Listed alphabetically by actor, these are their most notable quotes, and their most significant (I think) connections to other shows and people. This is not a comprehensive list of all the great actors in Perry Mason and all their quotes, roles and connections; just a sample of some of those that strike me the most. I'm not really a big TV or movie buff, so many of these actors played many roles I don't refer to here; just the ones I am familiar with, especially The Twilight Zone (TZ) and some other CBS TV shows of the time. At this writing Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone are seen back-to-back in the late weekday evenings on MeTV on broadcast television. At the end I mention some of the improbable aspects of the show in spite of which it still engrosses us and draws us in and keeps us glued to every scene.

Numbers listed after case titles refer to episode numbers, from the earliest in the Fall of 1957 to the latest in Spring 1966. (Birth and death dates of actors in parentheses). Episode titles always start as "the case of". Some websites use the acronym TCOT or TCO to refer to the repeated "The Case Of The" in all the titles, but I don't.

I encourage everyone to watch Perry Mason and see these delicious moments. Of course, the best thing about the quotes is how the actors say them. So if you are a fan and have watched the show, it's fun to remember them or be reminded of them, and the actors who said them. They include many "Perry Mason moments" when a killer is trapped by Mason and "forced" to confess. I made an outline of this list originally for myself, using a list of Perry Mason actors that used to be available online, to help me remember them.

These quotes stand out not just because they tell the story, but because of the unique mood, extra drama, strong emotion, character, personality, proverbial moral, etc. that they reveal.

Everyone can google or find these actors on imdb or wikipedia if you want to know more about them and their other roles or see their picture; it's just as easy for readers to do that as it is for me to pour through all these names and write in all these links :) Also see The Perry Pod on youtube with good reviews of the episodes and some clips. This podcast is a work in progress, so as they appear there I will put up some links to videos from this channel in which the quotes mentioned here are heard. There are also a few clips available on youtube. Perhaps because an earlier version of Perry Mason ran on radio for many years, the original classic Perry Mason TV shows focus on dialogue more than on sensational visuals. In the later 2-hour Perry Mason movies, the extra time is filled in with some chase scenes and other exploits of Perry's super-hero detective Paul Drake Jr. (William Katt Jr., Barbara Hale's son) or super-hero co-counsel Ken Malansky (William Moses), and with the many pretty lady amateur assistants they both always seem to find and reluctantly employ. But I have found no comparable list of all the actors in the movie series, so I haven't made a list of their quotes and connections yet.

Casey Adams/Max Showalter (6/2/1917-2000)
Burt Stokes, murder victim in The Wandering Widow 101 "just a little scared, maybe" about the Widow Lorraine Kendall (Coleen Gray) whom he's blackmailing. It is repeated in recordings heard during the trial. Gray is also the Glamorous Ghost 142 Olga Corbin.
Talbot Sparr in The Ugly Ducking 211 in confession: "I, I, I!"
piano player Pat Riley in The Twilight Zone (TZ) "It's a Good Life" "good, it's really... good"

Julie Adams (10/17/1926-2019) Janice Barton in The Deadly Verdict (about her looming death) "It's something that happens to all of us, sooner or later"

Claude Akins (5/25/1918 - 1994) appears in The Half-Wakened Wife 26, and in TZ as Steve Brand in "Monsters are Due on Maple Street"; BJ and the Bear, also in TZ space story "The Little People" with Joe Maross.

Frank Aletter (1/14/1926 - 2009) Harry Collins in The Skeleton's Closet 179 "He was no good, he DESERVED to die!"
married to Lee Meriwether from 1958 to 1974

Herbert Anderson (3/30/1917 - 1994) 55 Dennis the Menace's Dad

John Anderson (10/20/1922-1992) Bud Ferrand in The Bartered Bikini 77, where he smashed a bottle over the phone when his wife tells him he's not coming home again that night, and also Dan O' Malley in The Greek Goddess 178, where he kills the sculptor. Also in TZ - as "The Odyssey of Flight 33" pilot whose plane travels through time and never lands.

Richard Anderson (8/8/1926 - 2017) Edward Lewis in The Accosted Accountant 195 "If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to get you OUT of this COMPANY!" to B.K. Doran (Murray Matheson).
He's also the older brother of client, and candidate, in Paper Bullets 213, and Lt. Drumm 1965-66.
also in The Six Million Dollar Man, and Columbo as "The Lady in Waiting" 's older brother and victim

Morris Ankrum (8/28/1896 - 1964) Judge Cameron in The Screaming Woman 30, with Hamilton Burger (William Talman), trying to charge Perry and Della with mail tampering for stealing and hiding a book involving harmful revelations by author Mary K. Davis (Marian Seldes); but Judge Cameron upholds a flood of Perry's objections and blocks him. Hamilton Burger complains bitterly "I have to fight it out on this line if it takes all day!", imitating General Grant. Judge Cameron replies "That is your priviledge, Mr. District Attorney. The Court has the afternoon available". Later the Judge educates the DA that "These objections have been highly technical, and the rulings of the Court have been technical. But technicalities exist for the expressed purpose of protecting the legal rights of persons charged with crimes."
Hear Della, Perry, Hamilton and Judge Cameron's confrontation.
Perry goes to extra lengths to expose the murderer in this case, to the annoyance of Burger and the resulting humorous report of Lt. Tragg.
Judge in The Antic Angel 207 "I'm the one who permits questions!" in reply to Hamilton Burger

Malcolm Atterbury (2/20/1907 - 1992) Maigret in The Tarnished Trademark 141 "That's how I made my killing" (he played the murderer in 3 episodes).
Also played Henry J. Fate, who sold magic potion to Denton, a drunken former gunslinger on TZ "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"

Barry Atwater (G.B. Atwater) (5/16/1918 - 1978) played a mean professor (and title character) in 2 episodes, The Prankish Professor 168 and The Cheating Chancellor 245.
He's the man of reason in TZ "Monsters are Due on Elm Street"

Parley Baer (8/5/1914 - 2002) In 6 episodes, never the victim, perpetrator nor client. Often haughtily and resentfully standing up for himself. Also the mayor of Mayberry.
Real estate agent Willard Hupp in The Bouncing Boomerang 192 Perry: "you're not on trial here" Hupp: "well I certainly HOPE not!" Also in The Bouncing Boomerang, "such a dynamic man", referring to con artist and recently-deceased Nelson Barcliff (Alan Hale) who had promised an inordinate payment for some scruffy ranch land.
In The Jealous Journalist 124 Perry asks Seward Quenton (Parley Baer)'s son , whom he's always telling to "shut up", whether he loved his new bride, and the son says his father arranged it all. Perry: "Are you sure you're not marrying her father?"

Trevor Bardette (11/19/1902 - 1977) John Brant in The Startled Stallion 74 "Take that haybag out an' shoot 'em!" after he loses a demo race

James Bell (12/1/1891 - 1973) Zack Davis in The Frantic Flyer 81 a killer confesses his failure "Real complicated and tricky, I guess murder is like that" Perry: "No sir, murder is usually very simple. It's the getting away with it that's complicated and tricky"

Bruce Bennett (5/19/1906 - 2007) Dan Morgan in The Misguided Missile 120 shouts at the missile he designed being tested that had failed before to "Fly, fly!" A former star athlete, he usually played pleasant characters, but was the murderer in The Misguided Missile.

James Best (7/26/1926 - 2015) Allan Winford in The Unwelcome Well 266 "I have orders to cap that well. I don't BUY that!" Jerome Klee (Wendell Corey) replies "That decision's been made." "If I made a practice of explaining my actions, I'd use just one five-letter word: MONEY!" Allan, later Perry's client, also says "I'm not the only one who got hurt in that deal".
Played a guy who found new confidence and vitality in TZ "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" after he rises out of his coffin at his own funeral.

Lloyd Bochner (7/29/1924 - 2005) Eric Pollard in The Latent Lover 222. Great voice, like #6 in The Prisoner. TZ cookbook victim

Philip Bourneuf (1/7/1908 - 1979) Gaunt, skinny, distinguished; married Frances Reid

Peter Breck (3/13/1929 - 2012) William Sherwood in The Antic Angel 207. He saw his wife he thought had died in a crash, and his "friends" told him he was seeing things. But he insisted "It was RUTH!"
In The Big Valley, "I intend to do just that!"

Sheila Bromley (10/31/1911 - 2003) Agnes Nulty in The Borrowed Brunette 52, to Perry, "We don't want to run up a big bill!"

Helen Brown (12/24/1915 - 1994) Mrs. Hollister in The Fickle Fortune 110 "I saw it all!"
To witness Carlotta Jackson in The Mystified Miner 144, Perry grilled her for her identification of his client, after having been questioned 10 times by Burger: "more sure the 10th time than you were in the 9th, more sure in the 9th than you were in the 8th, more sure in the 8th than you were in the 7th, more sure in the 7th than you were in the 6th, more sure in the 6th than you were in the 5th, more sure in the 5th than you were in the 4th, more sure in the 4th than you were in the 3rd, more sure in the 3rd than you were in the 2nd, more sure in the 2nd than you were in the 1st?"

Robert Brown (11/17/1926 - ) Goring Gilbert in The Reluctant Model 187, beatnick artist and teacher confessing to killing the victim, "Do they have art classes at San Quentin?"

Kathie Browne (9/19/1930 - 2003) Carla Eden in The Festive Felon 190 pretty, vain and scheming, she said to "shamus" "gumshoe" Paul Drake about a job offer he mentioned, "Did you say, talent scout?" On the stand we hear her whole story of her embezzlement of the Brents with accountant Justin Grover (John Howard) and her confession. "That money... it was MINE. I had to have it!" Perry: "What are you going to use the money for now, Carla?"

Willis Bouchey (5/24/1907 - 1977) Judge in The Duplicate Daughter 121, "We're WAITING, Mr. Mason!" Sometimes impatient, commanding, gruff and condescending, he was a Judge 24 times on Perry Mason, often in outlying areas of LA County, but never identified.
He was also the helpful doctor with a "poor bedside manner" in TZ "The Masks", taking care of Jason Foster who is about to die but not before he gets even with some folks by making them wear the ugly masks that represent their real personalities and transform their faces into the shapes of the masks.

Raymond Burr (5/21/1917 - 1993) Perry Mason. Quotes mentioned among the guest actors

Nellie Burt (1/4/1900 - 1986) Holly Cosgrove in The Borrowed Baby 149 After leaving the baby in Perry's office, "I know what a fine man he is"

Francis X Bushman (1/10/1883 -1966) matinee idol

Frank Cady (9/8/1915 - 2012) Joe/Hiram Widlock, title character in The Pathetic Patient 130, also appeared in Petticoat Junction and Green Acres

William Campbell (10/30/1923 - 2011) played two very similar aggressive title swindlers, Allen Sheridan in The Artful Dodger 78 (victim) and Jim Ferris in The Ill-fated Faker 98 (perp). Also a Star Trek villain.

