William Talman
Encyclopedia
William Whitney Talman, Jr. (February 4, 1915 – August 30, 1968) was an American television and movie actor, who played Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger
in the long-running series Perry Mason
.
to Ada Barber and William Whitney Talman, a vice president of an electronics company. His maternal grandparents, Catherine Gandy and James Wells Barber, were immigrants from England
.
He founded the drama club at the Cranbrook Schools
in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
. He continued to act at Dartmouth College
and the University of Michigan
. After college he worked in summer stock and at an iron foundry, paper mills, boat yards, and as an automobile salesman.
He served for 30 months in the army in the Pacific in World War II
, beginning his service as a private on February 4, 1942 at Camp Upton
in Yaphank, (Long Island) New York. He was ultimately commissioned a major during the war.
's 1953 film noir
, The Hitch-Hiker. The New York Times said of him: "William Talman, as the ruthless murderer, makes the most of one of the year's juiciest assignments." But in the 1952 thriller Beware, My Lovely, about a war widow who is terrorized by a madman in her home, a photograph of Talman is used for the picture of her late, heroic husband.
Aside from his role in Perry Mason, he also guest-starred in various television series. He appeared in a first season episode of The Invaders
, Quantity: Unknown. This would be his last on-screen acting role before his death.
Originally Talman auditioned for the title role of Perry Mason and Raymond Burr auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger. Perry Mason creator and author, Erle Stanley Gardner, however, was present and demanded that the actors switch parts. Burr was then given the title role and Talman got the role of Burger. Talman, as Burger, would go on to lose all but three cases in the nine-year series, including a record two separate murder trials in the final episode. He called his record "the longest losing streak in history".
William Talman was fired from Perry Mason for a short period in 1960. Sheriff's deputies, suspicious of marijuana use, raided a party on March 13, 1960, in a private home in Beverly Hills at which Talman was a guest. The deputies reported finding Talman and other defendants in the nude. A morals charge was made against Talman (vagrancy charges and lewd conduct was made against others at the party), but municipal judge Adolph Alexander dismissed the charges against Talman and the others on June 18 for lack of proof. "I don’t approve of their conduct," the judge ruled, "but it is not for you and me to approve but to enforce the statutes." Despite this Talman was fired by CBS who refused to give a reason. Talman was rehired after producer Gail Jackson made a request of CBS.
. They had one daughter, Barbie, and one son, William Whitney Talman III. The couple divorced on August 23, 1960. His third wife was Margaret Flanagan whom he married in 1963. Margaret had a son (Steve) and daughter (Debbie) from a previous marriage. William and Margaret had two children: a son, Timothy
, and a daughter, Susan. Widow Margaret Talman outlived Talman by 34 years, until her death in January 2002, at age 73.
. A lifelong heavy smoker, he was diagnosed with lung cancer
, and knew he was dying when he filmed the commercial. The short film began with the words, "Before I die I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children ... " Talman requested that the commercial not be aired until after his death.
He had made another such commercial, which opened with his voice-over and a picture of his home, followed by filmed shots of his wife and kids, then a still of himself "with a friend of mine you might recognize," Raymond Burr
, from the Perry Mason TV series. He then said, "You know, I didn't mind losing those courtroom battles, but I'm in a battle now I don't want to lose at all. Because if I lose it it means losing my wife and those kids you just met. I've got lung cancer...If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, quit! Don't be a loser."
Four weeks after filming the second ad, Talman died on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53, and was buried in the George Washington Section, 2nd Terrace, at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery
in Los Angeles. In January 2002, his widow Margaret Louise Talman joined him there, at the time of her death, at age 73.
Hamilton 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 the long-running series 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...
.
Family and education
Talman was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
to Ada Barber and William Whitney Talman, a vice president of an electronics company. His maternal grandparents, Catherine Gandy and James Wells Barber, were immigrants from England
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...
.
He founded the drama club at the Cranbrook Schools
Cranbrook Schools
Cranbrook Schools is a private, PK–12 school located on a campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The schools comprise a co-educational elementary school, a middle school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a co-educational high school with boarding facilities...
in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
. He continued to act at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. After college he worked in summer stock and at an iron foundry, paper mills, boat yards, and as an automobile salesman.
He served for 30 months in the army in the Pacific in 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...
