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This is a list of episodes for Perry Mason, an American legal drama series that aired on CBS television for nine seasons (September 21, 1957 – May 22, 1966). The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner.
Raymond Burr as Perry Mason and Barbara Hale as Della Street. Image from late 1950s. Paramount has been reliably meting out its nine-year Perry Mason series in half-season dollops, but this week's release, Perry Mason: Season 6, Part 2 (1963), is out of the ordinary. Mason, a defence lawyer who never loses a case, loses a case.
Raymond Burr Was Best Known As Perry Mason, But He Wasn’t The Only Actor To Play The Part In fact, Burr was both preceded and followed by other actors in the role, at least in relation to his successful TV series. (No one has took the role since Burr’s death.)
A poll by the National Law Journal shows that Perry Mason sits just behind attorney F. Lee Bailey as the most-admired lawyer in the world. Despite being fictional, he gave a positive picture of what a lawyer should be. The Perry Mason series ran from 1957-1966 and spawned several TV movies.
Perry Mason, fictional American trial lawyer and detective, the protagonist of more than 80 mystery novels (beginning with The Case of the Velvet Claws, 1933) by American attorney Erle Stanley Gardner.
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner.
The 'Real' Perry Mason Didn't Need Law School That led to him dropping out, moving back to California, studying for the bar on his own, and passing it in 1911. And while he enjoyed litigation and developing trial strategy, he was ultimately bored by legal practice itself.
Perry Mason Episode 6 almost felt like an altogether different HBO show. After weeks of watching Matthew Rhys play Perry Mason as a crumpled paper bag of a man, tonight the character finally started to take flight as a hotshot attorney.
Katt starred in nine of the “Perry Mason” telefilms. He left the series after 1988's “Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake” to reunite with Cannell on the 1989 short-lived CBSpolitical drama “Top of the Hill,” playing U.S. Rep.
The evidence for a deep romantic attachment between Perry and Della. In the books there are many instances of romantic (but not sexual) intimacy between the two.
William Hopper who served in the OSS Maritime Unit, precursor to the Navy SEALs, was born on this date in 1915. He was the son of famed Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper. He appeared in more than 80 films including “Rebel Without a Cause.”
For decades, Raymond Burr's Perry Mason, a criminal defense attorney who almost always emerged from the court victorious was America's most loved lawyer.
"Perry Mason" The Case of the Counterfeit Crank (TV Episode 1962) - Burt Reynolds as Chuck Blair - IMDb.
He was high-priced; $5,000 retainers were not uncommon, and he charged $100 just to write a will. But money spoke differently to Perry.
Although his goal in life was to be a writer, he ended up acting simply because he found more jobs as an actor than as a playwright when he arrived in New York City seeking work. He first acted in a high school play, an experience that changed his life.
Paul DrakePaul Drake is a fictional private detective in the Perry Mason series of murder mystery novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. Drake is described as tall and slouching, nondescript (as suits his profession), and frequently wearing an expression of droll humor.
The New Perry Mason, a 1973 revival of the series with a different cast, was poorly received and ran for 15 episodes. In 1985, Burr returned to play Mason in a successful series of Perry Mason television films airing on NBC. A total of 30 films were made; Burr starred in 26 of them before his death in 1993.
The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on stories written by Gardner.
The TV series is currently shown weekdays on Me-TV and FETV, as well as on local stations in various local markets. Portland, Oregon station KPTV first aired evening repeats of Perry Mason in 1966. In 1970, the station began the long tradition of showing reruns of Perry Mason weekdays during its noon time slot.
The show's theme music is one of the most recognizable in television. Composer Fred Steiner set out to write a theme that would project the two primary aspects of Mason's character—sophistication and toughness. "The piece he came up with, titled 'Park Avenue Beat', pulsed with the power of the big city and the swagger of a beefy hero played to perfection by actor Raymond Burr," wrote The Los Angeles Times. Described by Steiner as "a piece of symphonic R&B ", the Perry Mason theme heard at the opening and end credits became the composer's best-known work. American music icon Madonna would use samples from theme as part of her performance on "White Heat" during her 1987 concert tour, Who's That Girl World Tour .
