Raymond Burr Burr went on a crash diet. When he returned, he tested as Perry Mason and won the role. While Burr's test was running, Gardner reportedly stood up, pointed at the screen and said, "That's Perry Mason." William Hopper also auditioned as Mason, but was cast instead as private detective Paul Drake. Also starring were Barbara Hale as Della Street, Mason's secretary; William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who loses nearly every case to Mason; and Ray Collins as homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. The series ran from 1957-66. Burr received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations and won the
Burr W. Jones Burr W. Jones Burr W. Jones (March 9, 1846 – January 7, 1935) was an American politician, jurist, and lawyer. Born in the Town of Union, Rock County, Wisconsin, Burr W.Jones attended the common schools and the Evansville Seminary, in Evansville, Wisconsin, and taught at the school for several years. He graduated from the literary department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1870 and from the law department in 1871 and was admitted to the bar in 1871 commencing practice in Portage, Wisconsin. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1872 where he continued to practice law. He became the prosecuting