Raymond Burr

His parents were married in Canada in 1914, after they migrated from Chicago, Illinois.

Born Raymond William Stacy Burr on 21 May 1917 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Burr spent most of his early life traveling. As a youngster, his father moved his family to China, where the elder Burr worked as a trade agent. When the family returned to Canada, Raymond's parents separated. He and his mother moved to Vallejo, California, where she raised him with the aid of her parents. As he got older, Burr began to take jobs to support his mother, younger sister and younger brother. He took jobs as a ranch hand in Roswell, New Mexico; as a deputy sheriff; a photo salesman; and even as a singer in nightclubs. In World War II, Burr served in the United States Navy. In Okinawa, he was shot in the stomach and sent home.

In 1946, Burr made his film debut in San Quentin (1946).

Had an art gallery on Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive in the early 1950s.

His parents, Minerva and William Burr, after 33 years of separation, remarried in 1955.

From there, he appeared in more than 90 films before landing the role of defense attorney Perry Mason (1957).

Bought his own 3,000-acre island 165 miles northeast of Suva in Fiji in 1965 and named it Naitamba, where he raised cattle and copra.

Suffered eye strain from always having to look upwards while in a wheelchair on the Ironside (1967) set.

His mother Minerva died in 1974, at age 81 of cancer, while his father, William, died in 1985, at age 96.

Was considered for the role of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke (1955). In an August 23, 1975, article in TV Guide called "When Chester Forgot to Limp" commemorating trivia from the show as it was about to leave the air, the show's first producer Charles Marquis Warren recalled, "His voice was fine, but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood up with him". William Conrad, who played Matt Dillon on radio, was rejected for the TV version for similar reasons. In a memorial article in TV Guide published shortly after Burr's death, the original producers of Perry Mason (1957) almost rejected Burr for that role, again because Burr was overweight. He went on an intensive diet to get down to a size acceptable to the producers.

Was the original host of Unsolved Mysteries (1987), hosting only its first special in January 1987. He was then briefly replaced by Karl Malden. However, both actors requested salaries that producer John Cosgrove deemed astronomical. So by the time the show became a regular series in 1988, Robert Stack had been hired as the permanent host at what the producer believed to be a more reasonable salary.

In 1990, not long before he grew ill with cancer, Burr and longtime partner Robert Benevides started a vineyard at their Dry Creek Valley ranch, and released their first vintage. The wine was bottled in November 1992 and released after Burr's death in 1995.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 84-85. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001.

On October 1, 1993, a memorial service was held at the Pasadena Playhouse. It was the very same theater in which Burr had made his acting debut 50 years before. A director's chair with his name on it, placed at center stage, played host to friends who paid tribute.

The Columbia Theatre on Columbia Street in New Westminster, British Columbia, was renamed in his honor in 2000.

He, Michael J. Fox and Jim Carrey head a list of top Canadians in United States television compiled by Banff Television Festival in June 2002.

Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).

He is commemorated on a 2008 Canadian postage stamp, one of four honoring achievements of Canadians in Hollywood. The other three depict Norma Shearer, Marie Dressler, and Chief Dan George.

Appears as lawyer Perry Mason, with William Talman as District Attorney Hamilton Burger, on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the "Early TV Memories" issue honoring Perry Mason (1957), issued 11 August 2009.