The character of Perry Mason was spoofed in an episode of the animated series The Flintstones, titled "Little Bamm-Bamm" (October 3, 1963). When the Rubbles try to adopt Bamm-Bamm Rubble they end up in court facing attorney "Perry Masonry, who's never lost a case".
In her Supreme Court nomination before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in July 2009, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor prefaced her remarks on the role of the prosecutor by saying that she was inspired by watching Perry Mason as a child. "I was influenced so greatly by a television show in igniting the passion that I had as being a prosecutor, and it was Perry Mason ", Sotomayor said. In her 2013 memoir the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States wrote of the show's influence on her while she was growing up in a Bronx housing project. She granted that the defense attorney was the show's hero, "but my sympathies were not entirely monopolized by Perry Mason. I was fond of Burger, the prosecutor, too. I liked that he was a good loser, that he was more committed to finding the truth than to winning his case. If the defendant was truly innocent, he once explained, and the case was dismissed, then he had done his job because justice had been served." She was particularly fascinated by the judge.
At least three series have been made about the Perry Mason character after the cancellation of the 1957 series, including a series of television film for NBC, starting with Perry Mason Returns in 1985 , featuring the two then-surviving cast members, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale.
In nine seasons, ace defense attorney Perry Mason tackled 271 cases. That's a massive court history for even the most diligent paralegal to remember, let alone the casual television fan. {seealso}
The three that never set foot in a courtroom. "The Case of the Baited Hook," "The Case of the Velvet Claws" and "The Case of the Careless Kitten". In a few cases, the show avoided the familiar courtroom set. These were adapted from Erle Stanley Gardner's novels.
The execs had plans to craft a tenth season in color, so one test episode was shot in the format, "The Case of the Twice-Told Twist.". It aired on February 27, 1966. However, shortly after Raymond Burr finally agreed to the tenth season, CBS canceled the series.
In fact, The Case of the Velvet Claws was the character's print debut in 1936. Another similar episode, "The Case of the Silent Partner," also takes place outside the common courtroom — but ends up in another smaller rural courtroom. 6.
The show's grips, gaffers, prop men, accountants, electricians, etc. fill the minor roles. Presiding over it all is Erle Stanley Gardner himself, who plays the judge in the final courtroom scene.
The one with Bette Davis instead of Raymond Burr. "The Case of Constant Doyle". In 1962, during season six, Burr was recuperating from surgery. Guest actors filled in for Burr, who still appeared in a few scenes in a hospital bed. Screen legend Bette Davis was the first and most notable replacement.
The differences go beyond the color palette, as the tone shifts a bit, too. Victor Buono , best known as King Tut on Batman, is the key guest star. His appearance, and the bold, bright colors, makes you think Bruce Wayne will turn up at any moment. 7.
Perry Mason is an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed.
When Raymond Burr missed several episodes due to illness, he was replaced by several guest attorneys who were played by Bette Davis, Walter Pidgeon, Hugh O'Brian, Michael Rennie, and Mike Connors.
It’s an eight-episode season that feels like a long pilot for the real Perry Mason —a series that seems poised on the verge of existence, now that all of the characters (especially Perry himself) have figured out what they’re doing here.
Save this story for later. By Merrick Morton/Courtesy HBO. For starters, the guy’s got a farm. Matthew Rhys can wear a fedora like nobody’s business, but this is Perry Mason— Perry Mason, best known for dramatic courtroom ...
Matthew Rhys can wear a fedora like nobody’s business, but this is Perry Mason— Perry Mason, best known for dramatic courtroom interrogations and the occasional car chase.
Of course, it is a common trope in detective noir to hold women at arm’s length— particularly women that verge on the villainous. But Perry Mason seeks to reframe and update the perception of the ’30s by including references to the histories of queer characters and characters of color.
Perry Mason: How the Titular Detective Becomes a Lawyer. Here's how Perry Mason went from detective to defense attorney in Season 1 of the HBO Max series. While the character on whom he's based was a lawyer, at the start of HBO Max 's adaptation of Perry Mason, the titular character is working as a detective.
Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, HBO Max's Perry Mason was created by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. The series stars Matthew Rhys as Perry Mason, Juliet Rylance as Della Street, Chris Chalk as Paul Drake, Shea Whigham as Pete Strickland, Eric Lange as Gene Holcomb and Justin Kirk as Hamilton Burger.
Perry successfully passes the bar exam and becomes a lawyer. And while initially Perry struggles with actually doing his job as a lawyer, he soon settles into things and is able to successfully Emily's case to a mistrial. By doing so, Perry helps to honor E.B.'s memory and start down a new path towards a better life.
E.B., who is deeply passionate about Emily's case, knows that to proceed would mean disbarment and humiliation. So in the end, E.B. ends up taking his own life. He's later discovered by Della Street, who works with Perry to make the death appear accidental so as to preserve E.B.'s reputation.
Della forges a document from E.B. claiming that Perry was actually apprenticing under him. She enlists the help of assistant district attorney Hamilton Burger, who helps Perry study for the bar exam by, basically, giving him all of the answers, as the questions have changed in decades.
However, a major tragedy soon forces Perry to step up and defend Emily Dodson, who has been charged with the death of her son, Charlie. Initially, E.B. Jonathan serves as Emily's lawyer, and he hires Perry to help him collect evidence to prove her innocence.
Initially, Perry doesn't really seem the type to become a lawyer, as he's struggling with trauma, alcoholism and more. However, a major tragedy soon forces Perry to step up ...
The actor took on the role for the landmark television series and stayed with it for nine seasons and 271 hour-long episodes. The show ended in 1966 and Burr took a break from the character for 20 years but would later return to it in a series of memorable feature-length made-for-TV films. According to IMDB, there were 30 films in all. Burr starred in 26 of them.
Each episode of the 1957 to 1966 Perry Mason television show ran 52 minutes. Multiply that times 271 episodes, and you get 14,092 minutes, or just over 234 hours. It would take an additional two days (approximately 47.5 hours) to watch the 30 additional tele-films.
He started on the same path, but was suspended from the Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana after just one month of attendance due to a “distracting interest in boxing ,” according to the New York Times.
The show ended in 1966 and Burr took a break from the character for 20 years but would later return to it in a series of memorable feature-length made-for-TV films. According to IMDB, there were 30 films in all. Burr starred in 26 of them. After his death in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the last four.
Warren William’s four features — Howling Dog, Curious Bride, Lucky Legs, and Velvet Claws — were all among the first novels published. Stuttering Bishop starring Donald Woods was also an adaptation. The Case of the Black Cat (starring Ricardo Cortez) was the only one not adapted from the books. Coincidentally, it was Gardner’s least favorite of the films.
The First Perry Mason Novel Has Been Adapted Twice …. Once For Movies, Once For TV. Perry Mason made his literary debut in The Case of the Velvet Claws, which was published in 1933. Three years later, the novel was adapted for the big screen.
In “The Case of the Witless Witness,” Mason loses a non-murder case, a “matter of civil law,” the site notes. In “The Case of the Terrified Typist,” Mason’s client is found guilty of murder, but he eventually manages to clear her name anyway.
Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on stories written by Gardner.
Perry Mason is a distinguished criminal-defense lawyer practicing in Los Angeles, California, most of whose clients have been wrongly charged with murder. He is ably assisted by his confidential secretary Della Street and by private investigator Paul Drake. The innocent suspect is usually prosecuted by district attorney Hamilton Burger, though the prosecution is handled by a local district attorney when the murder takes place outside Los Angeles County. In the early seasons, t…
Perry Mason aired on CBS from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966.
• Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET September 21, 1957 – May 26, 1962 (Seasons 1–5)
• Thursday at 8 p.m. ET September 27, 1962 – May 16, 1963 (Season 6)
• Thursday at 9 p.m. ET September 26, 1963 – May 21, 1964 (Season 7)
CBS Home Entertainment has released all nine seasons of Perry Mason on Region 1 DVD. Each season was released in two-volume half-season sets because each season of Perry Mason contains considerably more material than a modern TV series. The first season of Perry Mason featured 39 episodes, Season 3 had 26 episodes, and all other seasons had either 28 or 30 episodes; this compares with 22 for a typical modern series. In addition, Perry Mason episodes …