Perry Mason Season 2 Review, Cast Rating, Release Date and Other Details

Perry Mason is one of the most iconic TV shows in history. It first aired on September 21, 1957, and ran for nine seasons. It has been re-run worldwide, including many countries that do not speak English as their primary language.

Perry Mason Season 2 Review, Cast Rating, Released, and Many More Details:

About the story:

The show is set in Los Angeles with Raymond Burr playing defense attorney Perry Mason who specializes in defending clients accused of murder by hard-nosed district attorneys and police detectives who employ underhanded tactics (and sometimes illegal methods) to obtain convictions. The show features a rotating cast of characters that includes private investigator Paul Drake (played by William Hopper), secretary Della Street (played by Barbara Hale), and police detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg (played by William Talman).

About the show:

The show was based on the fictional works of American author Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote more than 80 Perry Mason novels and short stories from 1933 to 1973. Perry’s secretary Della Street was played in a few episodes early in this series by veteran movie actress Adele Jergens. Still, Barbara Hale became so identified with the role that she eventually took over full-time as Ms. Street. Burr appeared only occasionally at first; he had other commitments which forced him to withdraw after two seasons because his contract stipulated that he could not work for any other TV shows during its duration or else it would be terminated.

Source: Decider.com

The two-hour pilot film, “Perry Mason and the Case of the Restless Redhead” (1957), was a condensed version of Erle Stanley Gardner’s 1933 novel The Case Of The Velvet Claws with some minor changes. In it, Perry’s secretary Della Street is introduced by having her being hired to answer phones for him one day at his office when he is out. A prospective client asks about hiring Perry but wants to know if he’s any good first. She introduces herself as Della Street and answers that she doesn’t know what kind of lawyer he is because she has only been working there for one day. But then she adds, He makes more cases than I can handle, so I’m sure well swamped soon.

The film was shown in theaters across the country on a double bill with Warner Bros. gangster melodrama The Brothers Rico (1957). It is not known how many people saw the pilot. Still, it has been conjectured that theater-owners were reluctant to book another lawyer show after they had invested heavily in rerunning Perry Mason episodes from 1954 and 1955. However, during 1958 NBC made an effort at showing its individual TV affiliates various pilots for new shows, among which was one based on Erle Stanley Gardner’s 1957 novel “The Case Of The Restless Redhead.” They liked it so much that by 1959-1960 all of them would be carrying Perry Mason as part of their local programming schedules.

Cast details:

The cast included Raymond Burr as Perry Mason and Barbara Hale as Della Street, with William Hopper as Lt. Arthur Tragg; John Van Dreelen played the role of Hamilton Burger; Howard McNear was District Attorney Satterlee, Byron Kane portrayed Judge Willis B. Tate, who would be replaced by Joseph Glimmer in Season Four (1961-62), Suzanne Lloyd appeared as defense attorney Valerie Bryan for one episode only on September 17, 1957, while Linda Watkins took over from October 22 onward when she became available after her contract to play Dr. Cathy Lewis on “Dr. Kildare” had expired.

Joseph Anderiese Jr., a veteran actor of TV Westerns like Rawhide (1959) and Cheyenne (1955), was cast in the role of Lt. Arthur Tragg, replacing John Van Dreelen, who had appeared from 1957 to 1960

Premiere details:

The release date for Season Two is October 22, 1958, and the show airs Fridays at 12:30 pm on CBS

many more details about the show:

Season two consists mostly of courtroom drama with Perry Mason defending clients by proving their innocence or guilt based only on factual evidence through the use of his wits and legal expertise as a lawyer. He also investigates crimes that take place outside the courtroom.

In late 1963 – a year before he retired from acting – Ray Burr took over production responsibilities for “Perry Mason,” which soon became very successful under his new regime.

His brother William Gourley played Lt. Arthur Tragg for the first two episodes of Season Two before Ray Burr resumed his role as Lt. Arthur Tragg

In October 1958, CBS commissioned a total of 36 new episodes for “Perry Mason” and shooting began in November that year.

The show was finally canceled in May 1966 by then-president James T. Aubrey after it became evident there were no plans to renew the series.