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A series of 30 Perry Mason television films aired on NBC from 1985 to 1995 as sequels to the CBS TV series Perry Mason. After a hiatus of nearly 20 years, Raymond Burr reprised his role as Los Angeles defense attorney Mason in 26 of the television films. Following Burr's death in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the remaining four television films that aired from 1993 to 1995, with Sorvino playing lawyer Anthony Caruso in the first of these and Holbrook playing "Wild Bill" McKenzie in the last three.

Perry Mason
Based on	Characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Starring	Raymond Burr Barbara Hale William Katt William R. Moses
Theme music composer	Fred Steiner
Opening theme	"Park Avenue Beat"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Dean Hargrove Fred Silverman
Producers	Jeff Peters Joel Steiger Barry Steinberg
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	95 minutes
Production companies	Intermedia Entertainment Company (1985–86) Strathmore Productions (1985–88) The Fred Silverman Company (1987–1995) Dean Hargrove Productions (1988–1995) Viacom Productions (1985–1995)
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Mono (1985–1990) Stereo (1990–1995)
Original release	December 1, 1985 (1985-12-01) – April 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)
Chronology
Preceded by	Perry Mason (1957–1966)

Production

Development

The original Perry Mason television series was broadcast on CBS television from 1957 to 1966. Raymond Burr starred as Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Perry Mason, a character created by American author and attorney Erle Stanley Gardner. Television producer Dean Hargrove resurrected the Perry Mason character in a series of television films for NBC beginning in 1985.

Casting

Dean Hargrove was able to bring back the two then-surviving major stars, Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, reprising their roles as Mason and his private secretary Della Street. In the first telefilm, Perry Mason Returns, Mason resigns his position as an appellate court judge to defend Street on a murder charge. William Katt, Hale's own son, was cast as private investigator Paul Drake, Jr., the son of original series’ private investigator Paul Drake. William Hopper, who played Drake, had died in 1970; his photograph appears on Paul Drake Jr.'s desk. Katt appeared in the first nine movies before being dropped from the series.

In the later TV movies, Mason utilizes the services of Ken Malansky (William R. Moses), an attorney who works with him as a private investigator. Malansky's character is introduced in The Case of the Lethal Lesson (1989), as a law student who is defended by Mason on a murder charge.[1]^: 40151

Among the actors to appear in major recurring roles were David Ogden Stiers as District Attorney Michael Reston (1986–1988), James McEachin as police Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Ed Brock (1986–1995), and Alexandra Paul as Ken Malansky's girlfriend Amy Hastings (1989).

Filming

Budgeted at $3 million, Perry Mason Returns was filmed in Toronto, standing in for Los Angeles to save production costs.[2] Because of lower production costs, many of the later TV movies were filmed and set in Denver, Colorado rather than Mason's traditional locale of Los Angeles. Although located in Colorado, a courtroom wall shown at the end of the opening title sequence bears a Seal of Los Angeles County, California plaque.

Music

Fred Steiner's theme music was re-recorded by composer Dick DeBenedictis; Steiner himself arranged the theme at DeBenedictis's request.[3]

After Burr's death

A total of 30 movies were made between 1985 and 1995, with Burr starring in 26. After Burr died in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the final four telefilms from 1993 to 1995. These four films were presented as A Perry Mason Mystery, with Sorvino starring as Anthony Caruso in the first film and Holbrook starring as Bill "Wild Bill" McKenzie in the remaining three. Their characters are introduced as both lawyers and close friends of Mason, who is ostensibly out of town. Both Barbara Hale and William R. Moses reprised their roles for all four films, although in the final film in 1995, Hale contributed only a small cameo with Holland Taylor substituting for her.

