Raymond Burr Tribune"; the "Los Angeles Times" called Burr's questions "intelligent and elicited some interesting replies". Burr had a reputation in Hollywood as a thoughtful, generous man years before much of his more-visible philanthropic work. In 1960, Ray Collins, who portrayed Lt. Arthur Tragg on the original "Perry Mason" series, and who was by that time often ill and unable to remember all the lines he was supposed to speak, stated, "There is nothing but kindness from our star, Ray Burr. Part of his life is dedicated to us, and that's no bull. If there's anything the matter with any of us,
Richard Burr minister, said that Burr is a 12th cousin of Aaron Burr, the former Vice President, Senator, lawyer, and Continental Army officer known most for killing Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel and for being arrested, indicted, and ultimately acquitted for treason. Richard Burr is the first Burr in the Senate since Aaron Burr served as the Senator from New York—and only the second person with his last name to win election to Congress (the first being the presumably unrelated Albert G. Burr)—since Aaron. Sen. Burr himself has stated that there are no longer any direct descendants of Aaron