Kathryn Card (10/4/1892 - 1964), wise and kind of spunky old servant lady.
Hannah Barton in The Deadly Toy 66 Perry was posing as Della Street's husband while employing Hannah as babysitter. When she saw him again in Court she said, "Well, Mister Street!"
Harriet Snow in The Watery Witness 71 As housekeeper to victim, the vain actress Lorna Thomas (Fay Wray), Perry proves she had no alibi for the time of her murder, so she testified "I could have killed her anytime I wanted to"

Richard Carlson (4/29/1912 - 1977) Played two ruthless show-business tycoons, Anthony Fry in The Tragic Trophy 220, and Clete Hawley in The Avenging Angel 263.
As Fry, he said "Don't you know that whatever Tony Fry wants, Tony Fry GETS?"
Also the director, narrator and interviewer in Bell Labs' documentary produced by Frank Capra, The Unchained Goddess (1958), which examines what weather is and how it works. "Recent commentators have noted that this film exhibits an early concern with climate change caused by human activities" -- wikipedia. Frank C. Baxter as Dr. Research explains how someday tourists will visit Florida in glass-bottomed boats. I saw this documentary in elementary school.

Allen Case (10/8/1934 - 1986) Ronny Fowler in The Bedeviled Doctor 61 says somewhat threateningly, "Well, try to clear some time, it's important" to his young co-blackmailer and the episode's murder victim Mark Douglas (Barry McGuire), after he says he's tied up at the moment. In contrast to this shady character, in The Ruinous Road 225 he plays a smart, ethical, steadfast client.

Lonny Chapman (10/1/1920 - 2007) Jack Talley in The Tandem Target 210 very aggressive character, confesses to murder: "Sure, I FIXED the brakes!"

Ralph Clanton (9/11/1914 - 2002) Charles Brewster in The Fancy Figures 49 ruthless, arrogant, confident business partner and victim who said while in jail "I sure can't spend another night here"

Phyllis Coates (1/15/1927 - ) Inez Fremont in The Ice Cold Hands 197, sarcastic, funny character, described how her husband and victim Marvin (Arch Johnson) could get anyone to buy one of his supposed antiques if he charges too much for them, "and don't think he didn't!". She described how she and everyone in the bar laughed loudly when Perry's young lady client (Joyce Bulifant) slapped him after making a pass at him. "and a real good one too, ha ha!" Lt. Anderson asked her, you don't seem too upset over your husband's death, and she says "Why should I be?", and Anderson asks her were you living with him, and she says "I wouldn't live with that man's toothbrush". Coates reminds me of her contemporary Cloris Leachman.

James Coburn (8/31/1928 - 2002) played two very-similar ruthless, over-bearing leaders and murder victims: Donald Fletcher in The Envious Editor 108, and General Addison Brand in The Angry Astronaut 148.

Winifred Coffin aka Collins (10/16/1911- 1986) Willa Saint Sutton in The Wrathful Wraith 250 as a commanding, indignant medium testifies "THAT's what he told her!"

Ray Collins (12/10/1889 - 1965) Lt. Tragg, always fun to watch, frequently sarcastically referred to his "favorite sparring partner" Perry, when he was one-up on him, as "coun-selor", and when threatening to take Paul Drake's private detective license away, referred to him as a "former private detective". He trained and performed with Orson Welles' actors studio, and it shows.

Michael Conrad (10/16/1925 - 1983), Felton Grimes, title character in The Bigamous Spouse 188, also was lead police officer on Hill Street Blues who says "be careful out there"

Michael Constantine (5/22/1927 - 2021) Pappy Ryan in The Runaway Racer 251 accuses someone of ruining his engine and says "you're gonna go to jail!" Turns out he was the murderer.
teacher in Room 222

John Conte (9/15/1915 - 2006) always played sneaky characters, with poor results.
Kirby Evans in The Injured Innocent 133, says in confessing with a smirky smile, "I could have all his money, ALL of it".
Roy Comstock in The Lover's Leap 176, as he was skipping out with a fortune pretending to be suicidal and leaving his investors holding the bag, he took a few coins out of his pocket and threw them in his concerned former secretary's hands and said "all my worldly goods I thee endow". In this and 2 other episodes he played the victim.

Jackie Coogan (10/26/1914 - 1984) Gunnar Grimes in The Crying Comedian 128 "I'm trying to protect ya!" to the crying comedian Charlie Hatch (Tommy Noonan).
Uncle Fester in The Addams Family

Ben Cooper (9/30/1933 - 2020) James Grove in The Polka Dot Pony 165 talks to a girl through a gate showing him a doll, but who won't answer him, and says "It's a cat, and it's got your tongue"
Frank Wells in The Impatient Partner 125 Perry explains the killer's actions to the witness Bert Nichols (Jack Betts), who says "I didn't do those things!" "No, you didn't kill Ned Thompson," Perry replies, and then abruptly turns to Wells in the audience and yells "But YOU did Mr. Wells!" "YES YES I killed him!" screams Wells.

Jeff Cooper (1935 - 2018) Henning Dolwig in The Impetuous Imp 246, a rugged surfer and diver. He wanted to play The Midnight Cowboy too, but settled for a starring role in "Who Shot J.R." on Dallas.

Wendell Corey (3/20/1914 - 1968) Jerome Klee in The Unwelcome Well 266. Greedy, ruthless, powerful oil baron of the kind that still torment us today. Allan Winford discovered oil on the property of poor, proud rancher Jason Rohan (Paul Brinegar,) whom Perry had persuaded to offer to Klee because it would make him rich. Then Klee "changes his mind" and caps the well for 10 years after making a huge oil deal with a mideast prince, because pumping it now could reduce the share price. But Rohan had started buying lots of stuff and putting his land up as colateral against future oil revenues, so Perry tells his client Klee that "he's liable to lose his land. You can't DO that." Klee replies that when his "own father" told him what he couldn't do, he "broke his jaw for him. He was the last one to try it!" Perry replies "I notice you have all your associates intimidated" "Oh, but not YOU Perry" Klee replies. "NO, I'm not intimidated, I'm appalled. What kind of a man are you??" asks Perry. "A money man, Mr. Mason." Klee says that some people collect art, land, cars, "heaven knows why I don't. I collect money, it's a simple as that." Perry: "How much money do you WANT?" "If I can get it all there is" says Klee.
Later after managing that huge sale to the mideast emirate, Perry tells Klee "my obligation to you is completed", and calls Klee a hatchet man. Klee is murdered soon after, and Allan Winford (James Best), driller of the unwelcome well, is charged, and becomes Perry's new client.
Corey was also star of the psychological drama from the early 1960s, "The Eleventh Hour." Earlier in their careers their roles sort of reversed, as Raymond Burr played a murder suspect and Corey a detective in Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). Soon after acting in this episode of Perry Mason he ran for congress as a Republican, and lost. People started saying he was just like Klee. He died soon afterward.

Lloyd Corrigan (10/16/1900 - 1969) old, nervous and plump, as landlord Rudy Mahlsted in The Dodging Domino 159 says "Somebody ALWAYS wants me".
Harvey Forrest in The Decadent Dean 186 upon confessing murder says tearfully "It was the only thing I could do" twice. Perry replies, "was it?"

Susan Cummings (7/10/1930 - 2016) a main character in two episodes, The Fan Dancer's Horse 15 and The Lame Canary 69. TZ "It's a cookbook!"

Ken Curtis (7/2/1916 - 1991) Tim Durant in The Clumsy Clown 102, was Festus on Gunsmoke.

June Dayton (8/24/1923 - 1994) Alice Gorman in The Ill Fated Faker 98. After Jim Ferris (William Campbell) talks to Alice about how badly her husband (Jim's father) has treated him, as they scheme against him, wonders what Jim will do to her. Dayton was also Dick York's love interest in TZ psychic episode "A Penny For your Thoughts". She married Dean Harens.

Richard Deacon (4/15/1921 - 1984) Wilmer Beasley in The Red Riding Boots 106 and Ted de Corsia (9/29/1903 - 1973) junk dealer Mort Lynch in The Drifting Dropout 209 were both in the TZ (Twilight Zone) episode "The Brain Center at Whipple's" about machines taking over. Deacon was also Mel Cooley on Dick Van Dyke Show.

Cyril Delevanti (2/23/1889 - 1975) was Tullock in The Silent Partner 6 and Jefferson in The Silent Six 252. As Mr.Smithers in the TZ psychic episode with June Dayton (see just above) and Dick York (also on Bewitched), he says softly "how did you know", with a quaint smile, to Dick's character Hector Poole after Hector read his mind imagining he would rob the bank where they worked. Smithers says, "It's a little dream I have. I'd never go through with it. I'm too set in my ways. And besides, I'm a coward".

John Dennis (5/3/1925 - 2004) in The Shapely Shadow 139 tough guy Lt. Sophia pointedly says "Good night" to Perry, as he points out that this is his jurisdiction and not Perry's. But later he became a religious science (New Thought) minister.

Crahan Denton (3/20/1914 - 1966) Frank Jarrett in The Nimble Nephew 90 and Templeton Courtland in The Missing Melody 126, and was also in To Kill a Mockingbird

Douglas Dick (11/20/1920 - 2015) Fred Bushmiller, sneaky private detective in The Watery Witness 71 "We can talk about your daughter" which you put up for adoption in 1935, he says to former star actress Lorna Thomas (Fay Wray). "one way or another you're determined to blackmail me, aren't you" says Lorna. "I just thought we might have interests in common" says Fred. "I don't even have a place to stay" "You have, now" says Lorna. Douglas Dick was in 7 Perry Mason episodes.

Biff Elliott (7/26/1923 - 2012) Jimmy McClain in The Lame Canary 69 loves victim Walter Prescott (William Kendis)'s wife Ruth (Stacy Graham), who came to Jimmy for help after Walter had apparently tried to have her run over by a truck. So Jimmy went to the Prescotts' house because "I just wanted to talk to him" or as we might put it in his mutedly-threatening way, "I just wanted to TOK to'umm" (not to kill him, although he took his gun with him). The conversation didn't happen, because he was already dead, but I can't imagine such a "talk" would have turned out well. What was he going to say: sorry, you lose?
Biff Elliott was also the tough Lt. Bates on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "One Too Many Graves" with Jeremy Slate, also a Perry Mason actor.

Robert Emhardt (7/24/1914 - 1994) J J Flaherty in The Ominous Outcast 93. While sitting in the Courtroom audience, after Perry mentions only one person could have committed the murder, he confesses to it. "Flaherty, J.J.. Almost got away with it".