Hale said that continuing the series was suggested by Burr. "Raymond was so concerned that the crew keep working - we'd been with the same crew for six years. He felt we must keep going as long as the audience was as kind to us as they are. It's the show that will keep going, but not the character. I do think it's a sweet memorial."[4]

Television films

Raymond Burr films

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	Perry Mason Returns	Ron Satlof	Dean Hargrove	December 1, 1985 (1985-12-01)
Della Street, who is now the secretary of a wealthy businessman, is framed for her boss' murder. To defend her, Perry Mason resigns from his position as an appellate judge and becomes a defense attorney again. First appearance of William Katt as Paul Drake, Jr. Cast: Patrick O'Neal, Holland Taylor, Richard Anderson, Kerrie Keane, Al Freeman, Jr., David McIlwraith, Roberta Weiss, Cassie Yates[5][1]: 39603
2	Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun	Ron Satlof	Joel Steiger	May 25, 1986 (1986-05-25)
A young priest, brought in by the archbishop to look for signs of embezzlement in the archdiocese, is found stabbed in his hotel room. Sister Margaret, a young nun who has been assisting him, is accused of the murder. The archbishop asks old friend Perry Mason, already secretly assisting in the financial investigation, to defend Sister Margaret. Cast: Arthur Hill, Tom Bosley, Barbara Parkins, Michele Greene, Timothy Bottoms, Jon Cypher, Edward Winter; James McEachin, Gerald S. O'Laughlin; William Prince, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39678
3	Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star	Ron Satlof	Anne C. Collins	November 9, 1986 (1986-11-09)
Actor/Director Robert McCay is jealous of the time actress Kate Huntley is spending with talk-show host Steve Carr. He decides to "prank" Carr by shooting at him on his show on live television with a gun loaded with blanks. However, the gun is loaded with live ammo and he unwittingly kills Carr. Producer Sidney (last name not given) recruits old law school friend Perry Mason to defend McCay, but Mason, a personal friend of Carr's wife, is worried about conflict of interest. Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Joe Penny, Ron Glass, Alan Thicke, Ivan Dixon, Wendy Crewson, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39730
4	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love	Ron Satlof	Anne Collins	February 23, 1987 (1987-02-23)
An old flame of Mason's is to fill a vacated government position. Her husband is approached by a man who says he knows his wife had a nervous breakdown seven years prior. The husband, believing mental illness is something to be stigmatized, foolishly allows himself to be blackmailed, believing if his wife's former medical condition should ever be released, her appointment will not go through. When the husband goes to the man with the blackmail money, the husband finds him dead, and he is arrested for the crime and tried. Cast: Jean Simmons, Gene Barry, Robert Mandan, Robert Walden, Stephen Elliot, Robert F. Lyons, Gordon Jump, Jonathan Banks, Stephanie Dunnam, Leslie Wing, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39783
5	Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit	Richard Lang	Anne Collins	May 24, 1987 (1987-05-24)
Cast: Robert Stack, Dwight Schultz, Kim Delaney, Dennis Lipscomb, Jack Bannon, Leigh Taylor-Young, Matthew Faison, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39844
6	Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam	Ron Satlof	Patricia Green	October 4, 1987 (1987-10-04)
Cast: Daphne Ashbrook, Vincent Baggetta, Jason Bernard, Anthony Geary, Bill Macy, James Noble, John Rhys-Davies, Ann Jillian, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39903  Note: Beginning with this movie, due to his poor health, Raymond Burr's physical activity became limited to sitting, standing while holding onto something, or taking a few steps with the assistance of crutches.
7	Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel	Christian I. Nyby II	Anthony Spinner	November 15, 1987 (1987-11-15)
Cast: Robert Guillaume, Morgan Brittany, Eugene Butler, René Enríquez, George Grizzard, Wings Hauser, Yaphet Kotto, Susan Wilder, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 39952
8	Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace	Christian I. Nyby II	Lee David Zlotoff	February 28, 1988 (1988-02-28)
Cast: Patty Duke, Erin Gray, Larry Wilcox, Charles Siebert, James Sutorius, Arthur Taxier, James McEachin, Don Galloway, Richard Sanders, Gary Hershberger, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 40008
9	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake	Ron Satlof	Shel Willens	May 15, 1988 (1988-05-15)
