Raymond Burr when they began casting the role of Los Angeles district attorney Hamilton Burger in the CBS-TV series "Perry Mason". As a young man Burr weighed more than 300 lbs., which limited his on-screen roles. "But in radio this presented no problems, given the magnificent quality of his voice," reported "The Globe and Mail". "He played romantic leads and menacing villains with equal authority, and he earned a steady and comfortable income." Working steadily in radio since the 1940s, often uncredited, Burr was a leading player on the West Coast. He had a regular role in Jack Webb's first radio show,
Raymond Burr "Pat Novak for Hire" (1949), and in "Dragnet" (1949–50) he played Joe Friday's boss, Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. Burr worked on other Los Angeles-based series including "Suspense", "Screen Directors Playhouse", "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", "Family Theater", "Hallmark Playhouse" and "Hallmark Hall of Fame". He performed in five episodes of the experimental dramatic radio anthology series "CBS Radio Workshop", and had what is arguably his best radio role in "The Silent Witness" (1957), in which his is the only voice. In 1956 Burr was the star of CBS Radio's "Fort Laramie", an adult Western drama produced, written and directed by