years of college education at a variety of institutions, world travel, an acting tour of the United Kingdom, and success in high school athletics. Such claims were accepted as fact by the press during his lifetime and by his first biographer.
Early career
In 1937, Burr began his acting career at the Pasadena PlayhousePasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
. In 1941, he landed his first Broadway role in Crazy with the Heat. He became a contract player at RKO studio, playing a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
in Raw Deal
Raw Deal (1948 film)
Raw Deal is a 1948 film noir directed by Anthony Mann and shot by cinematographer John Alton.-Plot:Prisoner Joe Sullivan , who has "taken the fall" for an unspecified crime, breaks jail with the help of his girl, Pat...
(1948).
Burr appeared in over 60 movies between 1946 and 1957. In 1976, Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
cited his performance in Pitfall
Pitfall (1948 film)
Pitfall is a black-and-white 1948 film noir drama directed by André De Toth. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Jay Dratler, and was titled Tragedia a Santa Monica for its Italian release...
(1948) as a prototype of film noir in contrast with the appealing television characters for which Burr later became famous. He received favorable notice for his role as an aggressive prosecutor in A Place in the Sun (1951), co-starring Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
and Shelly Winters. Perhaps his best-known film role of the period was that of a suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
classic Rear Window
Rear Window
Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...
(1954), starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
. In 1956, he played the part of reporter Steve Martin
Steve Martin (Godzilla)
Steve Martin is a fictional American reporter played by actor Raymond Burr. The journalist first appears in the 1956 Godzilla film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, the American version of the original Japanese Godzilla....
in Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 Japanese/American black-and-white science fiction kaiju film. It is an "Americanized" version of the original Godzilla film, which had previously been shown subtitled in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe...
.
Burr emerged as a prolific television character actor in the early to mid 1950s. He made his guest-starring television debut on an episode of The Amazing Mr. Malone
The Amazing Mr. Malone
The Amazing Mr. Malone is an American radio crime drama series based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice...
. This part led to other roles in such programs as Dragnet, Chesterfield Sound Off Time, Four Star Playhouse
Four Star Playhouse
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953...
, Mr. & Mrs. North, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, is a weekly CBS anthology television series, was telecast on Friday nights from 1951 until 1959. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by Schlitz beer...
, The Ford Television Theatre and Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
.
During this time, Burr's distinctive voice could also be heard on network radio, appearing alongside Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
in the short-lived Pat Novak for Hire
Pat Novak for Hire
Pat Novak, for Hire is an old-time radio detective drama series which aired from 1946-1947 as a West Coast regional program and in 1949 as a nationwide program for ABC. The regional version originally starred Jack Webb in the title role, with scripts by his roommate Richard L. Breen...
on ABC radio, as well as in early episodes of NBC's Dragnet. He also made guest appearances on other Los Angeles-based shows, such as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama of "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account — America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." The show aired on CBS Radio from January 14, 1949 to September 30, 1962...
and landed a starring role in CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Fort Laramie
Fort Laramie (radio)
Fort Laramie was a radio Western series that aired Sunday afternoons at 5:30pm on CBS from January 22 to October 28, 1956.Produced and directed by Norman Macdonnell, this Western drama depicted life at old Fort Laramie during the 19th Century. The 41 episodes starred Raymond Burr as Lee Quince,...
(1956), which depicted nineteenth-century life at old Fort Laramie. One year later, Burr became a television star as Perry Mason.
Perry Mason and Ironside
In 1956, Burr auditioned for the role of District Attorney Hamilton BurgerHamilton Burger
Hamilton Burger is the fictional Los Angeles district attorney who is the nemesis of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner...
in Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, a new courtroom drama based on the highly successful novels written and created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories, best known for the Perry Mason series, he also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J...
that was to air on CBS. William Talman tried out for the title role
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
. The producers of the show allowed Burr to try for the title role and when Gardner, who was present at the audition, saw him he declared, "He is Perry Mason." Mason eventually became the role with which Burr was most closely identified. The series ran from 1957 to 1966, and Burr won Emmy Awards in 1959 and 1961 for his performance as Perry Mason. The series has been re-run in syndication ever since. Beginning in 2006, the series has become available on DVD, with each calendar year seeing the release of one season as two separate volumes. Though Burr's character is often said never to have lost a case, he did lose two murder cases in early episodes of the series, once when his client misled him and another time when his client was later cleared.
