"I'm not very actorish. I don't play actor 24 hours a day. When the job is done, I go on to be myself, whoever that is."
William Raymond Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917 – September 12, 1993) was a Canadian-American actor, best remembered for his titular roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. On film, he's best known for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Rear Window and in Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956), the Americanized version of Godzilla (1954).
Filmography with pages on TV Tropes:
open/close all folders
Film roles
- Love Happy (1949): Alphonse Zoto
- M (1951, American remake of the 1931 film): Pottsy
- A Place in the Sun (1951): District Attorney Frank Marlowe
- His Kind of Woman (1951): Nick Ferraro
- Bride of the Gorilla (1951): Barney Chavez
- The Blue Gardenia (1953): Harry Prebble
- Rear Window (1954): Lars Thorwald
- Please Murder Me! (1956): Craig Carlson
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956, Americanized version of Godzilla (1954)): Steve Martin
- Godzilla 1985 (1985, Americanized version of The Return of Godzilla): Steve Martin
- Out of the Blue (1980): Dr. Brean
- The Return (1980): Dr. Kramer
- Airplane II: The Sequel (1982): The Judge
- Delirious (1991): Carter Hedison
Television roles
- Dragnet (1 episode, 1951): Deputy Chief Thad Brown
- Playhouse 90 (2 episodes, 1957): Lester Friedman/Charles Brent
- Perry Mason (original series 1957–66, TV films 1985-1993): Perry Mason
- The Jack Benny Program (2 episodes, 1961–62): Himself/Perry Mason/Major Larson
- Ironside (1967–75): Robert T. Ironside
- The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1 episode, 1972): Robert T. Ironside
- It Takes a Thief (1 episode, 1968): S.I.A. Bureau Chief
- Centennial (1978–79): Herman Bockweiss
- The Love Boat (2 episodes, 1979): Malcolm Dwyer
- Disaster on the Coastliner (TV movie, 1979): Estes Hill
Tropes associated with Raymond Burr:
- Character Outlives Actor: After Burr's death in 1993, four more Perry Mason TV movies were produced. The character was still alive in said movies, but was out-of-town in all them, with his role being filled by two Suspiciously Similar Substitutes played by Paul Sorvino, and Hal Holbrook respectively.
- Creator's Favorite Episode: Of all the films and television roles he took, he greatly enjoyed his role as Steven Martin in Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956). Since that film, he took Ishirō Honda's intended nuclear metaphor of Godzilla very seriously, and he even hated the idea that the producers for the Americanization of The Return of Godzilla wanted to turn it into a comedy instead of a gothic horror that it was when he was asked to reprise his role. According to an interview Burr gave in the late '80s, he even tried to buy the American distribution rights to the franchise so he could appear in future films, which unfortunately never came to pass.
- Fake American: He was Canadian, so most of his roles apply to this.
- Romance on the Set: Burr met Robert Benevides on the set of Perry Mason in 1960. Benevides became a production consultant on many of Burr's later productions. They remained domestic partners until Burr's death in 1993.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He was quite ruggedly attractive, had dark hair, and was six feet tall.
- What Could Have Been:
- For Perry Mason, Burr auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger. The producers were impressed by his performance, that they had him screen test for the title role.
- The producers of the Americanization of The Return of Godzilla wanted Ray to reprise his role as Steven Martin, and he did. But he shot down the idea of turning a serious gothic horror into a Lighter and Softer comedy film. They also wanted him to take part of the Product Placement of Dr. Pepper. Ray didn't say he wouldn't, but the executive decided to back down on the idea. The closest they got was him walking in front of a Dr. Pepper vending machine.
