Raymond Burr is largely remembered for his starring roles in the television series Perry Mason and Ironside.
He was born in Canada, but when he was six years old his parents divorced and he moved to California with his mother and siblings. Burr grew up during the Great Depression and found his earliest career beginnings in repertory theatre.
In his late teens and early twenties, Burr toured the world with a theatre company, visiting India, Australia, and England. After returning to California, he continued to develop his acting skills and, in the following years, began finding work on Broadway and across the United States.
He found success as a character actor and, between 1946 and 1957, appeared in more than 50 films. Often cast as the villain, Burr worked across dramas, westerns, horror, and adventure films. In 1951 he played a prosecutor in A Place in the Sun, a role that attracted the attention of television producers.
Alongside stage and film work, Burr appeared frequently in radio dramas and starred in the radio series Fort Laramie. In 1956 he was cast as criminal defence lawyer Perry Mason. It was a role Burr would play for nine seasons and later revive for 26 television movies.
After the success of Perry Mason, Burr went on to star in the police drama Ironside. He played San Francisco Police Chief Robert T. Ironside, who was paralysed from the waist down after being shot while on holiday. The character debuted in a 1967 television movie, before Burr portrayed him for eight seasons.
Following Ironside, Burr starred in several series that failed to capture large audiences. Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence was a 1976 television movie that was intended to launch a new series, but it did not eventuate. The following year he starred in Kingston: Confidential, which was cancelled after 13 weeks as viewers switched channels to watch the popular Charlie’s Angels.
Burr later returned to television as the first host of the long-running documentary series Unsolved Mysteries. In the 1980s he revived Perry Mason for a successful run of television movies.
One of Burr’s conditions for returning to the role was that his original co-star Barbara Hale also return as his secretary, Della Street. Hale’s real-life son, actor William Katt, later joined the franchise.
In early 1993, Burr was treated for a malignant kidney tumour. He fell ill again during the spring while filming a Perry Mason movie, and doctors discovered that his cancer had spread to his liver and was inoperable. The actor hosted several large farewell parties before his death in September that year.
It was only after Burr died that his homosexuality became publicly known. He had briefly been married in 1948, but the marriage lasted only a few months.
In 1960 he met actor and Korean War veteran Robert Benevides, and the two lived together for decades. Together they owned an orchid nursery and later a vineyard, which Benevides managed.
After Burr’s death, it emerged that many biographical details used for decades to describe his life had been fabricated, including claims that he had lost wives to a plane crash and to cancer, and that he had a son who died of leukaemia. These stories were fictional and were widely understood to have been created to prevent the press discovering that one of America’s biggest television stars was gay.
Burr was also known for his generosity and philanthropy. He sponsored 26 children through various charities, raised money for numerous causes, and donated his time to entertain troops during both the Korean and Vietnam wars.
He left his entire estate, estimated at more than $32 million, to Benevides. Relatives challenged the will, but were unsuccessful.
Burr also ensured that the remaining Perry Mason television movies that had been planned were still produced. Four additional films were made after his death, with Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook playing new characters in place of Mason. Holland Taylor appeared in the final film, as Barbara Hale was only able to commit to a short cameo. Burr had wanted to ensure that the crew did not miss out on work due to his passing.
