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
Frederick Burr Opper in Funnyville" (1900) and "Happy Hooligan Home Again" (1907). Opper was a member of several New York clubs, and he painted as a hobby. He retired in 1934 due to failing eyesight. He died August 28, 1937 at his home in New Rochelle, New York and was cremated. Cartoonists Russ Westover and Alex Raymond took part in an August 29, 1937 memorial to Opper broadcast on New York's WNEW. Frederick Burr Opper Frederick Burr Opper (January 2, 1857 – August 28, 1937) is regarded as one of the pioneers of American newspaper comic strips, best known for his comic strip