The 'Perry Mason' Television Movies Quiz

Answer: Raymond Burr

Raymond Burr played Perry Mason during the original series on CBS (1957-1966) as well as the made-for-TV movies (1985-1995) intended as a continuation. Although the original CBS program was filmed in glorious black-and-white, all the telemovies were filmed in living color. Hal Holbrook and Paul Sorvino appeared as friends and fellow attorneys on the TV movie series.

Richard Anderson played Lt. Steve Drumm in the last season of the original 'Perry Mason'. Monte Markham was Mason in a reboot, 'The New Perry Mason' (1973-74), a series that failed so miserably it was never sold for syndication. Brett Somers played his receptionist, Gertie.

Answer: Barbara Hale as Della Street

Barbara Hale returned as Della Street, probably the most popular character of the series after Perry himself. Unfortunately, all of the other cast members listed above had already passed on: William Hopper in 1970, William Talman in 1968, and Ray Collins in 1965, before the original series even ended.

Another regular who was not brought back was the receptionist Gertie, played by Connie Cezon, although the actress was still alive at the time.

Answer: He is the real-life son of one of the actors.

William Katt played Paul Drake, Jr. Katt is the real-life son of actress Barbara Hale (who plays Della Street) and actor Hermann Katt, better known by his stage name Bill Williams. Before joining the telefilm series, Katt played the title lead in the 'The Greatest American Hero' (1981-83) on ABC. 'Hero' developed quite a cult following at the time.

William Hopper, who played Paul Drake, Sr. in the original series, had died in 1970, and so the writers decided that the senior Drake had died, too. The senior Drake's picture appears on the junior Drake's desk, however, to strengthen continuity between the two series. Additionally, in the first telemovie, Perry makes many unfavorable comparisons between father and son, who leads a more relaxed lifestyle, and it is hinted that he may have run his father's business to the ground before re-acquiring Perry's patronage.

Answer: William R. Moses

Moses played Ken Malansky, a young attorney who managed to find himself in a life-threatening situation in nearly movie, and despite his size and fitness he usually had to be rescued by a spunky young lady who managed to involve herself in the case. Very athletic, Billy Moses was also one of the finest competitors in the 'Battle of the Network Stars' (an athletic contest among TV celebrities) in the early 1980s.

Answer: Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman

Fred Silverman worked at all of the Big 3 U.S. networks (ABC, CBS, NBC), where he brought us such favorites as 'Scooby-Doo', 'Mary Tyler Moore', 'M*A*S*H', and 'Charlie's Angels', not to mention the mini-series 'Roots'. Dean Hargrove was well-credentialed in TV mysteries, having produced 'Columbo' in the 1970s, Matlock in the 1990s, and 'Diagnosis: Murder' in the 1990s and 2000s.
Levinson & Link created and produced 'Murder, She Wrote' (1984-1996).

Answer: "Perry Mason Returns"

In "Perry Mason Returns", Mason's beloved former secretary, Della Street, is accused of murdering her multi-millionaire employer. Mason resigns his position as appellate court judge to defend her. After he gets her acquitted (naturally), Della returns to work for Mason.

In "Notorious Nun", Perry defends a young novitiate accused of murdering a young priest with whom she had grown (platonically!) close. In "Shooting Star" a staged shooting turns out to be real, and Perry must defend the man who pulled the trigger. In "Telltale Talkshow Host", Perry must prove that his client, a radio psychologist, is innocent of the murder of her arrogant, blackmailing boss.

Answer: "Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss"

Someone has poisoned the leading man of the daytime drama 'Mile High' with his lipstick! Perry Mason, however, believes in the innocence of the actress whose role was being written off (making her a prime suspect) and defends her gallantly. An annoying fan of the soap opera ingratiates herself into the case, but manages to save Perry's associate, Ken Malansky, from burning to death when someone sets fire to a studio, so it's all to the good.

Raymond Burr, who played Perry, was nearing the end of his life. And sadly, it was apparent to the viewer. He was much thinner, and he usually remained seated, even during the courtroom scenes. Even when he did walk around, he would hold on to tables, furniture, and the wall for support. Sometimes a stunt double was even used.

"Killer Kiss" originally aired on 29 November 1993. When NBC reran it on 22 April 1994, the network pre-empted the last quarter hour (in the Central and Eastern time zones) for a news bulletin on former President Nixon's death - leaving those who missed the original broadcast utterly in the dark as to the killer!

Answer: The audience never sees or hears Perry Mason.

Sadly, Raymond Burr died in 1993 of cancer, after twenty-six appearances in the new series. Yet producers Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman continued to make another four movies. They retitled the series 'Perry Mason Mysteries' and brought in attorneys who were friends of Perry.

Perry would call and ask them to go to different venues to give speeches or take cases on his behalf. (The viewer only heard the colleague's end of the conversation). Mason was either in Washington, D.C. or in Europe working on matters of great political significance, and was not available. Occasionally, Della would speak on Perry's behalf during the episode. Hal Holbrook and Paul Sorvino played the guest attorneys and colleagues in these Mason-less mysteries!

Perry and Della never married, not to each other nor to anyone else. And if you've ever watched any 'Perry Mason' program, you know that he never lost a case in the end! And neither did the guest attorneys.

If you picked the wheelchair, you might be thinking of paralyzed detective Chief Ironside, another character portrayed by Raymond Burr. He also revived this character in one telemovie in the 1990s. More were planned, but Burr had taken ill.

Answer: "A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester"

Retired attorney "Wild Bill" McKenzie visits his niece who works as a production assistant for a termagant who publicly accuses the assistant of seducing her husband. The niece is naturally accused of murdering the insufferable woman that night, but luckily her uncle Bill is there to defend her.

Paul Sorvino starred as flamboyant and filthy rich divorce attorney Anthony Caruso in 'Wicked Wives' (1993), while Hal Holbrook as the earthy horseback-riding Bill McKenzie did the remaining three mysteries listed above.

Answer: They are nearly all alliterative

Did you notice the alliteration in all of the episodes in the quiz, except for "Perry Mason Returns"? That was a common way to name episodes in the black-and-white series of the 1950s-60s. Of course, not all episodes were alliterative, for the producers used titles (and plots) from Erle Stanley Gardner's novels, and he didn't always that particular technique.

But in the '80s-'90s series, the alliteration rule was strictly followed. (Nostalgia often settles on particular idiosyncrasies).