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
Benjamin Burr board, the Stevens Point Common Council, and was elected to the school board, for which he was the clerk. In 1868, Burr served in the Wisconsin State Assembly and was a Democrat. Burr died of pneumonia in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Benjamin Burr Benjamin Burr (April 8, 1818 – February 16, 1894) was an American businessman and politician. Born in Rodman, Jefferson County, New York, Burr lived on a farm in New York. Burr moved to Rochester, New York where he had a business: Spencer & Burr which dealt with wholesale oyster and fruit. In 1857, Burr and his wife moved