, beginning his service as a private on February 4, 1942 at Camp Upton
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
in Yaphank, (Long Island) New York. He was ultimately commissioned a major during the war.
Acting career
Before his iconic television role, he worked on the Broadway stage and in movies. He played a sadistic psychopathic killer in Ida LupinoIda Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
's 1953 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...
, The Hitch-Hiker. The New York Times said of him: "William Talman, as the ruthless murderer, makes the most of one of the year's juiciest assignments." But in the 1952 thriller Beware, My Lovely, about a war widow who is terrorized by a madman in her home, a photograph of Talman is used for the picture of her late, heroic husband.
Aside from his role in Perry Mason, he also guest-starred in various television series. He appeared in a first season episode of The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
, Quantity: Unknown. This would be his last on-screen acting role before his death.
Originally Talman auditioned for the title role of Perry Mason and Raymond Burr auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger. Perry Mason creator and author, Erle Stanley Gardner, however, was present and demanded that the actors switch parts. Burr was then given the title role and Talman got the role of Burger. Talman, as Burger, would go on to lose all but three cases in the nine-year series, including a record two separate murder trials in the final episode. He called his record "the longest losing streak in history".
William Talman was fired from Perry Mason for a short period in 1960. Sheriff's deputies, suspicious of marijuana use, raided a party on March 13, 1960, in a private home in Beverly Hills at which Talman was a guest. The deputies reported finding Talman and other defendants in the nude. A morals charge was made against Talman (vagrancy charges and lewd conduct was made against others at the party), but municipal judge Adolph Alexander dismissed the charges against Talman and the others on June 18 for lack of proof. "I don’t approve of their conduct," the judge ruled, "but it is not for you and me to approve but to enforce the statutes." Despite this Talman was fired by CBS who refused to give a reason. Talman was rehired after producer Gail Jackson made a request of CBS.
Personal information
Talman was married three times. His first wife was the actress Lynne Carter – their marriage lasted from just before Talman left for active service in 1942 to September 1952 and produced one daughter, Lynda. His second wife was the actress Barbara ReadBarbara Read
Barbara Read, also known as Barbara Reed, was a Canadian film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, who appeared in twenty one films during her career....
. They had one daughter, Barbie, and one son, William Whitney Talman III. The couple divorced on August 23, 1960. His third wife was Margaret Flanagan whom he married in 1963. Margaret had a son (Steve) and daughter (Debbie) from a previous marriage. William and Margaret had two children: a son, Timothy
Tim Talman
Tim Talman is an American stage, film, and television actor. He is the youngest son of the late William Talman, who was known on television as Perry Mason's district attorney, Hamilton Burger. With the rest of his family, he appeared in a William Talman 1968 anti-smoking ad.Talman graduated with...
, and a daughter, Susan. Widow Margaret Talman outlived Talman by 34 years, until her death in January 2002, at age 73.
Anti-smoking advocacy and death
Talman is also known for being the first actor in Hollywood to film an anti-smoking commercial for the American Cancer SocietyAmerican Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
. A lifelong heavy smoker, he was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, and knew he was dying when he filmed the commercial. The short film began with the words, "Before I die I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children ... " Talman requested that the commercial not be aired until after his death.
He had made another such commercial, which opened with his voice-over and a picture of his home, followed by filmed shots of his wife and kids, then a still of himself "with a friend of mine you might recognize," Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr 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...
, from the Perry Mason TV series. He then said, "You know, I didn't mind losing those courtroom battles, but I'm in a battle now I don't want to lose at all. Because if I lose it it means losing my wife and those kids you just met. I've got lung cancer...If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, quit! Don't be a loser."