Richard Erdman (6/1/1925 - 2019) Charles Montrose in The Absent Artist 146 "I killed the 2-headed monster" referring to brilliant, small-town oceanside "slob" bohemian artist Otto Gavaert (Mark Roberts), who lived a slick double life in town as Cartoon Strip owner Gabe Phillips, but left himself financially vulnerable. Erdman played 6 roles, 3 of them as the murderer and one as the victim.
He was neither one as publicist Jim West, who works for John Gifford (David Lewis), speaking about playwright Ernest Royce in The Lost Last Act 60: "when I'm inside a theater I'm in a church. When I see a great play I hear angels singing. When I see great performances I'm walking the streets of heaven. Those streets are very clean and beautiful, Mr. Mason. They should be kept that way." Perry replies: "I repeat, why didn't you like Ernest Royce?" "He was a litterbug" replies West.

Marilyn Erskine (4/24/1926 - ) Mirabel Corum in The Unwelcome Well 266. "I've been a good girl" says long-time mistress of Jerome Klee, now betrayed, after Klee tells her that she has not been a nag and has not been in her pocket, and so offers her (what is to Klee) a small token check. She tears it up and throws it in his face. She also says that's it's a different perspective sitting at this (far) end of the dinner table, since Klee's new French actress girlfriend Monique Martin (Danielle De Metz) is now sitting next to him. Don't think you can ever get away with putting me there, Monique says to Klee. Klee replies, "Wanna bet?"

Stuart Erwin (2/14/1903 - 1967) Clem Sandover, title character in The Double-Entry Mind 157, when faced by Perry with a murder charge, said that didn't matter; only that he was proud of his feat of embezzlement that no-one thought he was capable of, announcing to the Court, "I did it!" In prison he wrote a book describing his perfect crime.

Virginia Field (11/4/1917 - 1992) very versatile actress, 6 roles
Irene Collaro in The Prodigal Parent 36 "I was in no position to say anything" in European accent
proud touring company actress Ramona Carver in The Simple Simon 205 Although she was not the killer, she wondered to Perry, "Is it really so terribly wrong, to kill a critic?"

Paul Fix (3/13/1902 - 1983) played folksy rural District Attorney Hale 5 times, and was the judge in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Louise Fletcher (7/22/1934 - 2022 ) Played sympathetic characters in Perry Mason, including an author's betrayed secretary in The Mythical Monkeys 86, but played mean Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1976).

Gertrude Flynn (1/14/1909 - 1996) Agatha Culpepper in The Floating Stones 189. She watched for crooks on boats, saying "I see everything!", and "he's a notorious smuggler" about Gilbert Tyrell (Victor Maddern).

Dianne Foster (10/31/1928 - 2019) Linda Blakely in The Silent Six 252, cheap bit-part actress, told the young Ron Peters (David Macklin), who was then saying he was too scared to take action against the beating going on in their apartment house, "that's what's been eatin' on your male ego". Also said the victim had come by earlier "to fix the sink".

Elizabeth Fraser (1/8/1920 - 2005) Eloise Brent, aspiring heir in The Festive Felon 190, was especially haughty when she testified "or so I thought at the time" about the donor.
Fraser also displays her great talent playing another deceitful, haughty, betraying wife, this time of bully Ken Bascombe (Hugh Sanders) in The Bashful Burro 88. Feigning grief, on the witness stand she pours out "He was so kind; why did you have to kill him??" to young client Gerald Norton (Ray Stricklyn).

Bert Freed (11/3/1919 - 1994) plant manager Ken Woodman in the Treacherous Toupee 96. Victim Hartley Bassett (Thomas B. Henry) had apparently made off with Ken's wife, who died in The Philippines, and had unexpectedly returned. But Ken concluded pointedly to Perry while on the witness stand that "killing isn't always the answer to everything"

Lisa Gaye (3/6/1935 - 2016) Lola Bronson in The Guilty Clients 123. She and her estranged husband protect each other from a looming murder charge. Hamilton Burger (William Talman) asks, "Which one are you going to defend?" Perry replies "Which one are you going to prosecute?"
On the Wednesday Woman 194 she calls fellow employee Lester Ormesby (Douglas Dick), who is blackmailing her for affection, a "disgusting worm". She was also not too fond of her thieving husband Karl McGovern (Arch Johnson) whom she poisoned in The TravellingTreasure 131. She played 6 roles on Perry Mason.

Emile Genest (7/27/1921 - 2003) In The Frightened Fisherman 201, European immigrant scientist Hans Lang, who with partner Randolph James (Lee Farr) had developed a formula, but whose rights to it were questioned by Hudson Bradshaw (Bartlett Robinson), said "the idea is mine, and I can prove that!"

Ned Glass (4/1/1906 - 1984) Mr. Smith in The Watery Witness 71. Asked to identify someone, he replied in his heavy New York accent "Faces are like cock-a-roaches I don't know one from another"

Bruce Gordon (1/1/1916 - 2011) Frank Thatcher in Paul Drake's Dilemma 75, murdered by Joe Marsden (Robert Lieb).
Mr. Winlock, father of Diana Adler (Mary Ann Mobley) title character in The Blonde Bonanza 224, and stepfather of Marvin Palmer (Jonathan Lippe/Goldsmith) who spied on him.

Dabbs Greer (4/2/1917 - 2007) Hal Kirkwood in The Prudent Prosecutor 83, after saying on the witness stand that he'd like to send him to "kingdom come," referring to victim Denver Leonard (Walter Coy), later confessed "I killed the big gas bag!" Nervous, unstable and passionate, he played 8 roles on Perry Mason. He also played the murderer in The Lavender Lipstick 100 and The Ice-Cold Hands 197 and the victim in The Fugitive Nurse 22.

Virginia Gregg (3/6/1916 - 1986) Sheila Cromwell in The Cautious Coquette 18, after prompting the killer to reveal himself by prompting him to threaten her, said after Perry thanked her, "the pleasure was all mine".
A heroic, empathetic character in this her first Perry Mason role, she played 3 other rather-pathetic characters.

Barbara Hale (4/18/1922 - 2017) Della Street, was always graceful, competent and loyal as Mason's confidential secretary, but rumor has it she turned down a marriage proposal from Perry in one of the Perry Mason books by Earl Stanley Gardner. Her real-life husband was Bill Williams (5/15/1915 - 1992), who appeared in 4 Perry Mason episodes. His real name was William Katt, and their son was Paul Drake Jr. in the early Perry Mason movies.

Neil Hamilton (9/9/1899 - 1984) Ames in The Difficult Detour 116, after winning a suit blocking a financially-desperate Pete Mallory (Jeff York) from building an access road on his property, said Perry Mason should defend him against his later murder charge, saying "I like Pete Mallory". In the last scene Ames and Pete seem to come to an agreement that Ames will let him build the road after all. Neil Hamilton, official sounding, smart, sneaky and humorous, played 7 roles on Perry Mason, and is known for the BATMAN TV show in 1966.

Dean Harens (6/30/1920 - 1006) usually played guys that were upset and cruel. But he was married to June Dayton.
Frank Fettridge in The Calendar Girl 63 After Perry trapped him on the witness stand, Frank asks "Where did I go wrong? (to get caught), Perry replies, "you committed a murder, Mr. Fettridge".
Riley Morgan in The Wandering Widow 101. He had killed Burt Stokes (Casey Adams) after Burt had gotten him out of jail for an earlier murder by posing as a missing witness and then used him for money. On the witness stand, after asking "Why don't you ask me about the shoes" Perry said "I intend to", and showed why when he exchanged them with Burt's, Perry trapped him. He defiantly pushes the shoes onto the floor and says: You figured it all out. I got away with the first murder. "I guess I should have quit while I was ahead, huh?".
In this episode, Riley was the real father of Jimmy Kendall (Stephen Talbot).

Robert H Harris (7/15/1911 - 1981) Aaron Hubble in The Purple Woman 48 claimed he was an artistic genius, when no-one else thought so. He was goaded into confessing by Perry when insulted about this claim. Small, overweight, bald and always insecure, he was in 7 episodes, the murderer in 3.

Stacy Harris (7/26/1918 - 1973) Ed Brigham in The Crying Comedian 128 after admitting he killed to take stolen money for himself, he said "that dame would have ended up with every penny of it", referring to his golddigger girlfriend Rowena (Sue Ann Langdon).

Elizabeth Harrower (5/28/1918 - 2003) Mrs. Mangan in The Lurid Letter 163 "In the house, Pat!" to his hoodlum son.

Dee Hartford (4/21/1928 - ) Rhonda Coleridge in The Baffling Bug 254 threatens a suit "that will ruin you" to a competitor she wanted to recruit. A cutthroat boss in that episode, she also played the ruthless, glamorous attorney Leslie Ross in The Accosted Accountant 195. In the final episode of the original TZ, "The Bewitchin' Pool", she's always arguing with her husband, driving their children Sport (Mary Badham, Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird) and Jeb to escape into a pool that leads to a children's paradise.

Margaret (Maggie) Hayes (12/5/1916 - 1977) Vivian Bell in The Ominous Outcast 93 tells her boyfriend Tom Quincy (Denver Pyle) that "we're going dancing!"

Karl (or Carl) Held (9/9/1931 - ) Bruce Nesbitt in The Angry Dead Man 113 Now apparently an orphan, except for her stepmother (Gloria Talbott), she tells her "I'm big enough to take care of myself, wouldn't you say", as he stretches and poses on the couch. Karl Held bore a resemblance to 50's rock'n'roll singers like Fabian and Ricky Nelson.
After being the client in The Grumbling Grandfather 122, Karl played Perry Mason's young law intern David Gideon for 9 episodes between 126 and 139. I wish he would have stayed on, since it was a bit unrealistic that Perry handled all these cases alone, but rumor has it he may have been shoved out for getting involved romantically and later marrying actress Susan Marshall (5/25/1933 - 2014), a client (Judy Bryant) whom he talked with on The Roving River 138. Did gay Burr want a relationship with Karl?

Peter Helm (12/22/1941 - ) Bob Hyatt in The Cheating Chancellor 245. This guy looks just like Tony Dow (April 13, 1945 - July 27, 2022) from Leave it to Beaver, and in fact they were also both guest stars on Mr. Novak. Perry is tough on this baby-boomer-like character.

Thomas Browne Henry (11/7/1907 - 1980) Hartley Basset in The Treacherous Toupee 96 tells partner Peter Dawson to save the pity for himself, after having just fired Peter's secretary, because "you're fired too!"

Darryl Hickman (7/28/1931 - ) greedy killer Steve Harris in The Sleepwalker's Niece 2, older brother of Dwayne, of Dobie Gillis fame.