Cast: David Hasselhoff, John Beck, Doran Clark, George Deloy, John Ireland, Audra Lindley, Darrell Larson, Liane Langland, David Ogden Stiers[5][1]: 40068
10	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson	Christian I. Nyby II	Robert Hamilton	February 12, 1989 (1989-02-12)
Cast: Brian Keith, Alexandra Paul, Leslie Ackerman, Richard Allen, John DeMita, Brian Backer, Karen Kopins, John LaMotta, Charley Lang, John Allen Nelson, Mark Rolston, Raye Birk, Marlene Warfield[5][1]: 40119
11	Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder	Christian I. Nyby II	George Eckstein	April 9, 1989 (1989-04-09)
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Jerry Orbach, Dwight Schultz, Alexandra Paul, Luis Ávalos, Mary Cadorette, Lori Petty[5][1]: 40168
12	Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin	Christian I. Nyby II	Robert Hamilton	November 19, 1989 (1989-11-19)
Cast: Deidre Hall, Bruce Greenwood, Shari Belafonte, Pernell Roberts, Alexandra Paul, Jason Beghe[5][1]: 40237
13	Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen	Christian I. Nyby II	George Eckstein	January 21, 1990 (1990-01-21)
Cast: Cindy Williams, Barbara Babcock, Kiel Martin, Tony Lo Bianco, David Warner[5][1]: 40296
14	Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception	Christian I. Nyby II	George Eckstein	March 11, 1990 (1990-03-11)
Cast: Ian Bannen, Ian McShane, Yvette Mimieux, Terry O'Quinn, Marcy Walker, Teresa Wright, Paul Freeman[5][1]: 40354
15	Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer	Ron Satlof	Anne Collins	May 20, 1990 (1990-05-20)
Cast: Tim Reid, Alan Rachins, Vanessa Williams, Angela Bassett, Alice Ghostley, Kene Holliday, Nia Peeples[5][1]: 40422
16	Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter	Christian I. Nyby II	Anne Collins	September 30, 1990 (1990-09-30)
Cast: Jere Burns, Robert Culp, Ken Kercheval, Kevin Tighe, Robert Vaughn, Don Galloway, Jenny Lewis[5][1]: 40504
17	Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter	Christian I. Nyby II	Sean Cholodenko	January 6, 1991 (1991-01-06)
Cast: John James, Jerry Orbach, Susan Sullivan, Philip Michael Thomas, Kerrie Keane, Mary Page Keller[5][1]: 40575
18	Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster	Ron Satlof	Sean Cholodenko	February 11, 1991 (1991-02-11)
Cast: Mason Adams, Paul Anka, Michael Nader, Anne Schedeen, Pamela Bowen, Stephen Tobolowsky[5][1]: 40658
19	Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin	Christian I. Nyby II	Brian Clemens	May 14, 1991 (1991-05-14)
Cast: Peter Scolari, Nancy Lee Grahn, John Karlen, Dennis Lipscomb, Julie Sommars, Kim Braden, Bob Gunton, Kate Vernon[5][1]: 40721
20	Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion	Christian I. Nyby II	Robert Janes	September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)
Cast: Valerie Harper, Diana Muldaur, Scott Baio, Robert Clohessy, George DiCenzo[5][1]: 40792
21	Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing	Christian I. Nyby II	Sean Cholodenko	March 1, 1992 (1992-03-01)
Cast: Jane Carr, Maureen Mueller, John Rhys-Davies, Scott Valentine, David Soul[5][1]: 40860
22	Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo	Christian I. Nyby II	Brian Clemens	May 5, 1992 (1992-05-05)
Cast: Geraldo Rivera, Tracy Nelson, Priscilla Barnes, Anjanette Comer, Vonetta McGee, Amy Steel, Robin Tunney[5][1]: 40920
23	Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride	Christian I. Nyby II	Brian Clemens	October 30, 1992 (1992-10-30)
Cast: Ronny Cox, Linda Blair, Paul Dooley, Diane Baker, Brian MacNamara, Stephen Stills[5][1]: 41004
24	Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal	Christian I. Nyby II	Robert Schlitt	February 19, 1993 (1993-02-19)
Cast: Carmen Argenziano, Scott Thompson Baker, Jonathan Banks, Polly Bergen, Morgan Fairchild, Michael Halsey, Tippi Hedren, David Warner, Patrick O'Neal[5][1]: 41071
25	Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host	Christian I. Nyby II	Joyce Burditt	May 21, 1993 (1993-05-21)
Cast: Regis Philbin, Mariette Hartley, Fritz Coleman, Cristina Ferrare, G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Roggin, Montel Williams[5][1]: 41146
26	Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss	Christian I. Nyby II	Gerry Conway	November 29, 1993 (1993-11-29)
Cast: Stuart Damon, Linda Dano, Genie Francis[5][1]: 41218  When a popular soap opera actor dies from a on camera kiss, Mason finds he must not save his client but also solve the mystery of a 28 year old murder mystery.Note: This was the last to be filmed with Raymond Burr prior to his death; it was aired posthumously two and a half months after his passing. An in-memory note for Raymond Burr appeared at the end of the film.