In the early 1960s, Burr narrated one film and appeared in several others sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
. They were designed to educate the public about accident prevention.
Burr moved from CBS to Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, where he played the title role in the television drama Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
, which ran on NBC. In the pilot episode, San Francisco Chief of Detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s Robert T. Ironside is wounded by a sniper during an attempt on his life and is left an invalid in a wheelchair. This role gave Burr another hit series, the first crime drama show ever to star a disabled police officer. The show, which ran from 1967 to 1975, earned Burr six Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Burr's weight, always an issue for him in getting roles, became a public relations problem when Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
began making jokes about him during his Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
monologues. Burr refused to appear as Carson's guest from then on and told Us Weekly
Us Weekly
Us Weekly is a celebrity gossip magazine, founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. The publication covers topics ranging from celebrity relationships to the latest trends in fashion, beauty, and entertainment...
years later: "I have been asked a number of times to do his show and I won't do it. Because I like NBC. He's doing an NBC show. If I went on I'd have some things to say, not just about the bad jokes he's done about me, but bad jokes he does about everybody who can't fight back because they aren't there. And that wouldn't be good for NBC." In later life his distinctive physique and manner could be used as a reference that would be universally recognized. One journal for librarians published a writer's opinion that "asking persons without cataloging experience to design automated catalogs...is as practical as asking Raymond Burr to pole vault."
NBC failed in two attempts to launch Burr as the star of a new series. In a two-hour television movie format, Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence aired in February 1976 with Burr again in the role of the lawyer who outwits the district attorney. Despite good reviews for Burr, the critical reception was poor and NBC decided against developing it into a series. In 1977, Burr starred in the short-lived TV series Kingston: Confidential
Kingston: Confidential
Kingston: Confidential is an American mystery crime drama that aired on NBC for 13 episodes during the spring of 1977, following the success of a 1976 made-for-TV movie entitled Kingston.-Synopsis:...
, a critical failure that was scheduled opposite the extraordinarily popular Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
. It was cancelled after thirteen weeks. Burr took on a shorter project next, playing an underworld boss in a six-hour miniseries, 79 Park Avenue
79 Park Avenue
79 Park Avenue was an American television miniseries broadcast in 1977. It was based on the Harold Robbins' novel by the same name.It starred Lesley Ann Warren and Marc Singer as a prostitute and a mobster struggling to survive in the 1930s...
One last attempt to launch a series followed on CBS. The two-hour premiere of The Jourdan Chance aroused little interest.
In 1985, Burr was approached by producers Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove is an American television producer, writer, and director. He specializes in creating mystery series...
and Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
to star in a made-for-TV movie Perry Mason Returns. Burr recalled in a 1986 interview, "They asked me to do a new "Godzilla" the same week they asked me to do another Perry Mason, so I did them both." He agreed to do the Mason movie if Barbara Hale returned to reprise her role as Della Street. Hale agreed and when Perry Mason Returns aired in December 1985, her character became the defendant. The rest of the original cast had died, but Hale's real-life son William Katt
William Katt
William Theodore Katt is an American film and television actor, best known as the star of The Greatest American Hero. He is also known for playing Tommy Ross, the ill-fated prom date of Carrie White in the film version of Carrie and Paul Drake Jr. in the Perry Mason TV movies...
played the role of Paul Drake, Jr. The movie was so successful Burr made 26 more before his death. Many episodes were filmed in and around Denver, Colorado.
By 1993, when Burr signed with NBC for another season of Mason films, he was using a wheelchair full-time because of his failing health. In his final Mason movie, The Case of the Killer Kiss, he was shown either sitting or standing while leaning on a table, but only once standing unsupported for a few seconds. Twelve more Mason movies were scheduled before Burr's death, including one scheduled to film the month he died.