Jonathon (Jonathan) Hole (8/13/1904 - 1998) Stanley Roderick in The Treacherous Toupee 96. Dinimutive and quiet, not like a typical Leo at all, this toupee salesman and expert is asked on the witness stand about how easily the killer might have torn off part of the victim's toupee, and he asks the lawyer to "grab away" (on his own toupee; audience laughter).

Wendell Holmes (8/17/1914 - 1962) The genial rural District Attorney Williams in The Bashful Burro 88 tells a witness "I didn't ask you what he thought. I asked you what he said."

William Hopper (1/26/2015 - 1970) Paul Drake, head of the Drake Detective Agency. In The Borrowed Brunette 52, we get a case where Drake wasn't quite up to his normally excellent, super-human skills in his work for Perry, and a view of his frequent interests in women, in this case Helen Reynolds' look-a-like, the Borrowed Brunette herself, client Miss Martel (Maggie Mahoney). Hear it here. "We Couldn't find him!"
Drake is not always so charitable, if correctly, toward his fellow private eyes, like Arthur West in The Green Eyed Sister 21

John Howard (4/14/1913 - 1995) Justin Grover in The Festive Felon 190 tells the young girl Madeline Randall (Sherry Jackson), secretly a member of the wealthy and greedy Brent family who asks him why he is hiding his inheritance check to come over, alone, and "I'll tell you why". It turns out it is because of his robbery scheme carried out along with pretty and vain Carl Eden (Kathie Browne) who kills him in a fire (and not his client, the girl). Heavy set and steady with a faint smile, Howard has major parts in 4 episodes.

Robin Hughes (6/7/1920 - 1989) the devilishly slick Addison Doyle in The Green-Eyed Sister 21, actually was the devil in TZ "The Howling Man" which also featured frequent Perry Mason actor H.M. Wynant who said "you must believe" (in the devil). The Perry Pod describes Addison Doyle well here and more about Hughes here

Arthur Hunnicutt (2/17/1910 - 1979) Amos "Kennisaw Mountain" Keller in The Golden Oranges 173. Arthur played older guys but didn't live to be that old himself. In this episode he explains how he "fit" in the battle of San Juan Hill under Teddy Roosevelt and won a medal of honor. He fights to protect his orange grove from murder victim Gerald Thornton, played by the always-irrascible tall bully with the intimidating haircut (but in real life a nice guy) Arch Johnson. Amos shoots down some oranges to scare Gerald and says he has a right to shoot his own property, "don't I"? He is also devoted to his dog, just like he is on TZ as the man who didn't realize he had died until later, and then walked up a trail to decide where heaven is, and his dog makes his decision for him.

Patricia Huston (8/10/1929 - 1995) Claire Adams in The Ancient Romeo 151 is out to prove that "I am an actress" by getting someone she had a hold on in the past to buy her way into a theater group performing Romeo and Juliet. She also played Doris Petrie in The Golden Fraud 76 and Mona Henderson in The Larcenous Lady 107, two very similar characters who schemed to advance their husband's career.

Josephine Hutchinson (10/2/1903 - 1998) Amelia Corning in The Mystified Miner 144 Usually she runs her mining company from South America, but she makes one of her rare visits in person to investigate financial misdeeds, and declares as she arrives that "I'll have you know I am the Corning Company!"
Leona Walsh in The Screaming Woman 30, was nurse to the "great man" Dr. Barnes, who provided illegitimate babies to people who couldn't legally adopt them. Columnist Mary K Davis (Marian Seldes) stole at gunpoint Dr. Barnes' record book, and threatened to reveal all the names in it unless Barnes provided her a baby. Leona says to Davis, "you call yourself a human being?"

Harry Jackson (3/21/1923 - 1973) plays 7 roles, in all of which he's polite but dishonest and up to no good.

Arch Johnson (3/14/1922 - 1997) He was really a nice guy but it's hard to figure watching him on TV on Perry Mason, The Defenders and other shows.
As John Ruskin in The Singular Double 99 he says that Perry "has been aiming for me all along". Perry replies, "I must have been. I was after the murderer".
As Marvin Fremont in The Ice Cold Hands 197 he demands that a cop "arrest that man" (Perry Mason) because he has his money. Perry replies "you are not leaving with this money; I am". He is the murder victim in this and 2 other roles.

Bonnie Jones (2/7/1938 - ) Diana Carter, title character in The Impetuous Imp 246, is so grateful to be cleared that she dedicates her first mystery novel to Paul and titles it The Amorous Adventures of Paul Lake, Private Eye.

Joe Kearns (2/12/1907 - 1962) Mr. Langley in The Perjured Parrot 50 was arguing against Perry's client. He was the bothered Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace.

Cecil Kellaway (8/22/1890 - 1973) Darrell Metcalf in The Glittering Goldfish 53, elderly, drunken chemist for a fish food company with a mean boss Jack Huxley (Vurvyn Vye). Testifies: "I graduated from the Sarbonne-- yes, I'm qualified" "He was vermin, so I exterminated him". He sent a fish bowl to Perry to show there was no hard feelings for exposing him as the killer.

DeForest Kelley (1/20/1920 - 1999) Peter Thorpe in The Unwelcome Bride 137 is constantly harrassed by his wife Amanda (Melora Conway). He was Dr. "Bones" McCoy on Star Trek.

Andrea King (2/1/1919 - 2003) Barbara Heywood in The Bedeviled Doctor 61 kills young Mark Douglas (Barry McGuire, but not the scratchy-throated folk singer) who was blackmailing her and her husband with a tape of his psychology sessions with the doctor about their bad marriage, but still can't find it. Baited by a call from Mark's mother, Barbara comes over and points a gun at her and demands, "Where's the tape?" whereupon she is arrested. She played unhappy, strong women in 4 Perry Mason roles.

(John) Michael King (5/13/1926 - 2008) Don Morley in The Counterfeit Crank 150 was a singer who played Freddy in My Fair Lady on Broadway.

Werner Klemperer (3/21/1919 - 2000) Hurt, in A Place Called Midnight 219 in encountering Perry sarcastically reassures him that "I'm only the police". Also Col. Klink on Hogan's Heroes.

Berry Kroeger (10/16/1912 - 1991)
Ernest Wray in The Lame Canary 69 whose partner in his insurance business was accused of fraud and murdered, claims that "Our good name is our biggest asset".
"Slick" but ruthless Eugene Jarech in The Screaming Woman 30 is attorney for Mary K Davis, whose scandalous, secret, stolen book of names of powerful people is stolen in turn by Perry, Della Street and Paul Drake, and Jarech comes to Perry's office smiling sneeringly and says "I want that book" (for his own nefarious purposes, as explained further and partially heard here). Jarech goes on to explain how using the book "we can get out of this slimy rat race of criminal law." "It isn't the rat race unless you run with rats!" Perry replies scornfully. When Jarech says he's going to tell DA Burger about the book, Perry says "Give the District Attorney my regards!"
Edgar Whitehead in The Blind Man's Bluff 114 helps himself to now-blind, fellow-jewelry store employee Karl Addison (John Conte)'s stolen jewelry, but when Karl confronts him he admits "I had to kill him"..

Otto Kruger (9/6/1885 - 9/6/1974)
J.J.Gideon as The Grumbling Grandfather 122 of David Gideon (Karl Held), Perry Mason's law intern for 9 episodes, among those from 122-139.
August Dalgren in The Counterfeit Crank 150, whom I write about in this 9/5/2021 essay (and posted on facebook and my website the next day 9/6), wealthy real estate tycoon throws money out of his office window when his two younger partners Don Morley ((John) Michael King) and Jay Fenton (John Larkin)) refuse to accept it as a Christmas gift (it's not Christmas) because they think the "Crank" is incompetent and suspect fraud is going on. But Perry tells August that "you're no more incompetent than I'm the Kaliph of Baghdad". Originally arrested for throwing the cash out the window and causing a disturbance on the street below, August pleaded guilty saying "I thought everybody knew that", but said he thought it was his right "to give away my own money if I feel like it."

Nancy Kulp (8/28/1921 - 1991) Sarah Winslow in The Prodigal Parent 36 played notable roles in TZ and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Handa Landy (10/5/1919 - 2008) Helga Dolwig in The Impetuous Imp 246 knows that beachfront landowner Addison Powell (Richard Webb) murdered her close companion Elvira Simmons at sea. So when Addison sent for her regarding Elvira's estate, but took a shot at her, she killed him. Helga's dog, whom Addison had kept there, "testified" at the trial by showing how he protected Helga from Addison's shot. On the witness stand she said in her German accent, "he was a murderer, and murderers should NOT GO FREE!" But I imagine she didn't go free either.

Sue Ann Langdon (3/8/1936 - ) Rowena in The Crying Comedian 128. By the same token, he can't supply an alibi for you, says Perry. "I didn't know I needed one" she says.

James Lanphier (8/31/1920 - 1969) Marius Stone in The Fatal Fortune 243. Phony astrologer says "Everybody believes a little. Everybody".

Henry Lascoe (5/30/1912 - 1964) George Anclitus in The Singing Skirt 87, card room owner. "I just want everybody to be happy!" Perry repeats his phrase in the final scene.

Louise Latham (9/23/1922 - 2018) Matilda Shore in The Careless Kitten 235 Dramatic and passionate actress plays revengful, sarcastic, sad lady who creates an unhappy household because her husband betrayed her and apparently disappeared, but all along she had buried him in the yard "right where he belongs". Latham also played the betrayed, disatisfied, revengeful wife who murdered The Cheating Chancellor 245 (Barry Atwater).

Wesley Lau (6/18/1921 - 1984) Lt. Anderson from episode 127 up to the final season, understudy to Lt. Tragg until he passed away. He was as incompetent as Tragg compared to Perry, but in The Left-Handed Liar 134 gets wise and asks Perry when he shows up to "tell us who the murderer is". In The Careless Kitten 235 he keeps getting annoyed because Perry is ahead of him and wants him to stop interfering, but Perry says he can't stop because "this case is just too interesting", and finally tells him to come to Matilda Shore's house "if you want to know who the murderer is".

S. John Launer, studious-sounding, glasses-wearing, most-prolific Judge on the series, played him 32 times; finally identified only in The Vanishing Victim 258 as Judge Telford.

Cloris Leachman (4/30/1926 - 2021) Gloria Shine in The Crafty Kidnapper 270. She was Phyllis, Mary's vain but sad neighbor on Mary Tyler Moore, and mother of Anthony Fremont (Billy Mumy), the monsterous kid tyrant with supernatural powers on TZ "It's a Good Life".

David Lewis (10/19/1916 - 2000) Playing eloquent and imposing but moody and frequently angry characters, this soap opera star appeared in 7 Perry Mason episodes in all.
John Gifford in The Lost Last Act 60, producer of Royce (Jerome Cowan)'s lousy play, proclaims that "It's My show and I run it My Way!"
Albert McCann in The Skeleton's Closet 179 publisher assures Perry who is suing him for a libelous book that "I agreed to settle, and settle I will."
Lewis also had a stint as an art specialist as assistant DA in The Crying Cherub 89.

