Raymond Burr

Actors

Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian-American actor primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television, and film, usually as the villain. His portrayal of suspected murderer, Lars Thorwald, in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, is his best-known film role.

Other notable films include Sleep, My Love (1948), with Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche; Ruthless (1948), with Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet and Louis Hayward; Adventures of Don Juan (1948), with Errol Flynn; Black Magic (1949), with Orson Welles; Love Happy (1949), with the Marx Brothers; Key to the City (1950), with Clark Gable and Loretta Young; Borderline (1950), with Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor; A Place in the Sun (1951), with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters; His Kind of Woman (1951), with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, Vincent Price, and Charles McGraw; Bride of the Gorilla (1951), with Lon Chaney Jr., Barbara Payton and Tom Conway; Gorilla at Large (1954), with Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, and Lee J. Cobb; Please Murder Me (1956), with Angela Lansbury; Crime of Passion (1967), with Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden; and Affair in Havana (1957), with John Cassavetes.

Burr is also remembered for his role as reporter, Steve Martin, in the 1956 film Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which he reprised in Godzilla 1985. He won Emmy Awards for acting in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons (1957–66) and reprised in a series of 26 Perry Mason TV movies (1985–93). His second TV series Ironside (1967-1975) earned him six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations. Later films included Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), with Robert Hayes, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono; and Delirious (1991), with John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms, David Rasche, Dylan Baker, and Charles Rocket. He died of cancer in 1993, and his personal life came into question, as many details of his biography appeared to be unverifiable. He was ranked number 44 of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time by TV Guide magazine in 1996.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Film

  • Earl of Puddlestone (1940) – directed by Gus Meins – uncredited
  • Without Reservations (1946) – directed by Mervyn LeRoy – uncredited
  • San Quentin (1947) – directed by Gordon Douglas
  • Code of the West (1947) – directed by William Berke
  • Desperate (1947) – directed by Anthony Mann
  • I Love Trouble (1948) – directed by S. Sylvan Simon
  • Sleep, My Love (1948) – directed by Douglas Sirk
  • Ruthless (1948) – directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Fighting Father Dunne (1948) – directed by Ted Tetzlaff – uncredited
  • Raw Deal (1948) – directed by Anthony Mann
  • Pitfall (1948) – directed by André de Toth
  • Station West (1948) – directed by Sidney Lanfield
  • Walk a Crooked Mile (1948) – directed by Gordon Douglas
  • Adventures of Don Juan (1948) – directed by Vincent Sherman
  • Bride of Vengeance (1949) – directed by Mitchell Leisen
  • Black Magic (1949) – directed by Gregory Ratoff & Orson Welles (uncredited)
  • Red Light (1949) – directed by Roy Del Ruth
  • Abandoned (1949) – directed by Joseph M. Newman
  • Love Happy (1949) – directed by David Miller
  • Unmasked (1950) – directed by George Blair
  • Key to the City (1950) – directed by George Sidney
  • Borderline (1950) – directed by William A. Seiter
  • M (1951) – directed by Joseph Losey
  • A Place in the Sun (1951) – directed by George Stevens
  • New Mexico (1951) – directed by Irving Reis
  • His Kind of Woman (1951) – directed by John Farrow & Richard Fleischer (uncredited)
  • The Whip Hand (1951) – directed by William Cameron Menzies
  • Bride of the Gorilla (1951) – directed by Curt Siodmak
  • The Magic Carpet (1951) – directed by Lew Landers
  • FBI Girl (1951) – directed by William A. Berke
  • Meet Danny Wilson (1952) – directed by Joseph Pevney
  • Mara Maru (1952) – directed by Gordon Douglas
  • Horizons West (1952) – directed by Budd Boetticher
  • The Bandits of Corsica (1953) – directed by Ray Nazarro
  • The Blue Gardenia (1953) – directed by Fritz Lang
  • Serpent of the Nile (1953) – directed by William Castle
  • Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) – directed by Kurt Neumann
  • Fort Algiers (1953) – directed by Lesley Selander
  • Casanova’s Big Night (1954) – directed by Norman Z. McLeod
  • The Immortal City (1954) – narrator – documentary
  • Gorilla at Large (1954) – directed by Harmon Jones
  • Rear Window (1954)** – directed by Alfred Hitchcock
  • Khyber Patrol 1954) – directed by Seymour Friedman
  • Thunder Pass (1954) – directed by Frank McDonald
  • Passion (1954) – directed by Allan Dwan
  • They Were So Young (1955) – directed by Kurt Neumann
  • You’re Never Too Young (1955) – directed by Norman Taurog
  • Count Three and Pray (1955) – directed by George Sherman
  • A Man Alone (1955) – directed by Ray Milland (credited as R. Milland)
  • Please Murder Me (1956) – directed by Peter Godfrey
  • Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) – directed by Terry O. Morse & Ishirō Honda – re-edit of Godzilla (1954)
  • Great Day in the Morning (1956) – directed by Jacques Tourneur
  • Secret of Treasure Mountain (1956) – directed by Seymour Friedman
  • A Cry in the Night (1956) – directed by Frank Tuttle
  • Ride the High Iron (1956) – directed by Don Weis
  • The Brass Legend (1956) – directed by Gerd Oswald
  • Crime of Passion (1957) – directed by Gerd Oswald
  • Affair in Havana (1957) – directed by László Benedek
  • Desire in the Dust (1960) – directed by William F. Claxton
  • P.J. (1968) – directed by John Guillermin – aka New Face in Hell
  • Tomorrow Never Comes (1978) – directed by Peter Collinson
  • Out of the Blue (1980) – directed by Dennis Hopper
  • The Return (1980) – directed by Greydon Clark
  • Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) – directed by Ken Finkleman
  • Godzilla 1985 (1985) – directed by R. J. Kizer & Koji Hashimoto – re-edit of The Return of Godzilla (1984)
  • The Legend of Kootenai Brown (1991) – directed by Allan Kroeker
  • Delirious (1991) – directed by Tom Mankiewicz

