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
Conrad Burr before retiring early. Burr returned to Rosenblum's team in 2002 for a five race schedule. He did well, finishing all but one race with the low-budget team. He had a good run at Las Vegas, earning his season best of 23rd, while at Texas Burr started 27th for his best start of the year. His 46th-place finish in points would prove to be his career high. Burr made four starts as 2003 would prove to be his last year. Returning to a family-owned team, Burr earned two top-20 finishes in his starts. The better of those would prove to be