In 1993, as he had with the Perry Mason TV movies, Burr decided to do an Ironside reunion movie. In May of that year, The Return of Ironside aired, reuniting the entire original cast of the 1967-1975 series. Burr's illness precluded any further such reunions.
Other work
In 1973, Burr starred in one-hour television drama, Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John. He portrayed Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIIIPope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
, as he tried to prevent the forced return of Jewish children from Istanbul to Nazi Germany.
Burr co-starred in such TV films as Eischied: Only The Pretty Girls Die and Disaster On The Coastliner (both 1979), The Curse of King Tut's Tomb and The Night the City Screamed (both 1980), and Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul
Peter and Paul is a 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul of Tarsus and Robert Foxworth as Peter the Fisherman, David Gwillim as Mark and Jon Finch as Luke. It was directed by Robert Day. The film mostly shows the works of Paul, beginning with his being struck down and converted by the Lord...
(1981). He also had a supporting role in Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
's controversial film Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue (1980 film)
Out of the Blue is a 1980 film featuring and directed by Dennis Hopper. The film was written and produced by Gary Jules Jouvenat. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival...
(1980) and spoofed his Perry Mason image in Airplane II: The Sequel
Airplane II: The Sequel
Airplane II: The Sequel is an American comedy sequel to the 1980 film Airplane!. First released on December 10, 1982, the film was written and directed by Ken Finkleman and stars Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono.-Plot:In the near...
(1982).
Burr reprised his 1956 role in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in Godzilla 1985: The Legend Is Reborn
The Return of Godzilla
The Return of Godzilla The Return of Godzilla The Return of Godzilla (released as in Japan and as Godzilla 1985 in North America, is a 1984 Science Fiction Kaiju film. The sixteenth film in Toho's Godzilla series, it was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and directed by Koji Hashimoto with special...
. The film won Burr a nomination for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated. Brooke Shields is the...
. Burr delivered the film's closing lines: "For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain."
Burr also worked as media spokesman for the now-defunct British Columbia-based real estate company Block Bros. in TV, radio, and print ads during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1983, he made a rare stage appearance when he starred in the thriller Underground
Underground (play)
Underground, a thriller written by Michael Sloane and produced at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto and following a UK tour, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, opening on 4 July 1983....
at the Royal Alexandra Theatre
Royal Alexandra Theatre
The Royal Alexandra Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada located near King and Simcoe Streets. Built in 1907, the Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in North America.-History:...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and after a UK tour, at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
On January 20, 1987, he hosted the television special that later served as the pilot for the long-running series Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
.
Personal life
Burr married actress Isabella ("Bella") Ward on January 10, 1949. They lived together for less than a year and divorced after four years; neither remarried. At various times in his career, Burr or his managers offered biographical details that appear spurious or unverifiable. These include marriage to Scottish actress, Annette Sutherland, supposedly killed in the same plane crash as Leslie HowardLeslie Howard
Leslie Howard may refer to:*Leslie Howard , English stage performer who became star of Hollywood films during 1930s*Leslie Howard , Australian-born British pianist and composer...
. A son, Michael Evan, was said to have resulted from another invented marriage to Laura Andrina Morgan. Burr provided the only evidence of the boy's existence and death from leukemia at age 10. As late as 1991, Burr told Parade magazine that when he realized his son was dying, he took him on a one-year tour of the United States. He said, "Before my boy left, before his time was gone, I wanted him to see the beauty of his country and its people." His publicist knew that Burr worked in Hollywood throughout the year he said he was touring with his son. As with Burr's claims to have served in the U.S. military, many of these fictions were believed and widely reported.
In the late 1950s Burr was rumored to be romantically involved with Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. Wood's agent sent her on public dates so she could be noticed by directors and producers and so that the actors could present themselves in public as heterosexuals. The dates also helped to disguise Wood's intimate relationship with Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
, whom she later married. Burr felt enough attraction to Wood to resent Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' decision to promote her attachment to Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
instead. Robert Benevides later said: "He was a little bitter about it. He was really in love with her, I guess."
