Raymond Burr them the "Barbara Hale Orchid" after his "Perry Mason" costar. Burr and Benevides cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and grapes for Port wine, as well as orchids, at Burr's farmland holdings in Sonoma County, California. In 1965, Burr purchased Naitauba, a island in Fiji, rich in seashells. There, he and Benevides oversaw the raising of copra (coconut meat) and cattle, as well as orchids. Burr planned to retire there permanently. However, medical problems made that impossible and he sold the property in 1983. Burr was a well-known philanthropist. He gave enormous sums of money, including his salaries from the Perry Mason
Theodore Burr successes made him the most distinguished architect of bridges in the country. Today's modern bridges with their graceful arches can be traced back to Theodore Burr and his contemporaries. Between 1811 and 1818, Burr designed, then constructed or supervised, five crossings of the Susquehanna River. The first four were in Pennsylvania at Nescopeck Falls (Berwick), Columbia, Harrisburg, and Northumberland. The last was the Susquehanna River Bridge near Port Deposit, Maryland. Burr was awarded US Patent No. 2769 on April 4, 1817 for his arch and truss bridge design. In 1789, Burr married Asenath Cook in Hartford, Connecticut. On April 13,