Raymond Burr

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Raymond Burr (1961), in the background other actors from the CBS TV series Perry Mason

Raymond William Stacey Burr (born May 21, 1917 in New Westminster , British Columbia , † September 12, 1993 in Sonoma , California , United States ) was a Canadian actor . He was best known for the television series Der Chef and Perry Mason . He won two Emmy awards for his work . He was also successful as a film actor, for example as the murderer in Das Fenster zum Hof .

life and work

Early life

Burr got around in his youth. His father moved the family to China as a commercial agent . Back in Canada, the parents divorced and Burr grew up with his mother, supported by his grandparents, in Vallejo , California . Burr took on temporary jobs to support the family, which included a younger brother and sister, such as deputy sheriff in Roswell , New Mexico , as a photo seller and as a bar singer. In the 1950s, Burr ran an art gallery on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles . Burr attended universities in Chongqing (China), Stanford and Columbia , where he taught drama himself in later years. During World War II , Burr served in the Navy , was shot in the stomach and sent back home.

Acting career

After convalescence he got his first film role in America in 1946 in San Quentin (1946), in which he played a cold-blooded, sadistic killer. After that he played in over 90 films. Particularly noteworthy is his participation in the Hitchcock film Das Fenster zum Hof ( Rear Window , 1954), in which he was the sinister opponent of the wheelchair-dependent photographer ( James Stewart ).

Burr has appeared in films of all genres. He starred alongside Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Don Juan ( Adventures of Don Juan , 1948), with the Marx Brothers in Love Happy (1949), in the drama Gardenia - A woman wants to forget ( The Blue Gardenia , 1953), in Tarzan breaks the chains ( Tarzan and the She-Devil , 1953) as well as in The Return (The Return of the Aliens, 1980). In the 1951 completed film A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor , he played a prosecutor. In the American edition of the first Godzilla film (1956), additional scenes with Burr were added, which have since been released on DVD by Splendid (together with the German theatrical version) in Germany. In the remake of 1984 he played with a similar role name (1956 his role name was Steve Martin, in 1984 his name was changed to Mr. Martin to avoid confusion with the actor of the same name ) again in a Godzilla film. Burr was also seen once in a 3D film , Gorilla at Large (The Strangler of Coney Island, 1954).

However, Raymond Burr played his best-known roles on television, from 1957 in 271 episodes of the lawyer Perry Mason in the television series of the same name and Chief Ironside, who is sitting in a wheelchair in 199 episodes of the series The Boss between 1967 and 1975. The other leading actors in the Perry- Mason series included Barbara Hale as his secretary on Della Street, William Hopper as private investigator Paul Drake, William Talman as prosecutor Hamilton Burger and Ray Collins as Lt. Arthur Tragg.

Between 1985 and 1993, Perry Masom was reissued as a television series with 26 full-length television films, of the original cast only Barbara Hale as Perry Mason's secretary Della Street was present alongside Burr . The role of Paul Drake Jr. played William Katt (the son of Barbara Hale) until 1988 . After his departure, William R. Moses took on the role of assistant as Ken Malansky .

Private

Among his many hobbies, Burr primarily counted viticulture and orchid cultivation , with which he also earned money. He named one of his orchid varieties after Barbara Hale. According to various sources, Burr is said to have been married three times. However, only his marriage to Isabella Ward between 1948 and 1952 can be proven. Burr is said to have invented the other marriages to cover up his homosexuality . Burr lived from around 1960 until his death in a relationship with the actor Robert Benevides (* 1930), whom he met in the mid-1950s while filming Perry Mason .

Raymond Burr died in 1993 at home on his ranch at the age of 76 years at a cancer . The memorial service was held at the Pasadena Playhouse , the same theater where he had made his stage debut 50 years earlier and later served as director. He was buried in the Burrs family grave in Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster, where he was born.

Awards

Raymond Burr was nominated six times for an Emmy and won it twice:

  • 1959 as best leading actor in a dramatic series for " Perry Mason ".
  • 1961 for an outstanding performance as a leading actor in a series for "Perry Mason".