Sexual orientation
In the mid 1950s Burr met Robert Benevides (b. 1930), a young actor and Korean War veteran, on the set of Perry Mason. According to Benevides they became a couple about 1960 and he gave up acting in 1963 and later became a production consultant for 21 of the Perry Mason TV movies. Together they owned and operated an orchid business and then a vineyard, in the Dry Creek Valley. They were partners until Burr's death in 1993. Burr left Benevides his entire estate, including "all my jewelry, clothing, books, works of art,...and other items of a personal nature."Later accounts of Burr's life explain that he hid his sexuality to protect his career. In 2000 AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporter, Bob Thomas, recalled the situation:
Art Marks, a producer of Perry Mason, recalled Burr's talk of wives and children: "I know he was just putting on a show....That was my gut feeling. I think the wives and the loving women, the Natalie Wood thing, were a bit of a cover." In 2006, Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove is an American television producer, writer, and director. He specializes in creating mystery series...
, who worked on Perry Mason Returns, said: "I had always assumed that Raymond was gay, because he had a relationship with Robert Benevides for a very long time. Whether or not he had relationships with women, I had no idea. I did know that I had trouble keeping track of whether he was married or not in these stories. Raymond had the ability to mythologize himself, to some extent, and some of his stories about his past...tended to grow as time went by."
A 2007 memoir by actor, Paul Picerni
Paul Picerni
-Life and career:Picerni was born in New York City, New York. He was an Eagle Scout who joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he served as a B-24 Liberator bombardier in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew 25 combat missions with the 493rd Bomb Squadron of the 7th...
, described several experiences with Burr about 1951 on the set of A Place in the Sun, when he felt Burr expressed sexual interest in him. He wrote: "I saw him staring at me. With his big blue eyes. And with this strange expression on his face. For the first time in my life, I felt like a DAME. Then it hit me: He'd been giving me all this bullshit about his wife and his two kids in London, when in fact he was gay, and he was makin' a move on me!" He remembered Burr "was a great guy and very subtle in his homosexuality."
Hobbies
Burr had many hobbies over the course of his life: cultivating orchids, collecting wine, art, stamps, and seashells. He was interested in cooking, flying, sailing, and fishing. According to A&E Biography, Burr was also an avid reader with a retentive memory. He also was among the earliest importers and breeders of Portuguese Water DogPortuguese Water Dog
The Portuguese Water Dog is a breed of working dog as classified by the American Kennel Club. Portuguese Water Dogs are originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve, from where the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, to...
s in the United States.
He developed his interest in cultivating and hybridizing orchids into an orchid business with Benevides. Over twenty years their company, Sea God Nurseries, had nurseries in Fiji, Hawaii, the Azores, and California, and was responsible for adding more than 1,500 new orchids to the worldwide catalog. Burr named one the "Barbara Hale Orchid" after his Perry Mason costar.
Together Burr and Benevides cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Port grapes, as well as orchids, at Burr's farmland holdings in Sonoma County, California. After Burr's death, Benevides named the property after Burr: "I finally decided it should be called Raymond Burr Vineyards. He didn't want it named after him, I know that. We had talked about that possibility and he didn't like that at all, but we're making great wines now. It's a memorial to him, to his idea, and I think it deserves to be named after him." The land is still in production and is known as the Raymond Burr Vineyards.
In 1965 Burr purchased the Naitauba, a 4000 acres (16.2 km²) island in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. There, he and Benevides oversaw the raising of copra (coconut meat) and cattle, as well as orchids. They spent two months a year there and Burr planned to retire there permanently. Medical problems made that impossible and he sold the property in 1983.
Philanthropy
Burr was a well-known philanthropist. He gave enormous sums of money, including his salaries from the Perry Mason movies, to charity. He was also known for sharing his wealth with friends. He sponsored 26 foster children through the Foster Parents' Plan or Save The Children, many with the greatest medical needs. He also gave money and some of his Perry Mason scripts to the McGeorge School of LawMcGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, ABA approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific....