Jonathan Lippe aka Goldsmith (9/26/1938 - ) Marvin Palmer in The Blonde Bonanza 224. As "the most interesting man in the world" in very-amusing ads narrated by PBS Frontline's Will Lyman, he said "I don't often drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis", and his picture became a meme. But he looked quite different as that "most interesting" older man with a Mexican accent than he did when younger in Perry Mason and on Dallas. And he was quite an interesting man.
I wrote an essay/poem about him and his Perry Mason connections and his other exploits here

June Lockhart (6/25/1925 - ) patient wife Mona Stanton Harvey of The Scandalous Sculptor 214 (Sean McClory), was Mom in Lassie and in Lost in Space, and strongly resembles another Perry Mason actress Constance Towers who played in 5 episodes.

Greg Lyons (2/9/1921 - 1974) Ralph Balfour in The Wrathful Wraith 250. Maybe a bit ironic considering the episode title, but his way of confessing is to scream "Let me give you the FACTS!"

David Macklin (3/24/1941 - 2017) young Ron Peters in The Silent Six 252. After saying (to Linda Blakely/Linda Foster, and then on the stand) that he was too scared to stop the horrible beating going on in his apartment house, later on the stand he was trapped by his testimony about where he was, and admitted that he killed Joe Oliver by mistake. "I'm guilty. ...But what about the rest of you? You're all guiltier than I am, because you did nothing! Either because you were too scared, or too busy, or you didn't care. Well I cared! That's more than any of the rest of you can say. I cared! I cared!"

Gavin MacLeod (2/28/1931 - 2021) Lawrence Comminger in The Grumbling Grandfather 122 and two other roles, was noted as the Love Boat Captain and as Murray on Mary Tyler Moore

Victor Maddern (3/16/1928 - 1993) British star who played Gilbert Tyrell in The Floating Stones 189 was observed as "a notorious smuggler" by Agatha Culpepper (Gertrude Flynn), but as a very skillful liar he knew when to just say on the witness stand, "I won't answer".

Peggy Maley (6/8/1923 - 2007) played glamorous, clever, jealous killer Lola Florey in The Silent Partner 6, whose motive was "the oldest one in the book", but is best known for asking Marlon Brando, "Hey Johnny, what are YOU rebelling against?" to which he replied with his typical swagger, "What d'ya got?", in The Wild One (1953).

Lori March (3/6/1923 - 2013) Madame Zillia in the Garrulous Go-Between 203 was a psychic counselor of whom Paul Drake said many famous people would do nothing "without consulting that dame." When Perry experimented with one of her rituals, saying it reminded him of high school chemistry, Zillia said people have "learned a great deal from the ancients, but doubted he had come to her to discuss "my worship." She modestly declared "I'm just the sensitive", but was most sensitive to the actions of the man she murdered, her former partner Victor Bundy (Jacques Aubuchon) who had killed her extramarital lover and "made it look like suicide" after scheming to destroy his business. She played troubled ladies 5 times, and was also the murderer in The Capricious Corpse 155.

Joe Maross (2/7/1923 - 2009) David Lambert made the strongest impression on me in The Crying Cherub 89, in which as the estranged husband of the crazy-lady artist who created this notable painting, he left what would be the scene of her murder to go to the local bistro "and had a beer". He was also a control-freak over "little people" as an astronaut in TZ, with Claude Akins.

Susan Marshall (5/25/1933 - 2014) Judy Bryant in The Roving River 138 was a rather selfish young client preoccupied with protecting her claimed property line, but nevertheless must have made quite an impression on Perry's young legal intern David Gideon (Karl Held) who helped counsel her, because he went and married her in real life.

Strother Martin (3/26/1919 - 1980) Pete Gibson in The Brazen Bequest 135 was notable in the way he said "Maizie Freitag" referring to that sick, troubled lady in that uniquely quaint, throaty, plaintiff voice of his, as well as in The Fickle Filly 164 as horse-trainer Joe Mead when he tried to assure the Court that "she didn' mean it" when he recalled an incriminating remark by Perry's client.
As Gerald Sommers in The Drowsy Mosquito 184 he's a more clerical character, but his boss Mr. Braddison (Robert Knapp) had something on him, so in a Board meeting he told him "You know I always vote the way you say, Aye". That didn't stop him from later killing him and lying about his car, but Perry caught him.
He spoke one of the greatest, most famous and most-applicable movie lines to real life in Cool Hand Luke (1967) when as The Captain and Luke (Paul Newman)'s jailer he replied to Luke's sarcastic remark by whacking him and saying, "What we've got here is, uh, uh...failure, to communic-ate", a line which Luke repeated just before the jailers killed him. "Some men you just can't reach", The Captain went on to say.

Osa Massen (1/13/1914 - 2006) Lisa Pedersen in The Tarnished Trademark 141, in her Danish accent on the witness stand admonished her boss Axel Norstaad (Karl Swenson) for not recognizing that she was the brains of his furniture store outfit, "Me, Lisa Pedersen!" She played another Lisa in The Desperate Daughter 27.

Murray Matheson (7/1/1912 - 1985) seems much older as the greedy businessmen he plays in The Accosted Accountant 195 and The Wooden Nickels 223 than the clown character in the barrel who says "incredibly inventive" in TZ.

Frank Maxwell (11/17/1916 - 2004) in The Wayward Wife 82 is the most passionate denier of guilt in the series as he shouts "I didn't, I didn't, I didn't!"

Francis McDonald (8/22/1891 - 1968) is the crusty, sneaky, revengeful old Salty Sims who forges a PI report in The Petulant Partner 64, and just as ornery as Peg-Leg Jasper in The Nautical Knot 217 who explains his innocence "on account a' I can't neither read nor write!"

Allan Melvin (2/8/1923 - 2008) as Thomas in The Careless Kitten 235 knew where the cat was, and where the body was buried by Mathida Shore (Louise Latham) too, but maybe wasn't always more clever than Archie, as his friend and neighbor Barney Heffner in All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place.

Bert Metcalfe (3/19/1935 - ) seems like a nice, smart guy at first, but as John Lathrop in The Careless Kidnapper 208 he killed a thief and blackmailer, and on TZ was one of the agitators against the Monsters Due on Elm Street.

Lee Miller (3/21/1918 - 2002) had 57 credited roles and some uncredited ones, mostly as Sargeant Brice, but usually only speaking a few lines at most.

James Millhollin (8/23/1915 - 1993) stopped the title Shoplifter, raising Perry's ire in 166, and as Ben Otis killed Willard Nesbitt (Les Tremayne) "again" in The Angry Dead Man 113, which he was able to do because as "a good company man" he "knows everything that goes on; everything".

George Mitchell (2/21/1905 - 1972) Amos Catledge, owner of The Bashful Burro 88 that "testified" and revealed his disguise in Court, but he still refused to tattle on scheming, dishonest wife Hazel Bascombe (Elizabeth Fraser) on the stand because she had paid him, saying "I'm obligated not to tell. You'll have to ask her".

Gerald Mohr (6/11/1914 - 1968) as Medici in The Unwelcome Bride 137 denied his guilt on the stand almost as passionately as Frank Maxwell, saying "I will not take a murder rap!" But Perry and Della already knew he was innocent, as his behavior was the last to be revealed on the famous chart celebrated in MeTV promos. Hamilton Burger, seeing this chart, asks Judge (Willis Bouchey) "I don't know what kind of a stunt this is" and Bouchey asks Perry "would you be good enough to explain just what it is your secretary is working on over there?" and Perry answers that the main issue in this case is the timing of events, and that the chart was just for illustration and was in no way intended to be evidence. But Mohr DID take the rap in another episode (A Place Called Midnight 219), and was killed by Ned Chase (Douglas Dick) for his malignant scheming in still another one (The Elusive Element 177).

Norma Moore (1/1/1935 - ) Dana Lewis in The Bedeviled Doctor 61 protected her boyfriend Peter Heywood (Phillip Terry), who was betraying his wife, killer Barbara Heywood (Andrea King), from Perry's nosy inquiries by curtly saying "I know how you operate!"

Jeff Morrow (1/3/1907 - 1993) as desparate, proud theater company producer and actor Franz Lachman as The Ancient Romeo 151 in his muted voice reluctantly said "call her back", since Claire Adams (Patricia Huston) had paid money to get a part in his show, and the company was broke. Phil Scharf (Harry Von Zell) reminded Franz that she might not be much, "but she is a professional actress", and it's either we "take this money or we've had it"! But this disappointed the former Romeo Steve Brock (Rex Reason) who wanted his girlfriend to play Juliet instead, and Franz becomes haughty and reminds Steve to play his part "as I have directed it!" Morrow was also one of the Brett family heirs in The Festive Felon 190 and the greedy playwrite in The Dodging Domino 159.

Billy Mumy (2/1/1954 - ) Miles in The Shifty Shoe-box 183 explained to his incompetent, reecently-fired "uncle" John "Flick" Flickinger (Benny Baker) that he had just seen a report on TV about the trucking company office where Flick and his Aunt Sylvia had worked, from which "thousands and thousands of dollars" had just been stolen. Flick told him to shut up and go to bed. Turns out Flick himself had stolen something much smaller from there that night, "but it's just not grand theft, see". But Billy found the gun Flick had taken from the scene, and he put it in a shoe-box, which the murderer Frank Honer (Denver Pyle) later found by spying on Miles, used it to kill his business partner from whom he embezzled, and then returned it to the box. Perry knew that Billy knew about the gun, and said honest friends "don't keep secrets from one another." Miles defensively complained "I don't know anything," fearing Flick, but soon took a bus to the courthouse where his "Aunt" Sylvia (Constance Ford) was on trial for murder, and shouting "Mr. Mason" broke through security and dropped the gun and the shoe-box on the floor next to the witness stand. Imposing Judge (actor Willis Bouchey) told him "I want to thank you young man". Known for playing the monster kid Anthony Fremont on TZ in "It's a Good Life" and the robot's best friend Will Robinson on Lost in Space, I think this was one of the young actor's best performances.

Mark Murray as Terry Wardman in The Lurid Letter 163 is a spunky young guy who encourages her mother Jane (Mona Freeman) to "stay, and fight"; and reminding her about her brave dead husband, "aren't we Wardmans too?"

George Neise (2/16/1917) Albert Tydings in The Baited Hook 14, a complacent, ruthless, flirty, and well/soft-spoken businessman who in the midst of committing financial crimes blithly says to his harried secretary that "I'll be ready for some dictation soon". Neise was also political fixer and publisher of a girly calendar Wilfred Borden in The Calendar Girl 63, publisher of a girly magazine and boss of a playboy club Stacey Garnett in The Golden Girls 255, and double-dealing real estate broker Morley Theilman in The Shapely Shadow 139. He got murdered for all four of these activities, but managed to survive as promiscuous, scheming rocket executive George Huxley in The Misguided Missile 120.

