--- name: "Raymond Burr" canonical: "https://film.one/person/raymond-burr" fi1m_id: "raymond-burr" imdb_id: "nm0000994" tmdb_id: 7685 wikidata_id: "Q336877" roles: ["Actor"] born: "21 May 1917" died: "12 September 1993" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 88 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-20T02:10:26.942683+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Raymond Burr ## Identity Raymond Burr - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/raymond-burr - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** raymond-burr - **IMDb ID:** nm0000994 - **TMDB ID:** 7685 - **Wikidata ID:** Q336877 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Burr, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336877, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000994/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7685 Actor. Born 21 May 1917 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Died 12 September 1993. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 21 May 1917, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada - **Died:** 12 September 1993 - **Active:** 1951–1954 - **Also known as:** Raymond William Stacy Burr, Рэймонд Бёрр, Рэймонд Уильям Стейси Берр, Рэймонд Барр, Ray Burr - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 88, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Burr, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336877, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000994/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7685 ## Fi1m on Raymond Burr > Raymond Burr spent a decade as the heavy in other people's films before television made him the most dependable defence lawyer on the screen. He is best when he does least, and *Rear Window* is where he does least of all. The thing to notice about Raymond Burr is how little he moves. In *Rear Window* (1954) he is Lars Thorwald, the neighbour across the courtyard whom James Stewart cannot stop watching, and for most of the film we see him as Stewart does: at a distance, through glass, a big man in a small flat going about business we cannot hear. He does almost nothing, and we found him frightening for exactly that reason. Another actor would have offered a twitch or a sideways look to help us along. Burr offers his bulk and his patience and lets us do the worrying. He had come to films in 1946 from theatre and radio, and he spent the next eleven years as the heavy, in noir above all; Rick Coyle in *Raw Deal* (1948) is the type. "I was just a fat heavy," he said later, a man in his twenties playing much older men, and the deep voice and the stillness did the ageing for him. The better of those parts let something sadder show through the menace. In *A Place in the Sun* (1951) George Stevens put him on the right side of the law as District Attorney R. Frank Marlowe, and he is louder than anything around him, in a film whose method is to keep quiet and let the camera look; the stretch he is in is the most conventional in the picture. It is also said to be the performance that helped get him Perry Mason. *Perry Mason* ran from 1957 to 1966, 271 episodes, and it made him. He was stiff at first, too solemn, and then he settled, and once settled he stayed the same for nine years: the level stare, the low voice, the underplaying that turned theatrical when the courtroom required it. Barbara Hale, William Talman and William Hopper were there for every one of those episodes, and much of the pleasure is that none of the four ever changes. The formula was complained about, chiefly because Mason nearly always won. Nobody watched to find out whether he would. Burr himself came to resent it. In 1991 he said the one thing he would not do over again was the show, or at least not for so many years, and it is easy to hear why: it fixed him in the public mind as the ideal defence attorney and left little room for anything else. *Ironside* (1967–1975) gave him a chief of detectives in a wheelchair, a part that asked him to carry a series while moving even less, and he did. He went back to Mason for 26 television films between 1985 and 1993, the year he died. Start with *Rear Window*, where he shows what he could do with distance and silence. Then try an hour of *Perry Mason*, which is the same stillness in a courtroom. Save *A Place in the Sun* for Clift and Taylor; Burr is there, and you will hear him coming. ## Biography Raymond Burr was a Canadian actor known for his work in film and television. He appeared in numerous films in the 1940s and 1950s, often in supporting roles, including as Lars Thorwald in Alfred Hitchcock's *Rear Window* (1954), the district attorney in *A Place in the Sun* (1951), and Steve Martin in *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!* (1956). Burr achieved major success on television as the defence lawyer Perry Mason in the CBS series that ran from 1957 to 1966, winning Emmy Awards for the role in 1959 and 1961. He later starred as the wheelchair-using detective Robert T. Ironside in the NBC series that ran from 1967 to 1975. He reprised the role of Perry Mason in a series of television films between 1985 and 1993. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, encyclopedia.com, nytimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Rear Window* (1954), Fi1m 94, as Lars Thorwald — [page](https://film.one/film/rear-window.md) - *A Place in the Sun* (1951), Fi1m 81, as District Attorney R. Frank Marlowe — [page](https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md) ## Complete filmography (137) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Godzilla Resurrection* (2018), as Steve Martin - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss* (1993), as Perry Mason · In Memory Of - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host* (1993), as Perry Mason - *The Return of Ironside* (1993), as Robert T. Dacier - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal* (1993), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride* (1992), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo* (1992), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing* (1992), as Perry Mason - *Grass Roots* (1992), as Judge Boggs - *Showdown at Williams Creek* (1991), as The Judge - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion* (1991), as Perry Mason - *Delirious* (1991), as Carter Hedison - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin* (1991), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster* (1991), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter* (1991), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter* (1990), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer* (1990), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception* (1990), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen* (1990), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin* (1989), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder* (1989), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson* (1989), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake* (1988), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace* (1988), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel* (1987), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam* (1987), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit* (1987), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love* (1987), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star* (1986), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun* (1986), as Perry Mason - *Perry Mason Returns* (1985), as Perry Mason - *Godzilla 1985* (1985), as Steven Martin · Additional Dialogue - *Perry Mason Returns* (1985), series, as Perry Mason - *Airplane II: The Sequel* (1982), as Judge D.C. Simonton - *Out of the Blue* (1981), as Dr. Brean - *Peter and Paul* (1981), series, as Herod Agrippa I - *The Night the City Screamed* (1980), as The Mayor - *The Curse of King Tut's Tomb* (1980), as Jonash Sabastian - *The Return* (1980), as Dr. Kramer - *Disaster on the Coastliner* (1979), as Estes Hill - *The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo* (1979), series, as The Godfather - *Eischied* (1979), series, as Police Commissioner - *Love's Savage Fury* (1979), as Lyle Taggart, Sr. - *The Jordan Chance* (1978), as Frank Jordan - *Centennial* (1978), series, as Herman Bockweiss - *The Bastard* (1978), series, as Narrator (voice) - *Tomorrow Never Comes* (1978), as Burke - *79 Park Avenue* (1977), series, as Armand Perfido - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Malcolm Dwyer - *Kingston: Confidential* (1977), series, as R.B. Kingston · Director - *Godzilla* (1977), as Steve Martin - *Kingston* (1976), as R.B. Kingston - *Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence* (1976), as Arthur Mallory - *Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John* (1973), as Angelo Roncalli, Pope John XXIII - *Keep U.S. Beautiful* (1973), as Host - *The Priest Killer* (1971), as Robert T. Ironside - *The Bold Ones: The New Doctors* (1969), series, as Robert T. Ironside - *Split Second to an Epitaph* (1968), as Robert Ironside - *P.J.* (1968), as William Orbison - *It Takes a Thief* (1968), series, as SIA Bureau Chief - *Ironside* (1967), series, as Robert Ironside · Director - *Ironside* (1967), as Robert Ironside - *Interrupted Morning* (1961), as Narrator - *Desire in the Dust* (1960), as Col. Ben Marquand - *Affair in Havana* (1957), as Mallabee - *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as Perry Mason - *Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean* (1957), as Steve Martin - *The Greer Case* (1957), as Lester Friedman - *Crime of Passion* (1956), as Inspector Tony Pope - *The Brass Legend* (1956), as Tris Hatten - *Ride The High Iron* (1956), as Ziggy Moline - *A Cry in the Night* (1956), as Harold Loftus - *Secret of Treasure Mountain* (1956), as Cash Larsen - *Great Day in the Morning* (1956), as Jumbo Means - *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!* (1956), as Steve Martin - *Please Murder Me* (1956), as Attorney Craig Carlson - *The House Without a Name* (1956), as Doctor - *A Man Alone* (1955), as Stanley - *The 20th Century Fox Hour* (1955), series, as Major Tetley - *Count Three and Pray* (1955), as Yancey Huggins - *You're Never Too Young* (1955), as Noonan - *The Immortal City* (1954), as Narrator - *They Were So Young* (1954), as Jaime Coltos - *Climax!