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. Burr raised money for the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is a museum of seashells and conchology located in the city of Sanibel, Florida on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida...
in Sanibel, Florida
Sanibel, Florida
Sanibel is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on Sanibel Island. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2006 population of 6,066. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, donating a considerable collection of Fijian cowries and cones from his island in the Fijis. In 1993, Sonoma State University awarded Burr an honorary doctorate. He supported medical and education institutions in Denver, and in 1993, the University of Colorado
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado system is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in...
awarded him an honorary doctorate for his acting work. Burr also founded financed the American Fijian Foundation that funded academic research, including efforts to develop a dictionary of the language.
Burr made repeated trips on behalf of the United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
(USO). He toured both Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
during wartime and once spent six months touring Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. He sometimes organized his own troupe and toured bases both in the U.S. and overseas, often small installations that the USO did not serve, like one tour of Greenland, Baffinland, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Returning from Vietnam in 1965, he made a speaking tour of the U.S. to advocate an intensified war effort. As the war became more controversial, he modified his tone, called for more attention to the sacrifice of the troops, and said: "My only position on the war is that I wish it were over." In October 1967, NBC aired Raymond Burr Visits Vietnam, a documentary of one of his visits that received mixed reviews, ranging from "The impressions he came up with are neither weighty nor particularly revealing" (Chicago Tribune) to "His questions...were intelligent and elicited some interesting replies." (Los Angeles Times).
Illness and death
During the filming of his last Perry Mason movie in the spring of 1993, Raymond Burr fell ill. A Viacom spokesperson told the media that the illness might be related to the malignant kidney that Burr had removed that February. It was determined that the cancer had spread to his liver and was at that point inoperable. Burr threw several "goodbye parties" before his death on September 12, 1993, at his Sonoma County, CaliforniaSonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
ranch near Healdsburg. He was 76 years old.
Burr was interred with his parents at Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On October 1, 1993, a gathering of about 600 family members and friends of Burr mourned him at a memorial service at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. The private memorial was attended by Robert Benevides, Barbara Hale
Barbara Hale
Barbara Hale is an American actress best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on more than 250 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television series and later reprising the role in dozens of made-for-TV movies....
, Don Galloway
Don Galloway
Donald "Don" Galloway was an American actor of stage, film and television, a political libertarian and journalist, perhaps best-known for his role as Raymond Burr's protégé, Detective Sergeant Ed Brown, on the long-running crime drama Ironside...
, Don Mitchell
Don Mitchell (actor)
Don Michael Mitchell is an American actor, best known for appearing with Raymond Burr in the NBC TV series Ironside...
, Barbara Anderson
Barbara Anderson (actress)
-External links:...
, Elizabeth Baur, Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove is an American television producer, writer, and director. He specializes in creating mystery series...
, William R. Moses
William R. Moses
William Remington Moses is an American actor.-Early life:Moses was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of the late actress Marian McCargo and advertising executive Richard Cantrell Moses, Sr. who divorced in 1963. Marian remarried in 1970 to the late former Republican Congressman...
, and Christian I. Nyby II
Christian I. Nyby II
Christian I. Nyby II is an American television director.Nyby graduated from Van Nuys High School in Van Nuys, California in 1959. He attended the University of Idaho for two years before transferring to the University of Southern California...
.
R. William Ide III, president of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, paid tribute to the way Burr's Perry Mason presented lawyers "in a professional and dignified manner" and helped "to educate many people who previously had not had access to the justice system." Though lawyers once complained of the character's implausibly perfect track record, Ide complimented Burr because he "strove for such authenticity in his courtroom characterizations that we regard his passing as though we lost one of our own." The New York Times added that Mason "made the presumption of innocence
Presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many...
real...[and] also made lawyers look good. Not long before Burr died, Mason was named second after F. Lee Bailey in a poll that asked Americans to name the attorney, fictional or not, they most admired.
Because Burr had not revealed his homosexuality during his lifetime, initial press accounts gave it sensational treatment. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
reported that People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine was preparing a story on Burr's "secret life" and asked: "Are the inevitable rumors true?" The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Scotland)
The Sunday Mail is a Scottish tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is the sister paper of the Daily Record and is owned by Trinity Mirror and as such has a left-wing outlook which in turn tends to guide Scottish political debate in that direction.The Sunday Mail is read by over one million...
invented a feminine Burr "wearing a pink frilly apron and doing the ironing. He fussed around like the woman of the house."
