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| "The Case of the Restless Redhead" introduced TV viewers to Perry Mason in 1957. Pictured (l.-r.) are Barbara Hale (Della), Raymond Burr (Perry), and Whitney Blake as his redheaded client. |
Perry Mason, the classic TV courtroom drama, is looking awfully good at the age of sixty. Although readers had been thrilling to the escapades of Erle Stanley Gardner's fictional lawyer for more than 20 years, it was on September 21, 1957 that the weekly series made its bow. For the next nine years,
Perry Mason would be a staple of CBS' prime time schedule, and star Raymond Burr -- previously better known for his movie bad guys -- became most fans' definitive portrayer of the lawyer-hero. Burr even reprised the role for a series of popular made-for-TV movies (starting with 1985's
Perry Mason Returns), and the release of the complete series on DVD makes it possible for fans old and new to continue savoring the show's intricate plots and fine performances.
Many happy returns, Mr. Mason and company!
Bet you already knew that when Ray was approached to do another series after Mason, he stipulated that he had to do it sitting down, hence Ironsides wheelchair.
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