A Perry Mason Mystery

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
27	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives	Christian I. Nyby II	Joyce Burditt	December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17)
Note: To address the death of Raymond Burr, Perry Mason is addressed as being out of town for the remaining films. After a photo shoot featuring his exes, a fashion photographer Eric Braeden is blinded by camera flashes and stabbed with a sword. Past secrets of his marriages make the exes all prime suspects. Starring Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso Cast: Shelley Hack, Kathy Ireland, Maud Adams, Beverly Johnson, Kim Alexis, Paula Marshall, Eric Braeden[5][1]: 41280
28	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle	Helaine Head	Bruce Franklin Singer, Joyce Burdit	May 10, 1994 (1994-05-10)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie Cast: Robin Leach, Dixie Carter, Diahann Carroll, Robert Englund, James Stephens[5][1]: 41369
29	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor	Max Tash	Robert Schlitt	November 9, 1994 (1994-11-09)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie Cast: Tony Curtis, Ken Kercheval, James Brolin, Deborah Raffin, John Spencer[5][1]: 41425
30	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester	Vincent McEveety	Gerry Conway	April 10, 1995 (1995-04-10)
Starring Hal Holbrook as "Wild Bill" McKenzie Cast: Tony Roberts, Victoria Jackson, David Rasche, Dyan Cannon, Holland Taylor, Tina Yothers[5][1]: 41497

Reception

Perry Mason Returns, the first television film in the series, was the second-highest-rated TV movie in American television during the 1985–86 season.[6]

Awards

• 1988: Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards. The composer was Dick DeBenedictis.[7]
• 1990: Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics at the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, for a song composed by Dick DeBenedictis.[7]

Home media

All 30 Perry Mason television films are available on Region 1 DVD. They were released in five six-film sets that were initially available exclusively through Amazon.com. On June 7, 2016, the first four movie collections were given general retail release.[8]

DVD set	TV movies	Release date	Notes
Volume 1	1–6	December 31, 2013	[9]
Volume 2	7–12	May 13, 2014	[10]
Volume 3	13–18	August 5, 2014	[11]
Volume 4	19–24	October 7, 2014	[12]
Volume 5	25–30	March 22, 2016	[13]
Complete Movie Collection	1–30	August 9, 2016	[14]

References

External links

• Perry Mason TV Series Wiki
• Perry Mason TV Showbook

На других языках

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- [en] Perry Mason (TV film series)

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[ru] Перри Мейсон (серия телефильмов)

Перри Мейсон (англ. Perry Mason), или Перри Мейсон возвращается (англ. Perry Mason Returns) — американская серия телевизионных фильмов в жанрах детективной и юридической драмы, являющаяся продолжением одноимённого классического телесериала по произведениям Эрла Стэнли Гарднера. Роли Перри Мейсона и его секретарши Деллы Стрит продолжили играть Рэймонд Бёрр и Барбара Хейл.

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