Pajamas & Perry Mason
Yesterday was a perfect all day p.j. day! Georgia, Toot and I stayed in all day snacking, curled up on the sofa watching t.v. When Toot finally went down for a nap, I had the opportunity to watch one of my favorite shows from way back in the day...Perry Mason! Who doesn't love a good courtroom drama?! (No Hamilton Burger in this episode.) To my pleasant surprise, this one took place on the circus! The Case of the Clumsy Clown included extortion, bigamy, murder and a tiger on the loose who maims a man. Perry, Della, Paul and Lt. Tragg all attend a performance where a murder takes place during the clown routine. Is there anyone cooler than Perry Mason? You couldn't ruffle his feathers if you hit him with a brick. You can guess who wins the case...the P.M. formula worked well for all the years the show aired.
Mindless trivia for all you Perry Mason fans...Paul Drake was played by William Hopper. His mother was Hedda Hopper, the famous gossip columnist from way back. His son was none other than Dennis Hopper. Also, creator Erle Stanley Gardner made many appearances in the show as the presiding judge in the courtroom.
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Knew that "paul" was son of Hedda, but had no idea that Dennis was in the mix. Years later when PM came back as a series of made-for-tv movies, was nice to see Della and Perry in actual color. Burr had a winery in Healdsburg, CA a couple hours north of San Francisco. He had his partner were said to be the nicest guys you could imagine. Drove by the place a few times with kids in car making mandatory "Happy Meal" stop on treks north to far northern CA.
ReplyDeleteI remember watchng many of the made-for-t.v. P.M. movies when I was teen ager! I loved them! Later when Raymond Burr was too ill to work, Paul Sorvino played a colleague who took over or P.M. Barbara Hale remained close friends with R.B. and he was also in cultivating flowers, even named an orchid (if memory serves me) after her. The actor who played Paul Drake II (William Katt aka The Greatest American Hero) was Barbara Hale's son in real life. Glad to know there are other Perry Mason fans still around! I have many of the radio shows on disk.
ReplyDeleteHi Nat,
ReplyDeleteLoving the blog. Great job!
And, speaking of relatives, did you guy know that Larry Hagman, J.R. Ewing himself, is the son of the late, great Broadway star, Mary Martin?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jack! I am glad you enjoy my blog...I'm having fun with it! And I did remember that Mary Martin is the mother of Larry Hagman...she played Peter Pan in the stage version years ago! :)
ReplyDeleteYes our Dad never let us forget that JR's mother was Mary Martin...LOL
ReplyDeleteLauren
That is right Lauren! LOL Do you remember Dad telling the story of how he would John Robinson Friday night performances so he could watch Dallas? You probably remember that well! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHello Natalie, so nice to "see" you again!! I have missed you! You go girl!! This blog is great...I look forward to reading and keeping up with you, the girls and the doggies!! XOXOOXO Karen Glenn
ReplyDeleteps thanks to Ryan for letting me know about this...and then to Jack for posting it!!!
HI Karen!! I am glad you found my blog! It's something I have wanted to do for a long time, and I'm having fun with it! Thanks to Ryan and Jack for letting my facebook friends know about it! Be sure to follow my family on our trek around the west coast this season! Say hello anytime and let me know how you are doing! Have a great 2011!
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