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
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