Jeanette Nolan (12/30/1911 - 1998) as grouchy Mrs. Kirby in The Fugitive Nurse 22, admitted to poisoning her drunken husband Dave (Dabbs Greer) for some insurance money, saying "He wasn't worth anything while he was alive; I figured he might be worth something to me dead". Perry revealed what led him to suspect her by asking Paul Drake (William Hopper), what was her most outstanding characteristic. "She's the tightest woman with money I've ever seen!" Paul replied.
Very versatile, Nolan played the younger-seeming, vivacious and uninhibited Nellie who married a French two-timing playboy and then murdered him in The Betrayed Bride 216, wistfully remembering the sailboat she was promised, and she also played 4 other gentler and more-sympathetic old ladies, including the secretary to August Dalgren (Otto Kruger), The Counterfeit Crank 150.

Philip Ober (3/23/1902 - 1982) Peter Dawson in The Treacherous Toupee 96. Ethical, responsible and considerate, Peter answered Perry about why he stayed with the company with his long-missing but suddenly-returned partner Hartley Bassett (Thomas B Henry), when he could have started a new one and done better, said "Mrs. Bassett, I suppose" (Sybil, played by Peggy Converse), because her husband had deserted her and because she had "a son that's not much comfort to her either" (Robert Redford). Sybil cried over Bassett's cruelty and sobbed "why did you come back?"
Ober (who always sounded like he was going to emphasize the "berrr" in his own name), also played State Department official Ralph Davis in The Screaming Woman 30, husband of the ruthless columnist Mary K Davis (Marian Seldes), and Ober went on to actually become a diplomat in real life. To teacher Bob Schroeder (Don aka John Gardner/Garner), fiance of killer and "screaming woman" Connie Cooper (Ruta Lee), Ralph said "I'm sorry" after Connie's screaming confession and explained that "Mary K had a way of ruining the lives of everyone". And Perry said to Bob, "I'm sorry" twice too.

Frank Overton (3/12/1918 - 1967) as Father Paul in The Renegade Refugee 136 explained the life of St. Francis to Perry at the Order's retreat, saying about the "refugee" Harlan Merrill (Dick Foran) that "a man with a conscience is a man who can be helped." This sympathetic, reverent personality also played the Sheriff in To Kill a Mockingbird, declaring at the end that he will insist "Bob Ewell fell on his knife" after Boo Radley had rescued Atticus Finch's children from the racist, rapist Ewell by stabbing him. Master defense attorney Atticus (Gregory Peck) was a lot like Perry. My favorite TV show and my favorite movie have things in common, including several actors.

Woodrow Parfrey (10/5/1922 - 1984) George Moffgat in The Drowsy Mosquito 184 remarked "Mr. Mason, I must say your reputation as a difficult man to deal with has been greatly exaggerated". Perry, smiling, replies "When the occasion demands, I can be difficult. Quite difficult."

Wynn Pearce (11/7/1928 - 1990) Pete Manders as lead cartoonist in The Absent Artist 146 stands out for calling in jest his boss Gabe Phillips aka Otto Gervaert (Mark Roberts) "you wicked old slave master". But when Gabe steals his girlfriend, he punches Gabe in front of everybody at his going away party, and Gabe says Pete was entitled to one punch, and Perry agrees that "like the man said, he was entitled to one." Pete soon was charged with Gabe/Otto's murder and Perry defends him.

Zazu Pitts (1/3/1894 - 1963) Daphne Whilom, owner of Otto Gevaert's apartment in the beachfront artist colony in The Absent Artist 146, said in her quaint, wistful way "It's Otto, he's come back" and later "I really don't know why I said it" about something she heard. A silent film star, Pitts was often imitated in cartoons.

Mala Powers (12/20/1931 - 2007) Helen Bradshaw in The Frightened Fisherman 201 sarcastically told her husband Hudson Bradshaw (Bartlett Robinson) upon his returning from a drive that "It seems that Natalie (James) is again amongst the missing". Hudson says "let's hope this time it's permanent". "Well Hudson, what a thing to say" (more sarcasm, followed by a sneaky look). It turns out Helen had just run down Natalie using Natalie's husband's car.

Denver Pyle (5/11/1920 - 1997), imposing sometimes to the point of irony, was also seen on the Andy Griffith Show, on which one of its famous characters had his same last name.
Emery Fillmore in The Renegade Refugee 136 said about the refugee that "I thought he WAS the Naaht-zee!" It turns out that the refugee hiding his past, Harlan Merrill (Dick Foran) was not a Nazi but an American soldier who falsely thought himself a deserter. Upon confessing the murder of the Nazi hunter Emery said "I offered to make a deal with him" but ends up breaking down and crying "I'm SO SORRY!"
Frank Honer in The Shifty Shoe-box 183. It was mentioned that he needed to explain himself to Perry, and he replied "he knows I can't do that", because he was the killer.
Pyle played Tilden Stuart, also the murderer of schemer Kerry Warden (Claire Griswold), in The Jealous Journalist 124, and also Stuart Tillman as the father in TZ's ET thriller "Black Leather Jackets"

Sue Randall (8/8/1935 - 1984) clients Betty Wilkins in The Ill-Fated Faker 98 and Amy Scott in The Garrulous Go-between 203. Randall was also Beaver's teacher, and Millie on TZ as Agnes the Computer's rival for the affections of Wally Cox. Her characters are wholesome and innocent, as Beaver Cleaver's teacher would be.

Paula Raymond (11/23/1924 - 2003) Helen Reynolds in The Borrowed Brunette 52. Describes Perry as "like a bull, with your head down and your horns ripping," saying "I think the reason I dislike you so intensely is that, there's something about you, though in a subtler way, that reminds me of Grant" (her insanely jealous husband, killer Grant Reynolds (John Stephenson). "There's the same initial impact of a strong personality, the same steady, insistent pressure to overcome obstacles that, well I find attractive. It's a good deal softer in you, and wiser and more humanitarian, but it's there". "You're a remarkable woman", answers Perry. "How much did (victim Mr. Slater, Joe DeSantis) blackmail you for, Mrs.Reynolds?" "Blackmail? There's never any end to blackmail once it starts" says Helen. "Yes, there's an end, but only one," replies Perry. "Murder." Partial recording of this quote is heard here at Perry Pod. She always plays classy, stylish, graceful, proud (perhaps arrogant-appearing) ladies.

Robert Redford (8/18/1936 - ) Dick Hart in The Treacherous Toupee 96 laughs when he and Perry discover his stepfather Hartley Bassett dead and says "somebody beat me to it!"

Burt Reynolds (2/11/1936 - 2018) Chuck Blair in The Counterfeit Crank 150 was always willing to help his friend August Dalgren (Otto Kruger) because he had done so much for him, as he mentioned to Perry when he came to Perry's office. Chuck's mother Martha Blair (Jeanette Nolan) was Dalgren's secretary.

Mark Roberts (4/9/1921 - 2006) played the "two-headed" Absent Artist 146 Gabe Phillips/Otto Gervaert, who as cartoonist Gabe ironically referred to his potential talent for fine art by saying "Who knows, I might be another Otto Gervaert". Roberts played 7 roles on Perry Mason.

Bartlett Robinson (12-9-1912 - 1986) Hudson Bradshaw in The Frightened Fisherman 201 admits he "a ruthless businessman", but as for killing Natalie James for raising the price for his corporate raiding on her husband's business, he assures us bluntly on the witness stand that "I wouldn't do a thing like that in a thousand years."
The eloquent Bartlett Robinson played Perry Mason on radio, as well as guest starring in 6 original Perry Mason TV cases. He was also in the famous TZ episode "To Serve Man."

Marion Ross (10/25/1928 - ) Helen Harvey in The Romantic Rogue 56 is trying to find out if his uncle is still alive, and convinced that scheming blackmailer Margo Lawrence (Peggy Maley) has her locked away in a back room of her motel, screams "he's got my uncle hidden in there!" and rips the locked doornob off. The landlord says her uncle might be insane is she's another like Helen and threatens to call the cops. Turns out her own Aunt is in the room instead.
Marion Ross later co-starred in "Happy Days"

Basil Ruysdael (7/24/1878 - 1960) Henry W. Dameron in Paul Drake's Dilemma 75 like many successful old guys is not so keen on his own children. "I wonder which one of my sons even knows what a merger is; the bookworm? the bottle worm? Why do you suppose I chose Frank (Thatcher, Bruce Gordon) to marry Judith in the first place? Why? Because neither of you has the native sense to run a lemonade stand!"as heard here on The Perry Pod. Perry puts the exalted Mr. Dameron in his place saying "I've never before met a person so far removed from humanity that he believed every one of his own children capable of commiting a murder".
Ruysdael (given name Millspaugh) was an opera, broadway, radio, and movie star plus a teacher, as explained a bit earlier in the "pod".

Hugh Sanders (3/21/1911 - 1966) Ken Bascombe in The Bashful Burro 88. In five Perry Mason roles Sanders is an overweight, muscular bully, and in this episode Ken flirts with young miner Gerald Norton's "pretty wife" Sally (Sue George). Ken also wants Gerald (Ray Stricklyn)'s land, and threatens them unless they sell it to him, but later apologizes as much as he is capable, saying "that was temper talking". Gerald is convinced Ken is shooting up their camp to scare them away. He goes to see him at the bar. "Are you askin', or accusin'?" "as for accusin'" (punches Gerald out). He laughs with the folks there and tells his "pretty wife", "next time don't send a boy to do a man's job" "I'm man enough to kill you" replies Gerald, if he keeps it up.

Arlene Sax aka Martel (4/14/1936 - 2014) Fiona Cregan in The Absent Artist 146 explains to investigators visiting Otto Gervaert (Mark Roberts)'s beachfront apartment that "I was his girl" in her small, sneaky voice. Knowing he betrayed her by playing around as Gabe Phillips in town, she says "I never wanted to see him again" and threatened to cut his throat. Later, again saying "I was his girl," she identified his body, thus revealing his double identity.
Sax also appeared in the TZ episode about precognition as the nurse in the morgue (room "22") and the stewardess on doomed flight 22, saying the creepy phrase, "Room for one more, honey"

Simon Scott (9/21/1920 - 1991) Stanley Overton in The Positive Negative 269 explained in his confession that "It was easy, oh so easy, to KILL him" about his victim George Emory (Ted de Corsia)

Jack Searl (7/7/1921 - 1991) Ollie Benson in The Prankish Professor 168 explains to the professor (Barry Atwater) that "I would have shot you dead" since the gun he shot him with in his classroom prank had live bullets.