TV

  • The Amazing Mr. Malone (1950) – TV movie
  • Stars Over Hollywood (1950-1951) – anthology, 2 episodes
  • The Bigelow Theatre (1950-1951) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Chesterfield Sound Off Time (1951-1952) – variety show, 1 episode
  • Dragnet (1951-1959) – 1 episode
  • Hollywood Opening Night (1951-1953) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Rebound (1952-1953) – 2 episodes
  • The Unexpected (1952) – anthology, 2 episodes
  • Gruen Guild Theatre (1951-1953) – anthology, 3 episodes
  • Tales of Tomorrow (1951-1953) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Your Favorite Story (1953-1954) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Chevron Theatre (1952-1953) – anthology, 1 episode)
  • Four Star Playhouse (1952-1957) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Family Theatre (1949-1958) – anthology, 3 episodes
  • Mr. & Mrs. North (1952-1954) – 1 episode
  • Sclitz Playhouse (1951-1959 – anthology, 1 episode
  • The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955-1957) – anthology, 1 episode
  • The Ford Television Theatre (1952-1957) – anthology, 2 episodes
  • The Star and the Story (1955-1956) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Celebrity Playhouse (1955-1956) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Lux Video Theatre (1954-1956) – anthology, 4 episodes
  • Climax! (1954-1958) – anthology, 3 episodes
  • Chevron Hall of Stars (1956) – anthology, 2 episodes
  • Undercurrent (1955-1958) – anthology, 1 episode
  • The Web (1957) – anthology, 1 episode
  • Playhouse 90 (1956-1961) anthology, 2 episodes
  • Joyful Hour (1960) – TV movie
  • The Jack Benny Program (1950-1965) – variety show, 2 episodes
  • Perry Mason (1957-1966) – 271 episodes, main role
  • The Jean Arthur Show (1966) – 1 episode
  • Ironside (1967) – TV movie
  • It Takes a Thief (1968-1970) – 1 episode
  • The Red Skelton Hour (1951-1971) – variety show, 5 episodes
  • The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969-1973) – 1 episode
  • Portrait: A Man Who’s Name Was John (1973) – TV movie
  • Ironside (1967-1975) – 195 episodes, maine role
  • Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence (1976) – TV movie
  • Kingston: Confidential (1976-1977) 14 episodes, main role
  • Harold Robinsons’ 79 Park Avenue (1977) – mini-series, 2 episodes
  • The Bastard (1978) – TV movie
  • The Jordan Chance (1978) – TV movie
  • The Love Boat (1977-1986) – 2 episodes
  • Centennial (1978-1979) – mini-series, 12 episodes
  • Love’s Savage Fury (1979) – TV movie
  • Eischied (1979-1980) – 2 episodes
  • The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979-1980) – 1 episode
  • Disaster on the Coastliner (1979) – TV movie
  • The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther (1979) – TV movie
  • The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb (1980) – TV movie
  • The Night the City Screamed (1980) – TV movie
  • Peter and Paul (1981) – TV movie
  • Theaters
  • Perry Mason Returns (1985) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun (1986) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (1986) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love (1987) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel (1987) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (1988) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake (1988) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (1989) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen (1990) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer (1990) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter (1990) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (1991) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin (1991) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991) – TV movie
  • Grass Roots (1992) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing (1992) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo (1992) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride (1992) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal (1993) – TV movie
  • The Return of Ironside (1993) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host (1993) – TV movie
  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss (1993) – TV movie, posthumously released