For the series "Ironside" Burr was nominated twice for a Golden Globe . On the Walk of Fame in Hollywood , his star is at 6656 Hollywood Blvd.

Raymond Burr's German voices included Engelbert von Nordhausen (in "Perry Mason"), Martin Hirthe (in the series "Ironside") and Gert Günther Hoffmann .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1948: Snares of Fear (Sleep, My Love)
  • 1948: Escape With No Way Out (Raw Deal)
  • 1948: The Adventures of Don Juan
  • 1948: Pitfall
  • 1949: Daring Alibi ( Criss Cross )
  • 1949: Love Happy (Love Happy)
  • 1951: The Death Rock of Colorado, New Mexico
  • 1950: Tijuana Connection (Borderline)
  • 1951: M
  • 1951: A Kind of Woman (His Kind of Woman)
  • 1951: A Place in the Sun (A Place in the Sun)
  • 1952: Curse of the Lost (Horizons West)
  • 1953: Tarzan breaks the chains (Tarzan and the She-Devil)
  • 1953: Gardenia - A woman wants to forget (The Blue Gardenia)
  • 1954: Godzilla (Gojira) (US version)
  • 1954: The Rear Window
  • 1954: Where the wind dies (Passion)
  • 1954: Mannequins for Rio
  • 1955: You're Never Too Young (You're Never Too Young)
  • 1957–1966: Perry Mason (Perry Mason) (TV series, 271 episodes)
  • 1967–1975: The Boss (Ironside) (TV series, 199 episodes)
  • 1978: Colorado Saga (Centennial) (TV miniseries)
  • 1982: The incredible journey in a crazy spaceship
  • 1984: Godzilla - The Return of the Monster (Gojira) (US version)
  • 1985: Perry Mason Returns (TV movie)
  • 1986: Perry Mason: Paid Killer (Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun) (TV movie)
  • 1986: Perry Mason: Dead give no interviews (Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star) (TV movie)
  • 1987: Perry Mason : The Case of the Lost Love (TV-movie)
  • 1987: Perry Mason : The Case of the Sinister Spirit (TV movie)
  • 1987: Perry Mason and the Married Whore (Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam) (TV movie)
  • 1987 Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (TV movie)
  • 1988: Perry Mason : The Case of the Avenging Ace (TV movie)
  • 1988: Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake (TV movie)
  • 1989: Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (TV movie)
  • 1989: Perry Mason: Boards That Mean the World (Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder) (TV movie)
  • 1989: Perry Mason: Money - Sports - Murder (Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin) (TV movie)
  • 1990: Perry Mason and the Poisoned Cocktail (Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen) (TV movie)
  • 1990: Perry Mason : The Case of the Desperate Deception (TV movie)
  • 1990: Perry Mason and the Death of an Idol (Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer) (TV movie)
  • 1990: Perry Mason : The Case of the Defiant Daughter (TV movie)
  • 1991: Perry Mason and the Unscrupulous Sensational Reporter (Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter) (TV movie)
  • 1991: Perry Mason and the Hapless Friend (Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster) (TV movie)
  • 1991: Perry Mason and the Glass Coffin (Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin) (TV movie)
  • 1991: Perry Mason and the Hole in the Alibi (Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion) (TV movie)
  • 1991: Jack alone in serial madness , also: Des Wahnsinns fat booty (Delirious) (guest appearance)
  • 1992: Perry Mason and the Art of Painting (Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing) (TV movie)
  • 1992: Perry Mason and the Shameless Romeo (Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo) (TV-movie)
  • 1992: Perry Mason and the Deadly Wedding (Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride) (TV movie)
  • 1993: Perry Mason and the Formula of Eternal Beauty (Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal) (TV movie)
  • 1993: Perry Mason and the Dead on the Phone (Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host) (TV movie)
  • 1993: Perry Mason and the Kiss of Death (Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss) (TV movie)
  • 1993: The Return of Ironside (TV movie)

Web links

Commons : Raymond Burr  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. passportmagazine.com: ROBERT BENEVIDES - RAYMOND BURR VINEYARDS - SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.passportmagazine.com
  2. knerger.de: The grave of Raymond Burr