Burr bequeathed his estate to Robert Benevides and excluded all relatives, including a sister, nieces, and nephews. His will was challenged by a niece and nephew, Minerva and James, the children of his late brother, James E. Burr, without success. The tabloids estimated that the estate was worth $32 million, but Benevides' attorney, John Hopkins said that was an overestimate.
Recognition
Burr won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners.-1950s:*1956: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best*1957: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best...
twice, in 1959 and 1961, for his performance as Perry Mason. He was also nominated a further seven times, once for Mason and six times for Ironside. For the latter role, he was also nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
The Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is an American Bar Association accredited law school in the United States. Located in Michigan, its main campus is in Lansing, and its satellite campuses are in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids. Cooley plans on opening another satellite campus in Tampa Bay,...
in Lansing, Michigan, awards the Raymond Burr Award for Excellence in Criminal Law.
Burr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6656 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2008, Canada Post
Canada Post stamp releases (2005-2009)
In the latter half of the decade, Canada Post continued to issue a large number of stamps with different designs and themes. One of the key changes in the decade was that Canada Post issued series of stamps on a yearly basis. An example is the 400th Anniversary of the French Settlement in North...
issued a postage stamp in its "Canadians in Hollywood" series featuring Burr.
Burr received the 2009 Canadian Legends Award and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.
The garden at the entrance to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is a museum of seashells and conchology located in the city of Sanibel, Florida on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida...
in Florida honors Burr, who was a benefactor and fund-raiser for the Museum.
The Raymond Burr Performing Arts Centre in New Westminster, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, opened in October 2000, near a city block bearing the Burr family name, and closed in 2006. Originally a movie theatre, under ownership of the Famous Players chain (as the Columbia Theatre), it was an intimate, 238-seat theatre. Initial plans included expanding the venue to a 650-seat regional performing arts facility. When in operation, it was the custom to have a picture of Raymond Burr included somewhere on each set, with the first toast on the opening night of every production always dedicated to his memory. The Centre was commonly referred to as the "Burr Theatre," or simply as "the Burr." It is owned by the City of New Westminster, which placed it for sale on 15 June 2009.
Selected filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1947 | Desperate Desperate (film) -Plot:Steve Randall is an independent trucker who is hired by an old friend to haul some freight. Only when Steve arrives at the warehouse, does he realize that what he has been hired to haul away is stolen goods. A cop is killed when they bust in during the delivery.Later, after kidnapping Steve,... |
Walt Radak | |
| 1948 | Sleep, My Love Sleep, My Love Sleep, My Love is a feature film directed by Douglas Sirk, and starring Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche.-Plot:Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't a clue how she ended up on a train bound for Boston... |
Detective Sgt. Strake | |
| Pitfall Pitfall (1948 film) Pitfall is a black-and-white 1948 film noir drama directed by André De Toth. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Jay Dratler, and was titled Tragedia a Santa Monica for its Italian release... |
MacDonald | ||
| Raw Deal Raw Deal (1948 film) Raw Deal is a 1948 film noir directed by Anthony Mann and shot by cinematographer John Alton.-Plot:Prisoner Joe Sullivan , who has "taken the fall" for an unspecified crime, breaks jail with the help of his girl, Pat... |
Rick Coyle | ||
| Adventures of Don Juan Adventures of Don Juan Adventures of Don Juan, known in the United Kingdom as The New Adventures of Don Juan, is a 1948 adventure Technicolor romance film made by Warner Bros... |
Capt. Alvarez | ||
| 1949 | Black Magic Black Magic (1949 film) Black Magic is a 1949 film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel. It was directed by the Russian-born Gregory Ratoff and stars Orson Welles in the lead role as Joseph Balsamo and Nancy Guild as Lorenza/Marie Antoinette... |
Alexandre Dumas, Jr. | |