* (1954), series, as Lieutenant Shea, Philip Moran, Sergeant Ben Gurnick - *Passion* (1954), as Captain Rodriguez - *Thunder Pass* (1954), as Tulsa - *Khyber Patrol* (1954), as Ahmed Shir - *Rear Window* (1954), as Lars Thorwald — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/film/rear-window.md) - *Gorilla at Large* (1954), as Cy Miller - *Casanova's Big Night* (1954), as Bragadin - *Fort Algiers* (1953), as Amir - *Tarzan and the She-Devil* (1953), as Vargo - *Serpent of the Nile* (1953), as Mark Antony - *The Blue Gardenia* (1953), as Harry Prebble - *The Bandits of Corsica* (1953), as Jonatto - *A Star Shall Rise* (1952), as Balthazar - *Horizons West* (1952), as Cord Hardin - *Mr. & Mrs. North* (1952), series, as Charles - *The Ford Television Theatre* (1952), series, as Red Lefwick, Robert Drayton - *Four Star Playhouse* (1952), series, as Gonzales - *Mara Maru* (1952), as Brock Benedict - *Meet Danny Wilson* (1952), as Nick Driscoll - *Chevron Theatre* (1952), series, Actor - *Dragnet* (1951), series, as Deputy Chief Thad Brown - *FBI Girl* (1951), as Blake - *The Magic Carpet* (1951), as Boreg al Buzzar - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Dr. Sutton - *Bride of the Gorilla* (1951), as Barney Chavez - *The Whip Hand* (1951), as Steve Loomis - *His Kind of Woman* (1951), as Nick Ferraro - *Tales of Tomorrow* (1951), series, Actor - *A Place in the Sun* (1951), as District Attorney R. Frank Marlowe — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/a-place-in-the-sun.md) - *New Mexico* (1951), as Private Anderson - *M* (1951), as Pottsy - *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Perry Mason, Raymond Burr /Maj. Larson - *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Colby, Dan Reynolds, Major Blakestone - *Borderline* (1950), as Pete Ritchie - *Key to the City* (1950), as Les Taggart - *Unmasked* (1950), as Roger Lewis - *Abandoned* (1949), as Kerric - *Love Happy* (1949), as Alphonse Zoto - *Red Light* (1949), as Nick Cherney - *Black Magic* (1949), as Alexandre Dumas, Jr. - *Bride of Vengeance* (1949), as Michelotto - *Adventures of Don Juan* (1948), as Capitão Alvarez - *Walk a Crooked Mile* (1948), as Krebs - *Station West* (1948), as Lawyer Mark Bristow - *Pitfall* (1948), as MacDonald - *Raw Deal* (1948), as Rick Coyle - *Fighting Father Dunne* (1948), as Attorney in Trial Montage - *Ruthless* (1948), as Pete Vendig - *Sleep, My Love* (1948), as Detective Sergeant Strake - *I Love Trouble* (1948), as Herb - *Desperate* (1947), as Walt Radak - *Code of the West* (1947), as Boyd Carter - *San Quentin* (1946), as Jeff Torrance - *Without Reservations* (1946), as Paul Gill (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-e532f5a21ec0.jpg) Raymond Burr — NBC TV, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Raymond-Burr-1968-cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-51a1cae1ac2f.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970) — Joost Evers / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6185.jpg/1280px-Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6185.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-6067a31f2ad5.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970) — Joost Evers / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6186.jpg/1280px-Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6186.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-1064591d651a.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970) — Joost Evers / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6187.jpg/1280px-Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6187.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-4e7ec386116a.jpg) Raymond Burr — Image via TMDB - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-91fc427c7675.jpg) Raymond Burr — Image via TMDB - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-a00670fe681e.jpg) Raymond Burr — Image via TMDB - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-09f1cf9b34ee.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970) — Joost Evers / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6188.jpg/1280px-Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6188.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970)](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-7f25620c9cd6.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteurs Raymond Burr en ex-Tarzan Johnny Weismuller (USA) arriveren op (1970) — Joost Evers / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6191.jpg/1280px-Acteurs_Raymond_Burr_en_ex-Tarzan_Johnny_Weismuller_%28USA%29_arriveren_op_Schiphol%2C_Bestanddeelnr_923-6191.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-6735a7e0f416.jpg) Raymond Burr — Image via TMDB - ![Raymond Burr](https://film.one/media/person/59179/gallery-65a56af461f0.jpg) Raymond Burr — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1959: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (won), for *Perry Mason* ### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - Canada's Walk of Fame 2009: Canada's Walk of Fame (won) - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1986: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated), for *Godzilla 1985* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/raymond-burr