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Raymond Burr
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Raymond Burr wasn't the first choice for the role of Perry Mason. Actually, he tried out for DA Burger. Fred MacMurray and Efrem Zimbalist Jr were among those rejected on the way to the wiser choice of Burr.
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Clearly, though, Raymond Burr was much more than Perry Mason, Ironside, or any of the many and diverse characters that he portrayed. In addition to his formidable acting accomplishments, Burr was an innovative breeder of orchids, an award-winning vintner, a respected Beverly Hills art dealer, and foster father to more than twenty children, worldwide.
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Best known for his television Perry Mason, Raymond Burr had a career spanning over 50 years. His life is meticulously documented here, including movie roles in such Hollywood productions as Rear Window and Key to the City.
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Around 1958, Raymond Burr became friendly with former actor Robert Benevides. They remained together as business partners for 35 years until Burr's death. Sonoma County residents were well acquainted with Burr and Benevides, who together owned and operated first an orchid business, then a vineyard,[4] in the Dry Creek Valley. The residents, who are far away from Los Angeles, did not gossip about the personal business of Burr and Benevides. After Burr died one of his nieces in Canada had a public feud with Benevides questioning whether or not he should be given the bulk of the estate.
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Raymond Burr came to California as a child, after his parents' divorce. After serving in World War II, he returned to the Golden State to pursue an acting career, landing bit parts In B-movies like Godzilla. It was not until the mid-fifties that his career took off, with roles in A Place in the Sun and Rear Window. Soon after, he debuted as Mason, and a legend was born. Yet for all his fame, little is known of his private life. He claimed to have three wives and one son, but there is scant evidence to support this, and he passed his final years at his Sonoma vineyard with his longtime friend and business partner, Robert Benevides.
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Raymond Burr was born on May 21, 1917, in New Westminster, Canada, a city near Vancouver. His father, William, ran a hardware store in town; his mother played the organ in church and in movie houses. When Ray was just a baby, his father became a trade agent and traveled to China, taking his family with him. But upon returning to Canada, he and his wife separated. From the age of six, Ray was raised by his mother and his grandparents, who ran a hotel in Vallejo, California.
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Raymond Burr