| Red Light Red Light Red Light is a 1949 film noir, directed and produced by Roy Del Ruth. It is based on the story "This Guy Gideon" by Don "Red" Barry, and features strong religious overtones.-Plot:... |
Nick Cherney | ||
| Abandoned Abandoned (1949 film) Abandoned is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by Joseph M. Newman. The drama features Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, and others.-Plot:... |
Kerric | ||
| 1950 | Borderline Borderline (1950 film) Borderline is a 1950 American film directed by William A. Seiter.-Plot:Pete Ritchie runs a narcotics smuggling operation to the USA from Mexico, which the Los Angeles Police Department and the US federal government have unsuccessfully tried to stop... |
Pete Ritchie | |
| Key to the City Key to the City (film) Key to the City is a 1950 romantic comedy film starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young as mayors who meet during a convention in San Francisco and, despite their contrasting personalities and views, fall in love. This was the second time that Gable and Young appeared together in a film, the first... |
Les Taggart | ||
| Love Happy Love Happy Love Happy was the 14th and last starring feature for the Marx Brothers. The film stars Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and, in a smaller role than usual, Groucho Marx, plus Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Paul Valentine, Marion Hutton, Raymond Burr, Bruce Gordon , and Eric Blore, with a walk-on by Marilyn Monroe... |
Alphonse Zoto | ||
| 1951 | A Place in the Sun | District Attorney R. Frank Marlow | |
| His Kind of Woman His Kind of Woman His Kind of Woman is a black-and-white 1951 film noir starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. The film features supporting roles by Vincent Price, Raymond Burr, and Charles McGraw... |
Nick Ferraro | ||
| Bride of the Gorilla Bride of the Gorilla Bride of the Gorilla is a 1951 B-movie film directed by Curt Siodmak and starring Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney Jr. and Barbara Payton. The pre-release working title was The Face in the Water.-Plot:... |
Barney Chavez | ||
| 1952 | Meet Danny Wilson Meet Danny Wilson (film) Meet Danny Wilson is a 1952 film starring Frank Sinatra and Shelley Winters. The movie was directed by Joseph Pevney and written by Don McGuire... |
Nick Driscoll alias Joe Martell | |
| 1953 | The Blue Gardenia | Harry Prebble | |
| Serpent of the Nile | Mark Antony | ||
| Tarzan and the She-Devil Tarzan and the She-Devil Tarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. It also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil," a colorful name for a female villain. The movie was directed by Kurt Neumann. Tarzan is held captive... |
Vargo | ||
| 1954 | Casanova's Big Night Casanova's Big Night Casanova's Big Night is a comedy film starring Bob Hope and Joan Fontaine, which is a spoof of swashbuckling historical adventure films. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod.Hope plays a man who impersonates Giacomo Casanova, the great lover... |
Bragadin | |
| Gorilla at Large Gorilla at Large Gorilla at Large is a 1954 horror mystery B-movie made in 3-D. The film stars Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb, Charlotte Austin, and Raymond Burr. Lee Marvin and Warren Stevens have supporting roles. The film was made by Panoramic Productions, and distributed through 20th Century Fox... |
Cy Miller | ||
| Rear Window Rear Window Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"... |
Lars Thorwald | ||
| 1955 | You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young You're Never Too Young is a comedy film starring the team of Martin and Lewis, released on August 25, 1955 by Paramount Pictures, and co-starring Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, and Raymond Burr.-Plot:... |
Noonan | |
| Count Three and Pray Count Three and Pray (film) Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story Calico Pony Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on... |
Yancey Huggins | ||
| 1956 | Godzilla, King of the Monsters! Godzilla, King of the Monsters! Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 Japanese/American black-and-white science fiction kaiju film. It is an "Americanized" version of the original Godzilla film, which had previously been shown subtitled in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe... |
Steve Martin | |
| Please Murder Me Please Murder Me Please Murder Me is a 1956 American film directed by Peter Godfrey.- Plot synopsis :Defense lawyer Craig Carlson buys a pistol at a pawn shop and travels to his office, where he deposits the gun in a desk drawer with a file folder, then begins to dictate into a tape recorder... |
Attorney Craig Carlson | ||