Marian Seldes (8/23/1923 - 2014) Mary K. Davis in The Screaming Woman 30. When Dr. Barnes physically tries to get back the book of scandalous secrets about illegal adoptions she had just stolen from his room, she points a gun at the Doctor and says "you'll pardon me for seeming melodramatic, but I have a great horror of being manhandled". Turns out in real life Marian had a man-handling husband. "I have something you want. A book. And you have something I want. A baby. I suggest we trade" she says to the doctor. When the doctor's murse Leona Walsh (Josephine Hutchinson) visits Mary K's house at the appointed time for Dr. Barnes, and pleads with her "please give me that book", she points out that "it's no use appealing to my better nature. I don't have one" Some of her quotes and the plot here in these links
Marian Seldes was an award winning actress and teacher.

Robert F. Simon (12/2/1908) Anthony Beldon in The Slandered Submarine 92 displays self-satisfied arrogance as a corporate raider saying "It's one of several companies I recently acquired."

Jeremy Slate (2/17/1926 - 2006) plays handsome and angry young clients. As Bob Lansing in The Ominous Outcast 93 he rejects Perry's advice to "let us handle" his problem of "ominously" resembling his father, a murderer in the town of Outcast, because "you don't know how I feel!. Of course he gets himself in trouble and gets charged with murder, and Perry defends him. Slate also played a powerful, deceptive guy on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Bill Smith aka Big Bill, William Smith (3/24/1933 - 2021) Andy Witcoe in The Frightened Fisherman 201, a rugged surfer who plays around with client Randolph James (Lee Farr)'s wife, victim Natalie, and pawns her expensive jewelry acquired from her killer Helen Bradshaw through blackmail to fix his surfboard. Smith was a prolific actor playing many macho roles, thanks to his award-winning weight-lifting and arm wrestling abilities. You can see his big arms under his shirt as he kisses Natalie and goes surfing. But speaking of sixties LA surfers in Perry Mason, I find another rugged surfer Hennig Dolwig (Jeff Cooper) in The Impetuous Imp 246 more attractive. And he wasn't playing around with a main character, just some girls who fauned over him in the bar. But no doubt Smith could beat Cooper in a hard-fought arm-wrestling contest. Less rugged but more charming was another young surfer Barry Davis (Carl Reindel), title character in The Drifting Dropout 209, who also appeared in "Bullit".

Howard Smith (8/12/1893 - 1968) Frank Warden, financial advisor and fellow schemer with Russell Durham (Ford Rainey) in The Unsuitable Uncle 160. On television, Smith played the overbearing boss Oliver Misrell in The Twilight Zone first-season episode "A Stop at Willoughby" who shouted "push push push!" at his harried and escapist employee. On broadway and film he played in Death of a Salesman.

Katherine Squire (3/19/1903 - 1995) Clara Thorpe in The Credulous Quarry 97, the demanding aunt of the victim, was looking for the victim's lost money and comes to Perry believing "she's going to lead me to it!" Perry, with his own purposes in mind, follows her out the door saying "I'm gonna help her!" With her scheming, nagging voice, she made a good murderer in two other cases.

Joan Staley (5-20-1940 - 2019) Gina Gilbert in The Lonely Eloper 153. Fellow conspirator Danny Pierce (Jack Ging) pretends to offer to elope with Merle, heir to her overbearing Aunt Olivia (Jorja Curtwright), in order to steal Olivia's jewels. But Gina herself also has a more ambitious plan in mind: to steal Olivia's husband Howard Langley (Paul Tripp) and get her entire fortune. Howard refuses to reveal her name, saying she is an innocent person, but finally admits she left the patio. Crying out against him "you horrible, horrible man", she is caught as Olivia's murderer, for which young Merle had been charged.

John Stephenson (8/9/1923 - 2015) Grant Reynolds in The Borrowed Brunette 52 is the archetypal controlling jealous husband. "I know my wife!" Perry: "you knew something was going on every time she even nodded to another man" Grant: "you'll never convince me there wasn't!" "I wouldn't try, Mr. Reynolds" replies Perry. Hear this final Court exchange here
Ed Davenport in The Runaway Corpse 10 was jealous of "my wife" in this episode too, but ended up the victim instead of the killer.
Stephenson was a frequent announcer and voice-over artist, which I remember him most on Dragnet along with George Fenneman, Groucho Marx's announcer on You Bet Your Life.

Paul Stewart (3/13/1908 - 1986) was an older, serious, solid guy in two cases, in both of which he was the money behind Richard Carlson's characters.

Claude Stroud (3/27/1907 - 1985) stood out for me as the friendly folksy barber Jeff Douglas who referred to "outcast" Bob Lansing as "young feller" in The Ominous Outcast 93 and who reported that "half the town was out that night!" (during which Fred Bell (Henry Norell) was murdered).
Rural, sarcastic old mortuary operator Bolton in The Bigamous Spouse 188 said sweetly that the dead person Perry was inquiring about was "sleeping peacefully in there". On the record player was a stuffy old recording of J.S. Bach's organ work (which I myself have played for church) BWV 639 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ [I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ], but Della was kind of creeped out when left alone in the room with it and turned down the volume.

Liam Sullivan (5/18/1923 - 1998) stood out as Dickie Durham in The Unsuitable Uncle 160, shiftless and always cheerfully eager for a fight, went to Perry to make out a will, which seemed like a joke-- but wasn't because he was richer than almost anyone knew except his brother who had cheated him. Also played a man who talked and bragged too much in TZ.

George Takai (4/20-1937 - ) Toma Sakai in The Blushing Pearls 73 was the man who really loved Perry's young Chinese-American client Itu. He was Mr.Sulu on Star Trek.

Stephen Talbot (2/28/1949 - ) Jimmie Kendall in The Wandering Widow 101, played a child whose attitude was just like Gilbert who he portrayed on Leave it to Beaver, smart and sassy. His most notable quote comes at the end of the episode when he wonders why Paul Drake didn't know about the two-time killer, Jimmie's real father Riley Morgan (Dean Harens)'s, shoe changing trick. "Aren't you a detective", he asks. "Well aren't ya?" His mother was afraid Jimmie would find out who his real father was, but Perry assured her that "we may be protecting our children too much these days". Jimmie took it in stride without a complaint.
Not wanting to be known as "Gilbert" these days, Talbot is an award-winning documentary producer for Frontline and other outlets. My favorite that he co-directed was The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation which you can watch free here

Gloria Talbott (2/7/1931 - 2000) Minna Rohan in The Unwelcome Well 266 signed the agreement to have Jerome Klee pump oil on her reluctant husband Jason's land. Intitially he considered that her desires for more money was making trouble but Minna replied "not as much trouble as I'm gonna make". Gloria stood out as a delicate but passionate lady in four episodes.

William Talman (2/4/1915 - 1968) Hamilton Burger, who usually lost cases to Perry, with quotes mentioned here among some other actors listed. He also did a TV promo against smoking, the habit that killed him, telling people not to be a "loser" like him. Sometimes the producers wanted to replace or substitute for him as DA on some cases, and they didn't put his name in the credits when he wasn't on the case, but none ever could quite duplicate or measure up to Talman's dramatic, passionate losing ways from the first right up to the last episode. It is said that he first auditioned for the role of Perry Mason, as did William Hopper (Paul Drake) who also died young from smoking too much.

Alix Talton (6/7/1920 - 1992) Eva Elliott in The Long Legged Models 33 was blackmailed by killer and victim George Castle (Joe De Santis) who owned her modelling business and knew she was wanted for a financial crime. She finally used one of her new boss Michael Garvin Sr. (Lyle Talbot)'s three guns to kill him. It took some doing to straighten out which gun did what. In confessing, Eva grieved wistfully, "I thought my luck would hold up just this once, but it never has".

Vaughn Taylor (2/22/1910 - 1983) Ralph Duncan in The Fickle Fortune 110 was a local government official sent to investigate a deceased lady's house, and found a treasure in old greenbacks stashed away. But his nephew Charlie Nichols (Robert Caspar) stole it out of his car. So Ralph, not sure what happened, went to Mr. Mason and said "please help me."
Vaughn played 8 characters in Perry Mason having various moral attitudes in which he often seemed to be punching above his weight.

Phillip Terry (3/7/1909 - 1993) Peter Heywood went to the Bedeviled Doctor 61 and his sessions were taped and stolen for blackmail by his betrayed wife. Perry went to see Peter and his secret girlfriend, secretary Dana Lewis (Norma Moore) to inquire. Dana refused to cooperate saying to Perry "I know how you operate!" "You have a very loyal secretary" Perry suspiciously said to Peter." "Don't I know it" he proudly replied. "Yes I think you do" said Perry.

Kelly Thordson (1/19/1917 - 1978) rural, tough Sherriff Ward Vincent in The Roving River 138 was suspicious of Perry's big-city tactics and said he would not like them here, "no, I wouldn't like that at all". He met Perry again in The Decadent Dean 186.

Dan Tobin, who appeared once in The Scandalous Sculptor 214, was regularly seen in the last season as Terrance Clay, owner of Clay's grill downstairs from Perry's office, which actually had been mentioned in passing now and then since the first season. When Perry's young singing star client said he didn't sing Irish ballads, Clay said he had "a tin ear."

Constance Towers (5/20/1933 - ) in 5 roles was a classy lady that reminded me of June Lockhart who had appeared in The Scandalous Sculpter 214. Constance was singer Jonny Baker in The Missing Melody 126 who sang the same lousy song "I Need a Man" sung by Donna Kress (Vanessa Brown) in Paul Drake's Dilemma 75, and called the ersatz catterwall here on The Perry Pod

Les Tremayne (4/16/1913- 2003), former radio star, was considered to have the third most distinctive tones on the airwaves, only behind Bing Crosby and Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to imdb. He was also a Perry Mason fixture through 8 episodes, including The Unwelcome Well 266 where as Harry Lannon confessed that he "had to" kill Jerome Klee because "everyone who knew him detested him" (among other reasons).

Tom Tully (8/21/1908 - 1982) Carey York in The Arrogant Arsonist 202 former fire chief who was accused of setting fire to his own warehouse. Turns out the real arsonist was Ross Walker, whose actor was also named York. When young I used to watch Perry Mason and San Francisco Beat (aka Lineup) starring Tom Tully, which came on TV back to back on the same channel.

Lester Vail (6/29/1899 - 1959) Tony Raeburn in The Watery Witness 71 told Perry he was surprised that he was not initially considered the chief suspect in the murder of arrogant former movie star Lorna Thomas (Far Wray), and Perry was quite polite to him. But Raeburn finally admitted killing Lorna because she dropped his last hope for success as a movie producer. Perry put it to him, saying you're really the only one who stood to gain a single penny by her death. Raeburn testifies: "A single penny. You insist on being diplomatic, Mr. Mason. I faced starvation. I never knew anyone so cruel, so selfish, so completely uncaring for anyone else in the world. Yes, I killed her."
Did Raeburn's sorrow and anger over Lorna and his penniless situation rub off on Lester Vail? He died a month and a half after this episode was aired.

