RAY COLLINS Perry Mason 9/21/57 - 9/4/66 CBS

Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is one of the best defense attorneys around. Della Street (Barbara Hale) is his confidential secretary and Gertie (Connie Cezon) is his receptionist.

Paul Drake (William Hopper) is the owner of the Paul Drake Detective Agency. He helps Perry out obtaining valuable information.

Hamilton Burger (William Talman) is the District Attorney who battles Perry in the courtroom. Lt. Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins, pictured left) works with Hamilton Burger and is with the Police Department's Homicide Division.
(episode unknown) At a restaurant, Perry is talking about Hamilton Burger. "One order of crow for the gentleman. He'll eat it here."

WILLIAM TALMAN, RAYMOND BURR
District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) and Defense Attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) in "Perry Mason"

The Case of the Empty Tin 3/8/58
Perry: "Come on Hamilton, I'll buy you a drink." Hamilton: "Yeah."

WILLIAM TALMAN, BARBARA HALE, RAYMOND BURR, WILLIAM HOPPER
The Case Of The Lazy Lover 5/31/58
District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) had a cigarette and a classic exchange with Defense Attorney Perry Mason (Raymond Burr).

William Talman (color picture) had lung cancer when he did this antismoking public service announcement in color. A much longer version of this message is on the DVD, 50th Anniversary Edition Perry Mason.

WILLIAM TALMAN AS HAMILTON BURGER
The Case Of The Terrified Typist 6/21/58
District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) has a moment with a big smile.

The Case of the Jaded Joker 2/21/59
A TV comedian is eliminated from a deal thanks to an advertising man. A friend of the comedian is accused of murdering the ad man.

Frankie Laine (Danny Ross in this episode) sang the theme for the TV show "Rawhide".
    Bobby Troup
  • played Buzzie in this episode
  • composed and played the Jaded Joker Theme for this episode
  • was married to Julie London
  • was the composer of the song "Get Your Kicks On Route 66".
  • his daughter, Ronne Troup, played Polly Williams Douglas on "My Three Sons"
The Case of the Caretaker's Cat 3/7/59
The death of a man (Anthony Jochim) is faked to see what the heirs would do in that situation. The man's caretaker (Benson Fong) assists in this plan, but is charged with the man's murder.

John Agar is in this episode. He was married to Shirley Temple.

DEAN HARENS
The Case of the Calendar Girl 4/18/59
Frank Fettridge (Dean Harens) and Perry Mason (Raymond Burr). Things go wrong for a contractor after he has a car accident with a pin-up model.

The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom 6/13/59
This episode opens differently. The camera zooms into the file that Perry Mason is holding, the picture freezes, and the credits appear, showing the names of Barbara Hale, William Hopper and Ray Collins. William Talman's name is not there. Talman and Ray Collins do not appear in this episode. The courtoom scene takes place in San Diego intead of Los Angeles. The closing credits show the usual names of Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman and Ray Collins.

"The Case of the Bountiful Beauty" (2/6/64) was directed by Irving J. Moore, who also directed several "Dallas" episodes
Character Actor Another role by the actor
Ryan Carew Ryan O'Neal the movie "Love Story"
Mrs. Mitchell Jean Carson Daphne in "The Andy Griffith Show" episodes, "Barney Mends a Broken Heart", "Fun Girls" and "The Arrest of the Fun Girls"
Rubin Cason Douglas Fowley Judge R.W. Clarke in the 1973 movie "Walking Tall"
The Medical Examiner John Zaremba Dr. Harlan Danvers on "Dallas"

During the following seasons, Perry Mason was in the top 25 rated programs. 

Season                Program #      Rating      Time
Oct. 58-Apr. 59       #19            27.5        Sat. 7:30-8:30 
Oct. 59-Apr. 60       #10            28.3        Sat. 7:30-8:30
Oct. 60-Apr. 61       #16            24.9        Sat. 7:30-8:30
Oct. 61-Apr. 62       #5             27.3        Sat. 7:30-8:30
Oct. 62-Apr. 63       #23            22.4        Thu. 8:00-9:00

In the 62-63 season, Perry Mason was moved from its time slot that it had during its first five seasons on the air. This resulted in a big drop in its program #. The Jackie Gleason Show replaced Perry Mason in that same Saturday time slot. Perry Mason was moved to Thursdays 8:00-9:00.

During its last three seasons on the air, Perry Mason never again entered the top 25, while The Jackie Gleason Show was in the top 25 all of those same seasons.

I think Perry Mason should have been allowed to keep its time slot throughout its network run. It's an incredible show.

50th Anniversary Edition Perry Mason (DVD 4/8/08)
  • Disc 1
    • The Case of the Wary Wildcatter 2/20/1960
    • The Case of the Treacherous Toupee 9/17/1960
    • The Case of the Envious Editor 1/7/1961
    • The Case of the Barefaced Witness 3/18/1961
  • Disc 2
    • The Case of the Counterfeit Crank 4/28/1962
    • The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe 1/3/1963
    • The Case of the Constance Doyle 1/31/1963
    • The Case of the Deadly Verdict 10/17/1963
  • Disc 3
    • The Case of the Bountiful Beauty 2/6/1964
    • The Case of the Twice Told Twist 2/27/1966
    • The Case of the Dead Ringer 4/17/1966
    • The Case of the Final Fadeout 5/22/1966
  • Disc 4 - Special Features
    • Perry Mason Returns 12/1/85 (Introduction by Barbara Hale) Perry resigns as an appellate court judge to represent Della Street, who has been charged with murder.
      • William Katt (Barbara Hale's son) plays detective Paul Drake Jr..
      • Richard Anderson (Lt. Steve Drumm in the original series) plays Ken Braddock.
    • Perry Mason Talent Tests 5/24/56 (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Raymond Burr as Hamilton Burger
      • William Hopper as Perry Mason
      • Raymond Burr as Perry Mason
      • William Hopper as Perry Mason with Ray Collins as Tragg
      • William Hopper as Perry Mason
      • Raymond Burr as Perry Mason
    • The Case of Erle Stanley Gardner Featurette (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
    • Charlie Rose Interviews Raymond Burr (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Nightwatch 10/16/85
      • Nightwatch 9/30/87
    • Raymond Burr on "Person To Person" 10/16/58 (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Host Charles Collingwood is in the studio and Raymond Burr is at his house. Collingwood interviews Burr.
    • Interviews
      • Barbara Hale Interview
      • Arthur Marks Interview (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Anne Nelson Interview (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
    • The Cast plays "Stump the Stars" (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper and William Talman play this game of charades.
      • Mike Stokey is the host.
    • William Talman Anti-Smoking Message (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Talman was the first actor to film an anti-smoking message. He knew he was dying when he filmed this. Heavily sedated and in great pain, he left the hospital to film it. He died a few weeks later on August 30, 1968.
    • Syndication Promos (Introduction by Barbara Hale)
      • Syndication Promo #1
      • Syndication Promo #2
    • Photo Gallery
Article on TV Guide site about Perry Mason 50th Anniversary Edition

Perry Mason on DVD at www.amazon.com

Perry Mason TV Series

Perry Mason Pages

Perry Mason TV Show Book

Raymond Burr: The Case Of The TV Legend on DVD store.aetv.com

Full episodes of Perry Mason viewable online from cbs.com

The page address of http://www.oocities.org/alcus2/mason.html was created 10/29/07. Perry Mason last updated 4/27/09.