(Submitted Photo)

In my never-ending quest to divorce myself from reality – at least at night, after I’ve wrapped up my work for the day – I have discovered the ultimate in television escapism. Granted, I’m about sixty years late in making this discovery, as Perry Mason was originally broadcast on CBS in the decade .between 1957 and 1966, but ... better late than never.

I love this show!

The production qualities are terrific, and the shows’ directors flawlessly build suspense, create tension, and with brilliant camera work, background music, and lighting, advance the plot from the commission of the crime ... to arrest of the accused ... to Perry Mason’s (often futile) attempts to get his client to tell him the truth ... to preliminary hearing ... to, ultimately, the much-mocked (but who cares?) denouement where the real murderer confesses to his or her guilt.

The scripts are intelligent, often with engaging repartee among the main characters: Defense attorney Perry Mason, (Raymond Burr); Mason’s confidential secretary Della Street (Barbara Hale); and Mason’s private investigator Paul Drake (William Hopper). Other important characters are prosecuting attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman), and homicide detective Arthur Tragg (Ray Collins).

Barbara Hale and Ray Collins were old-timers in Hollywood’s heyday, and movie buffs would remember Hale, then under contract with RKO, in starring roles opposite huge box office draws like Frank Sinatra, Robert Young, James Stewart, and Jimmy Cagney. Ray Collins, too, was no slouch, and before moving to television, he appeared in such movie classics as Leave her to Heaven, The Best Years of our Lives, The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, and Touch of Evil.

Even Raymond Burr, before he became Perry Mason, had forged a successful career from the mid-1940s to mid-1950s playing villains in noir movies. During that same era, he was also a staple on radio shows like Dragnet, Johnny Dollar, and Suspense.

Although Burr did a compelling job as a wife-killer in Hitchcock’s Rear Window (James Steward, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter stole the show), he did not become a super star until after Gail Patrick Jackson discovered him playing the prosecutor in the 1951 movie A Place in the Sun.

Initially, she and her co-producer husband, Cornwell Jackson, wanted him to play the prosecutor in their new Perry Mason television series. But they eventually realized that if he lost 60 pounds (which he promptly did), Burr would be the perfect lead in the show.

Before I tell you more about Gail Patrick Jackson, the show’s executive producer, I have some delicious tidbits about the cast.

For example, that William Hopper, delightfully impish as private investigator Paul Drake, was the son of Hedda Hopper who, during the 1930s and 40s, was such a Hollywood powerhouse that over 35 million people read her gossip column in newspapers every day.

Initially, William Hopper was not passionate about being a movie star. After serving in the navy during World War II, he acted occasionally, but devoted most of his time to being a car salesman. However, William Wellman lured him back to filmmaking with the role of Jan Sterling’s fiancé in The High and the Mighty, and after that, Hopper was there to stay.

Of his Paul Drake portrayal in Perry Mason, Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill  wrote: “William Hopper was called on to be the most versatile of the principals in the  Perry Mason  cast. He was not only the careful investigator, the duke-it-out tough guy, the ladies' man, and the hipster, but also the fall guy, the strikeout artist, the ‘eating machine’ and ‘the big kid.’ Hopper's Drake alone provided the comic relief for the show ... His appearances made fair shows good, and good shows better.”

My favorite scene in each episode is when Paul Drake sweeps through a private door into Perry’s office, seeks out Della Street with his eyes, and cheerfully snaps, “Hello, Beautiful.” To which she responds either with a smile, rolled eyes, or not at all. In one memorable episode, after Paul enters the room, Della swivels her eyes in his direction, grins, and snaps “Hello, Beautiful,” to him!

Lots of fun.

During the run of the show, cast members showed support for each other in ways that border on inspiring. For example, in 1960, William Tallman (prosecutor Hamilton Burger) got arrested for “possession of marijuana,” along with everyone else at a house party that he briefly attended. Although all charges were eventually dropped, CBS, fearing bad publicity, fired him. Viewers, however, instituted a massive letter-writing campaign to bring him back. That, along with passionate protests from Raymond Burr, Gail Patrick Jackson, and members of the cast, resulted in Talman being rehired and continuing to prosecute Perry Mason’s innocent clients for the rest of the series.

Another touching story involved Ray Collins, who had to be at least 200 years old when he joined the show. According to an article by Herbie J. Pilato (and other sources I’ve read over the years), as time went on, and due to “his increasingly poor health, Collins had to exit the series ... But upon Raymond Burr's assistance, Collins' name remained in the credits, even when Lt. Tragg was not in the final given episodes. Burr allowed this not only to lift Collins's spirits but doing so granted the actor continuous health coverage from the Screen Actors Guild.”

A tired old man who, in his heart of hearts, is still the tough and incorruptible Lt. Arthur Tragg, now in exile because of his health, can see his name appear in the credits of a series that, for so many years had been his entire life ... a testament not only to his contributions to the show, but also to the integrity of the production team and the loyalty of his friends.

Not exactly the cut-throat world we’ve been led to think of as the Hollywood norm.

There are many other wonderful stories about the producers, cast, and crew of this timeless and brilliantly produced series, but they will have to wait until next week. Then, I will tell you more about executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson, and Perry Mason’s confidential secretary, Della Street (Barbara Hale). I’ll even spout off a bit about the TV movies – thirty in all – produced from 1985 to 1995, when Perry Mason was brought back.

In the meantime, though, watch a few episodes of the black and white original series, and see if you get drawn into it, as I did. You should be able to find it pretty much everywhere on TV. Try YouTube, Amazon Prime, MeTV, RLTV, and CBS.com ... for a start!

Copyright © Shelly Reuben, 2023. Shelly Reuben’s books have been nominated for Edgar, Prometheus, and Falcon awards. For more about her writing, visit www.shellyreuben.com