Editing Raymond Burr (section)

===''Perry Mason''===
{{main|Perry Mason (1957 TV series)}}
[[File:Perry-Mason-Look-1961.jpg|thumb|Raymond Burr and (front row, from left) [[William Talman (actor)|William Talman]], [[Ray Collins (actor)|Ray Collins]] and [[Barbara Hale]] on the set of ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', from the front cover of ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'' magazine (October 10, 1961)]]
In 1956, Burr auditioned for ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'', a new CBS-TV courtroom drama based on the highly successful novels by [[Erle Stanley Gardner]]. [[Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.]] had already been tentatively cast as Perry Mason.<ref>Associate producer [[Sam White (film producer)|Sam White]], as told to David Bruskin, ''Behind the Three Stooges: The White Brothers'', Directors Guild of America, 1993; p. 275.</ref> Burr told associate producer [[Sam White (film producer)|Sam White]], "If you don't like me as Perry Mason, then I'll go along and play the part of the district attorney, Hamilton Burger."<ref>Sam White as told to Briskin, p. 276.</ref> Executive producer [[Gail Patrick Jackson]] had been impressed with Burr's courtroom performance in ''[[A Place in the Sun (1951 film)|A Place in the Sun]]'' (1951), and she told Burr that he was perfect for Perry Mason but at least {{convert|60|lb|kg st}} overweight. He went on a crash diet over the following month; he then tested as Perry Mason and was cast in the role.<ref name="Bawden">{{cite web|url=http://www.classicimages.com/films_of_the_golden_ages/article_39f84018-cfc0-11e3-b0b4-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Dream Factory Time: Gail Patrick|last=Bawden|first=James|date=April 29, 2014|website=Classic Images|access-date=April 23, 2015|archive-date=July 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726153835/http://www.classicimages.com/films_of_the_golden_ages/article_39f84018-cfc0-11e3-b0b4-001a4bcf887a.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> While Burr's test was running, Gardner reportedly stood up, pointed at the screen, and said, "That's Perry Mason."<ref name="Davidson First TV Series"/>{{Rp|8403}} [[William Hopper]] also auditioned as Mason, but he was cast instead as private detective [[Paul Drake (character)|Paul Drake]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/32898/perry-mason-50th-anniversary-edition|title=Perry Mason&nbsp;– 50th Anniversary Edition|last=Galbraith IV|first=Stuart|date=April 10, 2008|website=[[DVD Talk]]|access-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> The series also starred [[Barbara Hale]] as [[Della Street]], Mason's secretary, [[William Talman (actor)|William Talman]] as Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who loses nearly every case to Mason, and [[Ray Collins (actor)|Ray Collins]] as homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg.<ref name="Bawden"/>

The series ran from 1957 to 1966 and made Burr a star. In the early 1960s, the show had 30 million viewers every Saturday night and Burr received 3,000 fan letters a week.<ref name=varobit>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=September 14, 1993|last=Natale|first=Richard|title=Burr, TV's unbeatable lawyer, dies|page=5}}</ref> Burr received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations and won the award in 1959 and 1961<ref name="Emmy Database"/> for his performance as Perry Mason. The series has been rerun in syndication ever since, and was released on DVD between 2006 and 2013. Burr's character is often said never to have lost a case, although he did lose two murder cases off-screen in early episodes of the series.<ref name=nytbar />

[[File:Raymond burr ironside.JPG|thumb|upright|Burr and [[Victoria Shaw (actress)|Victoria Shaw]] in ''[[Ironside (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'' (1969)]]