Geraldine Wall (6/24/1912 - 1970) Abigail Leeds in The Baited Hook 14, explains that "legal stupidity makes it necessary to sign certain papers demanding an investigation of that crook Tydings" (the ruthless businessman Albert Tydings played by George Neise), whom she suspected of stealing from young Carol Stanley (Judith Braun). "Whoever killed him did a public service" Abigail declared, and invited Lt. Tragg to make her a suspect. Posing as a caretaker for Carol, but really her mother who cared for her, Perry suspected this and asked if she wanted the child. No, she said. " she was living with a family named Stanley. She was happy. Well, you don't treat a child like a football " She finally admitted killing Tydings when Perry convinced her that her (formerly secret) daughter/Perry's client Carol Stanley would be convicted. Geraldine Wall, only 44 when she played Abigail Leeds, nevertheless had "a voice like a foghorn, and when I'm mad I don't whisper!". Abigail Leeds was such a favorite that Wall was back for 5 more stints as tough old ladies on Perry Mason.

Rebecca Welles (2/5/1928 - 2017) Edith Bristol in The Waylaid Wolf 111 was caught in the most startling of the Perry Mason moments, and the one I most remember from seeing the original TV show in 1961, when Perry stopped abruptly in the middle of questioning a witness, turned around and said, "Don't leave, Miss Bristol". Suddenly we saw what Perry was concerned about. She was at the rear of the Court trying to leave, then turned around at the door and confessed to the murder of "wolf" Loring Lamont (Tony Travis). As his "snobby" or "snitty" secretary, she had been dismissed for the night from typing reports despite her saying "I said I'd be most happy to stay, and do them". But she found out that he just wanted to be his wolf self that night and take pretty Arlene Ferris (Andra Martin) to his bungalow instead. But she caught up with him later there that night, and they got mad, and she accidently killed him in self-defense.

Jack Weston (8/21/1924) Fred Calvert in The Daring Decoy 28 admitted killing his wife just "the way you said it Mr. Mason, almost exactly the way you said it." His kind of dopey demeanor was also revealed on TZ when he shot a guy for fear that he was one of the Monsters Due on Elm Street. In All in the Family he is the "crying A-rab" the laundromat owner, according to Archie.

Christine White (5/4/1926 - 2013) Rhoda Reynolds, title character in The Curious Bride 44. The Perry Pod describes some of the following scenes. Blackmailed by her former husband Arthur Kane (Michael Emmet), she poses as a "friend" who needs Perry's help. In a memorable scene, when she "curiously" asked Perry a question, Perry called her bluff and said her friend would have to come in person, whereupon Rhoda banged the office door open and slinked out. Perry regretted this and said "I should have drawn her out, won her confidence; I should have helped her". So without being her client yet, he goes to Kane's apartment and reprimands him, saying "I've talked, you listened, now think". We also hear Rhoda's new husband Carl (Casey Adams/Max Showalter) whom she married out of sympathy, and her tightwad Dad Phillip (John Hoyt) as well as Peggy Maley. Christine White had also appeared as Nadine, title character in The Demure Defendant 16, but she is just as "demure" (shy) this time as the curious bride.
Christine White is also Alice Carson in The Blushing Pearls 73, the preferred marital prospect for Grove Nichols (Steven Terrell) instead of Itu Kamuri. When Alice learns Perry has nothing to ask her, she memorably says "Then ME, for the pool!" and dives in.
She was also the caring wife of William Shatner in TZ "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" who saw a monster out on the airplane wing and killed it.

Jesse White (1/3/1919 - 1997), the famous lonely maytag repairman, played several memorable roles on Perry Mason.
Luke Hickey in The Married Moonlighter 46. About to go broke, he couldn't resist killing a drunken customer (Frank Curran, played by Stacey Harris) for some money. He wistfully testifies about how proud he was when people said "There goes Luke Hickey. He owns a restaurant".
Max Armstead in The Fatal Fortune 243 gets Patricia (Julie Adams) to marry him, although she is "not in love with" him, saying "So your heart doesn't skip a beat for me. Marry me Pat", which she does just as the Fortune Teller had "predicted".

Peter Whitney (5/24/1916 - 1972) Tempermental crook "Big Steve" Jahnchek says in the Stand-in Sister 161 "I'm gonna see you FRY" to his brother John Gregory who is charged with murder.

Bill Williams aka William Katt (5/15/1915 - 1992), rugged western actor, married Barbara Hale, and their son played superhero Paul Drake Jr. in the first 10 Perry Mason movies. He also played Kit Carson.

Marie Windsor (12/11/1919 - 2000) was known as the Queen of B movies. Her four Perry Mason characters were very classy, but sometimes wicked. In The Wednesday Woman 194 she shot insurance agent Jack Mallory (Michael Pate) who "ordered me" to come clean about her jewelry theft, as she opened the elevator door on the 9th floor while he was coming down from her 12th floor office. She re-enacted her feat for Perry to show her client and his "Wednesday Woman" wife (Phyllis Hill) how she did it. Considering how selfish her character was, I was impressed at her willingness to do this. I guess she was proud of her clever killing method. It was Perry herself who pressed the elevator to come down and then discovered Mallory's body sitting there.

Fay Wray (9/15/1907 - 2004) known as the girlfriend of the "big guy" King Kong, she played three Perry Mason characters but made the most impression as evil washed-up actress Lorna Thomas, whose interactions on The Watery Witness 71 with actors Douglas Dick and Lester Vail were described and linked-to earlier.

H. M. Wynant (2/12/1927 - ) perhaps the most prolific guest star on Perry Mason, including three times as aggressive Deputy D.A. Sampson on programs 105, 106 and 108 while Talman was suspended for partying too much, I always thought he was so smooth that he could have been in the Rat Pack. But I can't remember any particular stand-out lines that he spoke. Of course he did encounter The Devil himself on TZ "The Howling Man", played by Perry Mason British "effete" guest star Robin Hughes.

Jeff York (3/23/1912 - 1995) bad-tempered Pete Mallory in The Difficult Detour 116 complained "that just about wipes me out" after his project building the "detour" was stopped by a lawsuit filed by Mr. Ames (Neil Hamilton), who lets him go ahead anyway after Perry clears him of a murder charge.

The improbable and repeating aspects of Perry Mason.

These are the reasons why we know it's a fantasy, and they are deliberate. If we don't keep these aspects in mind, we might be confused and befuddled about how this can happen. In real life these situations and conditions are much more rare. Los Angeles and the legal profession would be a lot different if they were true. These story structures are like a frame into which good stories are told, because they are not reinvented for each episode. They thus allow the writers to focus on the plots and the characters. Emphasis on plots means there's less need for fillers, like chase scenes, side stories and super-hero violence. The story itself draws us in and engrosses us from start to finish, without unnecessary elements to the story. And, the legal, business and forensic aspects of the program are usually quite realistic, if sometimes outdated.

1. Perry Mason always wins. Everybody knows that and remarks about that. But think for a moment. In what other crime or law program is this not true? The hero wins. It is also suggested that we mostly see Perry's wins. Could Tragg, Anderson, Drumm, Burger and the rest have really kept their jobs so long if they lost all the time? As is pointed out on the Perry Pod, Tragg and Burger are always so suspicious about Perry and his clients because in other cases he probably has gotten guilty people off using various hijinks, but we don't see this outcome in the shows. Maybe his young client Mr. Gideon (Karl Held) is not quite correct in The Grumbling Grandfather 122 when he says "I'd hate to spoil your record".

2. Perry's client is almost always chosen by the police detective to charge with murder because they were already Perry's client. They never seem to learn that Perry is usually right. The rivalry between Perry and the frustrated DA and Lieutenant is part of the story.

3. Also, Perry Mason finds it so easy to come across murder victims in the course of his work, and he finds so many more of them than would happen in real life! Lt. Tragg refers to this when he says to Perry and Paul that nobody finds as many bodies as "you two do".

4. On Perry Mason, there are about as many women clients charged with murder as men, and about as many women as men are murderers too, whereas in real life it is men who do most of the murders. Defending women allows Perry to be the chivalrous hero.

5. The client is almost always a nice person, and the murder victim usually "deserved" it. The state's characters never seem to realize this unlikely situation. This is reversed on some other who-done-it crime shows such as Cold Case.

6. The state always manages to put together a good case against an innocent person, and then loses. In real life a good case usually leads to a conviction, and innocent people are sometimes convicted -- which never happens on Perry Mason.

7. Perry Mason stories, unlike some of Earl Stanley Gardner's books, are almost always about wealthy and middle-class people, and they are usually adults. Such characters are easier to write sensational and interesting stories about, as if every case is like O.J. Simpson's. This is also true on Columbo. In real life though, most murders happen in poor and ethnic neighborhoods and are related to gangs, drugs and disturbed young people.

8. Perry always extracts a confession in a Perry Mason Moment (unlike in the Gardner novels), although in real life killers take a long time to track down and prove their guilt about, or they may escape or never be caught. This confession conclusion serves the interests of the story and the viewer, because the show is only an hour long. And Perry Mason is not Unsolved Mysteries.

9. There are always plenty of possible suspects. But how else can we enjoy a "whodunnit?" Perry Mason is the once and future whodunnit show. It has many imitators, but no equals.

10. As has been pointed out to me, Perry often finds a murder victim by entering an unlocked house or room, and it's often unexpected. Often he had an appointment with the dead person. Other characters also enter unlocked quarters. Unlocked cars happen too, and Drake can identify people from registrations posted on steering wheel columns. These days these things would not happen in our insecure society. Remember, Perry Mason was the 1950s and 1960s. And if Perry always had to unlock a door to find a body, it would take a lot longer to suspect it is there and find it. Again, this helps an hour-long show to move along.

Remember though that Perry Mason also revealed the dark underbelly of those better times, which have become more common today in ours. And that darkness often revolves around our preoccupation with money, then and now. Another frequent theme in Perry Mason though, especially among women confessors, is the "he was going to leave me!" routine. So, disatisfied marriages, relationships and family lives is another aspect of this underbelly. And perhaps, in contrast to the money problem, as it came out more to the surface in the years immediately after Perry Mason, we started to deal with it more. And of course, there's the whole matter of guns in the USA. Where would Perry's big case load be without them? Or even more, where would the case loads of the Perry Masons, Paul Drakes, Hamilton Burgers, Lt. Traggs, Lt. Andersons and Sgt. Brices of today be?

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