Four weeks after filming the second ad, Talman died on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53, and was buried in the George Washington Section, 2nd Terrace, at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
in Los Angeles. In January 2002, his widow Margaret Louise Talman joined him there, at the time of her death, at age 73.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Red, Hot and Blue Red, Hot and Blue (film) Red, Hot and Blue is a 1949 musical comedy film starring Betty Hutton as an actress who gets mixed up with gangsters and murder. It has no connection to Cole Porter's play of the same name... |
Bunny Harris | |
| 1949 | Bailey, younger henchman | ||
| 1950 | Minninger | ||
| 1950 | Armored Car Robbery Armored Car Robbery Armored Car Robbery is a 1950 American film noir shot in a semi-documentary style, directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charles McGraw. The movie was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California.... |
Dave Purvis Martin Bell |
|
| 1951 | Officer Bob Johnson | ||
| 1952 | One Minute to Zero | Col. Joe Parker | |
| 1953 | Emmett Myers | ||
| 1953 | City That Never Sleeps City That Never Sleeps City That Never Sleeps is a film noir produced and directed by John H. Auer with cinematography by John L. Russell.-Plot:Johnny Kelly is a Chicago cop from a long line of police officers. He's grown tired of the job and his married life. He plans on leaving his wife for exotic dancer Sally... |
Hayes Stewart | |
| 1954 | 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.... |
Brad Ringer | Pick of the Litter |
| 1955 | Big House U.S.A. | William 'Machine Gun' Mason | |
| 1955 | 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... |
Eddie | Eddie's Place |
| 1955 | Crashout Crashout -Plot:Convict Van Duff is the leader of a large-scale prison break. The breakout works as the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison.... |
Luther Remsen alias Swanee Rawlins aka Reverend Remington |
|
| 1955 | Smoke Signal | Capt. Harper | |
| 1955 | Cavalcade of America Cavalcade of America Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on... |
Wes Hardin | The Texas Rangers |
| 1955 | Two-Gun Lady | Marshal Dan Corbin | |
| 1955 | TV Reader's Digest TV Reader's Digest TV Reader's Digest is the title of a 30 minute American television anthology drama series which aired on the ABC from 1955 to 1956.Based on articles that appeared in Reader's Digest magazine, the episodes based on true stories which were varied in their themes, plots and content. Themes included... |
Old Master Detective | |
| 1955 | Science Fiction Theatre Science Fiction Theatre Science Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.-Overview:... |
Norman Conway | The Water Maker |
| 1955 | Jock McLain | South of Selangor | |
| 1956 | Screen Director's Playhouse Screen Director's Playhouse Screen Director's Playhouse is a popular radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949... |
Barney | Number Five Checked Out |
| 1956 | Uranium Boom | Grady Mathews | |
| 1956 | Hackett | ||
| 1956 | Telephone Time Telephone Time Telephone Time is the title of a US TV drama series that aired from 1956 to 1958 featuring plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons... |
Lew Reese | Scio, Ohio |
| 1956 | Telephone Time Telephone Time Telephone Time is the title of a US TV drama series that aired from 1956 to 1958 featuring plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons... |
Undetermined Role | The Sergeant Boyd Story |
| 1956 | I've Lived Before | writer | |
| 1956 | Climax! | The Louella Parsons Story | |
| 1956 | Climax! | Joe MacKenzie | Sit Down with Death |
| 1956 | Climax! | Stan | Dark Wall |
| 1957 | Joe Dakota | writer | |
| 1957 | Matt Bonham Mark Bonham |
||
| 1957 | Hell on Devil's island | Bayard | |
| 1957 | Trackdown Trackdown Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. The series offered more than seventy episodes and was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio... |
Blaine Sand | Like Father |
| 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... |
Hamilton Burger | 208 episodes |
| 1958 | Climax! | Gene | Scream in Silence |
| 1958 | Tombstone Territory Tombstone Territory Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959... |
Logan Beatty | The Return of the Outlaw |
| 1958 | Wagon Train Wagon Train Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65... |
Walt Archer | The Sarah Drummond Story |
| 1958 | Alcoa Theatre Alcoa Theatre Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into... |
Lt. Herman Brule | Disappearance |
| 1958 | Cimmaron City | Mr. Conway | To Become a Man |
| 1960 | Have Gun – Will Travel | George Jondill | The Shooting of Jessie May |
| 1961 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Sheriff | Long Way Home |
| 1963 | Stump the Stars Stump the Stars Pantomime Quiz is an American television game show produced and hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947-1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few television series—along with The Arthur Murray Party, Down You Go, and The Original Amateur Hour — to air on all four TV networks in the US... |
Himself | July 8, 1963 |
| 1963 | Gunsmoke Gunsmoke Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.... |
Race Fallon | Legends Don't Sleep |
| 1966 | Sheriff | The Night of the Man-Eating House | |
| 1967 | writer A Welcoming Town |
||
| 1967 | District Attorney Charlie Lord | ||
| 1967 | Colonel Frank Griffith | Quantity: Unknown |