Raymond Burr

Biography

Date of Birth 21 May 1917, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Date of Death 12 September 1993, Sonoma, California, USA (liver cancer) Birth Name Raymond William Stacy Burr Height 6' 1½" (1.87 m) Mini Biography Born Raymond William Stacy Burr on 21 May 1917 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Burr spent most of his early life traveling. As a youngster, his father moved his family to China, where the elder Burr worked as a trade agent. When the family returned to Canada, Raymond's parents separated. He and his mother moved to Vallejo, California, where she raised him with the aid of her parents. As he got older, Burr began to take jobs to support his mother, younger sister and younger brother. He took jobs as a ranch hand in Roswell, New Mexico; as a deputy sheriff; a photo salesman; and even as a singer in night clubs. In World War II, Burr served in the navy. In Okinawa, he was shot in the stomach and sent home. In 1946, Burr made his film debut in San Quentin (1946). From there, he appeared in more than 90 films before landing the role of defense attorney "Perry Mason" (1957) . In 1993, after a battle with cancer Burr died on 12 September 1993 at his ranch home. Spouse Isabella Ward (10 January 1948 - 22 August 1952) (divorced) Trivia Had an art gallery on Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive in the early '50s. Raymond loved to cook and throw intimate dinner parties. While working with Errol Flynn, Flynn told him that if he died with ten dollars in his pocket he hadn't done a good job. This inspired him to always share his wealth with all. On October 1, 1993 a memorial service was held at the Pasadena Playhouse. It was the very same theatre that he had made his acting debut 50 years before. A director's chair, with his name that was placed center stage played host to friends who paid tribute. Suffered eye strain from always having to look upwards while in a wheelchair on the "Ironside" (1967) set. Was a lounge singer in his younger days. Before dying from cancer, he threw some grand parties to say farewell to many of his friends. Interred at Fraser Cemetery, New Westminister, British Columbia, Canada. Bought his own 3,000-acre island 165 miles northeast of Suva in Fiji in 1965 and named it Naitamba, where he raised cattle and copra. Left his $32-million estate solely to long-term partner Robert Benevides. The Columbia Theatre on Columbia Street in New Westminster, British Colombia was renamed in his honor in 2000. He, Michael J. Fox and Jim Carrey head list of top Canadians in U.S. television compiled by Banff Television Festival, June 2002. He was the director of the Pasadena Community Playhouse before entering the navy in World War II. He attended Stanford, Columbia and Chungking Universities. He taught drama at Columbia University. He was incredibly generous, giving most of his money to charities and sharing it with friends. Longtime companion of Robert Benevides. Benevides was a young actor Burr met on the set of the original "Perry Mason" (1957) TV series. He was thirteen years Raymond's junior. He had a small role in the sci-fi flick The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), billed as Bob Benevedes. Burr's official biography stated that he had been previously married, but both his wives and one child had died. However, these details were fabricated in an attempt to hide the fact that Burr was gay. Only one brief marriage which ended in divorce had actually occurred; the other marriage and the child were fiction. Was the original host of "Unsolved Mysteries" (1987), hosting only its first special in January 1987. He was then briefly replaced by Karl Malden. However, both actors requested salaries that show producer John Cosgrove deemed astronomical. So by the time the show became a regular series in 1988, Robert Stack had been hired as the permanent host at a more reasonable salary. In 1990, not long before Burr grew ill with cancer, Raymond and Robert started a vineyard at their Dry Creek Valley ranch, and released their first vintage. The wine was bottled in November, 1992 and released after Burr's death in 1995. Managed an island in Fiji where he raised copra and cattle. He had an interest in, and knowledge of, the cultivation and hybridization of orchids. He and partner of 35 years, Robert Benevides, set up Sea God Nurseries, becoming, in the 20-odd years of its operation, an international presence with ranges in Fiji, Hawaii, the Azores and Southern California. They were responsible for over 1,500 new orchids added to the worldwide catalog. Burr cultivated an orchid that he named after his former "Perry Mason" (1957), co-star, Barbara Hale, as the symbol of friendship. He is commemorated on a 2008 Canadian postage stamp, one of four honoring achievements of Canadians in Hollywood. The other three depict Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, and Chief Dan George. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 84-85. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003). His parents, Minerva & William Burr, were remarried in 1955, after 33 years of separation, from each other. Burr had been very close to them, during and after this. After he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, he refused to undergo surgery so that he could star in his final 2 TV movies: The Return of Ironside (1993) (TV) and Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss (1993) (TV). His mother, Minerva Burr, died in 1974, at the age of 81 of cancer and father, William Burr, died in 1985, at the age of 96 of old age. Dropped out of San Raphael Military School at age 17, to join the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he learned to fight forest fires and plant trees. His parents were married in Canada in 1914, after they migrated from Chicago, Illinois. Was considered for the role of Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke" (1955). In an August 23, 1975 article in TV Guide called [i]When Chester Forgot to Limp[/i] commemorating trivia from the show as it was about to leave the air, the show's first producer Charles Marquis Warren recalled: "His voice was fine, but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood up with him." William Conrad, who played Matt Dillon on radio, was rejected for the TV version for similar reasons. In a memorial article in TV Guide published shortly after Burr's death, the original producers of "Perry Mason" (1957) almost rejected Burr for that role, again because Burr was overweight. He went on an intensive diet to get down to a size acceptable to the producers. Appears as lawyer Perry Mason, with William Talman as district attorney Hamilton Burger, on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Early TV Memories issue honoring "Perry Mason" (1957), issued 11 August 2009. Personal Quotes Let's just say that the part isn't conducive to leisurely living the way I once knew it. I only hope that I can regain my own identity, once I decide that Perry Mason and myself have come to the parting of the road. Perry Mason has become a career for me . . . all I know is that I work, eat and sleep Perry Mason.