| 1957 | Crime of Passion Crime of Passion (1957 film) Crime of Passion is a 1957 American crime film noir directed by Gerd Oswald and written by Jo Eisinger. The drama features Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr and Fay Wray, among others.-Plot:... |
Police Inspector Anthony "Tony" Pope | |
| Ride the High Iron | Publicity agent Ziggy Moline | ||
| 1960 | Desire in the Dust Desire in the Dust Desire in the Dust is a 1960 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by William F. Claxton, and produced by Robert L. Lippert. The film stars Raymond Burr as Col. Ben Marquand, Martha Hyer and Joan Bennett... |
Col. Ben Marquand | |
| 1977 | The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena | host of documentary | |
| 1980 | The Curse of King Tut's Tomb The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980 film) The Curse of King Tut's Tomb is a 1980 British-American mystery thriller film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Eva Marie Saint, Harry Andrews and Paul Scofield, with Tom Baker.- Plot :... |
Jonash Sebastian | |
| The Return The Return (1980 film) The Return is a 1980 American science fiction film directed by Greydon Clark. It stars Jan-Michael Vincent, Cybill Shepherd, Martin Landau, and Raymond Burr... |
Dr. Kramer | ||
| Out of the Blue Out of the Blue (1980 film) Out of the Blue is a 1980 film featuring and directed by Dennis Hopper. The film was written and produced by Gary Jules Jouvenat. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival... |
Dr. Brean | ||
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel Airplane II: The Sequel Airplane II: The Sequel is an American comedy sequel to the 1980 film Airplane!. First released on December 10, 1982, the film was written and directed by Ken Finkleman and stars Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono.-Plot:In the near... |
Judge D.C. Simonton | |
| 1985 | Godzilla 1985 | Steve Martin | |
| 1991 | Delirious Delirious (film) Delirious is a romantic comedy film starring John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms and Raymond Burr . It was released in 1991, but it did not achieve commercial success at the box offices.-Plot:... |
Carter Hedison | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957–1966 | Perry Mason Perry Mason (TV series) Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner... |
Perry Mason | 271 episodes |
| 1967–1975 | Ironside Ironside (TV series) Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the... |
Robert T. Ironside | 194 episodes |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors The Bold Ones: The New Doctors The Bold Ones: The New Doctors is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.-Overview:The series focuses on the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is an American medical drama that lasted for four seasons on... |
Robert T. Ironside | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Kingston: Confidential Kingston: Confidential Kingston: Confidential is an American mystery crime drama that aired on NBC for 13 episodes during the spring of 1977, following the success of a 1976 made-for-TV movie entitled Kingston.-Synopsis:... |
R.B. Kingston | 13 episodes |
| 1979 | The Love Boat The Love Boat The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain... |
Malcolm Dwyer | 2 episodes |
| Centennial | Herman Bockweiss | 12 episodes | |
| Eischied Eischied Eischied is an American crime drama broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1979 to January 20, 1980. It was based on the starring character from the 1978 miniseries To Kill a Cop, which was based on the novel by Robert Daley.-Snyopsis:... |
Police Commissioner | 2 episodes | |
| The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo is an American action/adventure sitcom that ran on NBC from 1979 to 1981. For its second season the show was renamed Lobo. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The lead character, Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo, played by Claude Akins, was a spin-off... |
The Godfather | 1 episode | |
| 1981 | Peter and Paul Peter and Paul Peter and Paul is a 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul of Tarsus and Robert Foxworth as Peter the Fisherman, David Gwillim as Mark and Jon Finch as Luke. It was directed by Robert Day. The film mostly shows the works of Paul, beginning with his being struck down and converted by the Lord... |
Herod Agrippa I | Television movie |
| 1985-1993 | Perry Mason television movies | Perry Mason | 26 movies |
| 1993 | The Return of Ironside | Robert T. Ironside | Television movie |
External links
- Raymond Burr Vineyards
- Raymond Burr at the MBC Encyclopedia of TelevisionMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
- Complete biography of Raymond Burr
- Raymond Burr Performing Arts Centre - New Westminster, BC