In Memoriam: Raymond Burr

Figuring out memorial posts grows more and more difficult. But I’ve been thinking long and hard of something to write for our Perry Mason, Raymond Burr, on this, the day marking his death twenty years ago. In the end, this post seems to have mostly written itself, in spite of any plans I had. And it's fitting that the 200th post for this blog should be significant, although a memorial post is always bittersweet.

Twenty years ago! It doesn’t seem possible that so much time has passed since Raymond’s departure from this life. And he was still involved with projects right before his death, including both an Ironside reunion and his final Perry Mason television movie.

Raymond was always so productive, both during his time in the movies and when he moved to television. For all his complaints about being tired of playing Perry and wanting a break, maybe moving to an island he’d bought, he was back in another steady television series the year after Perry ended. And Ironside ran almost as long as Perry; eight years to Perry’s nine.

I dearly love both characters. I feel they should be separate and distinct, but each one is an enjoyable protagonist to watch. Perry Mason is not as gruff as Robert T. Ironside, definitely friendlier (although he can be stern when the need calls for it), and is also more permissive in what to do to get his clients off the hook. Ironside, while often grouchy and aloof (although he mellows more over time), and insistent on sticking to proper police procedure, cares about his friends and the people he’s trying to help just as much as Perry does.

I prefer Ironside’s methods to Perry’s, as I don’t feel it’s right for Perry to bend the law or to continually ask Paul to get into situations where he’s bending the law too. But Perry feels that the end justifies the means, which would definitely make for an intriguing conflict between him and Ironside, if the two were ever to meet.

Following the end of Ironside in 1975, Raymond tried several other projects, including television series, but they were short-lived. The next really big project, I believe, was ten years later with the return to playing Perry Mason. And wow, those television movies must have taken off, with Raymond playing Perry 26 more times in all. Whatever one thinks of them overall, the Perry Mason movies are certainly among the longest-running television movie series involving a particular character, if not the longest-running of all to do so. Any other television movie series with certain characters that I know of (Columbo, Jim Rockford, etc.) stopped long before 26 (or 30) installments were made.

When I saw an interview with Raymond from around 1989 or 1990, I think, he expressed enthusiasm and excitement about the films and returning to playing Perry Mason. One of his favorite elements was the further fleshing out of both Perry and Della as characters, although I think he underestimated the times the original series did this as well. Many times in the original series, Perry showed a sense of humor, whereas Raymond felt that only the movies depicted this aspect. On the other hand, the movies did bring some unique information to the table, such as Della’s enjoyment of gardening.

I still can’t comprehend that The Powers That Be felt that they could still make Perry movies without Perry in them. And I suppose the films must have been marginally successful, since there were four without him. (People were probably mainly still tuning in to see Della, as well as other cast members if they were fans of those people.) Perhaps the plots were good; I couldn’t say. But ratings did steadily drop and the movies stopped, which is, as far as I’m concerned, a good thing. Trying to make Perry movies without Perry is preposterous. Perhaps they could have spun Della off into her own series of films, if they had wanted to try that, but just trying to market the Perry name and have other lawyers attempt to fill his shoes did not work. The public didn’t accept Monte Markham as Perry in The New Perry Mason, and they weren’t willing to accept other lawyers appearing in films under the Perry Mason name, either. For the majority of television viewers, Raymond Burr is the only acceptable Perry Mason.

I’m wondering how the new Ironside series will fare this year. Most remakes have badly flopped, but every now and then one succeeds, such as Battlestar Galactica or Hawaii 5-0. It would be kind of neat, if the new Ironside series succeeds. It could even bring added awareness of the original version. On the other hand, what a testament to Raymond Burr’s interpretation of the character it would be if the series fails!

Raymond always brought such varied and intriguing characters to life, from television’s Perry Mason and Robert Ironside to deadly villains in the movies and disturbed and heartbreaking characters such as the kidnapper in A Cry in the Night. It’s always a delight to view one of his roles. He was an excellent and very dedicated actor and will forever be remembered as such, as well as a caring, helpful man and friend.

As a parting note, MeTV has released the rest of their September schedule, and for some reason, they’re playing Perry movies every Friday in September. It’s very nice to see them giving such attention to the project. Perhaps their decision is both because of Raymond’s death this month and also the anniversary of the beginning of Perry Mason on September 21^st, 1957.

I’m looking around the MeTV site for a Raymond tribute page, but I haven’t located one. If anyone catches a specific tribute on either the station itself or on the site, drop me a line.

The Uncut 12th Wildcat

So this past day I did something else I’ve rather been dreading: watching the uncut 12^th Wildcat.

Despite as disinterested as I am about sports, and American football in particular, the episode isn’t that bad . . . until, of course, we get to court. My complaints about how that is handled have not changed. Hamilton is making way too many mistakes and has to be reprimanded far too many times. It’s out of character. If this is the sort of conduct Bill Vincent sees, it’s no wonder he makes mistakes in The Impetuous Imp and The Misguided Model.

I counted around four or five times where Hamilton is reprimanded for unusually bad behavior. And judging from the scene when we first switch to court, there were many more problems happening off-screen. The exasperated judge is scolding both Perry and Hamilton and says that for the last time, he will not tolerate personal exchanges in court.

Having seen the episode in full, I suppose it is conceivable that Hamilton is on a high from his third narcotics bust and goes into court overconfident and that’s why there are so many screw-ups. But I really don’t think so. This seems more like just plain old bad writing, especially in light of the episode’s other, even worse problem.

Yes, the identity of the murder victim is never disclosed onscreen. We’re left to assume that the missing man is the one the defendant’s husband killed, but we’re never actually told that. It really wouldn’t have taken much for Perry to say it—just one more line, one more sentence!—but he doesn’t. And the epilogue, while cute, is like some hastily written fluff party. It reminds me of some of my first drafts of epilogues, where I’m so anxious to get a story done that I’m tapping out something short and cute to wrap it up. Luckily for me, I generally see the problems before I post and fix them by having the characters tie up all loose ends as well as celebrate. The writer did not do that here. The epilogue consists solely of everybody toasting each other.

The episode does manage to have its good points. As I noted before, Hamilton’s very first scene is excellent. There are many Steve scenes. And it boasts what is probably the most adorable Sergeant Brice scene ever.

Perry and company are eating at Clay’s and discussing the case when Brice randomly wanders into the scene. He smiles and greets Della, teasingly asking her if the guys are giving her a bad time. She smiles and runs her hand up his arm, telling him that if they ever do, Brice is her policeman.

This certainly opens up an intriguing friendship that is never really explored before or since. They wouldn’t be having such a familiar exchange like that if they haven’t had a great deal of interaction in the past. We’re sadly never shown any other scenes of them interacting, unless there’s some short little bit in the uncut version of a season 3 or 4 episode I’ve never seen. I’ll definitely be writing a story about Della and Brice sometime in the future.

Della is adorable too during the football game. She is very caught up in the game and is tensely excited as she roots for the Wildcats. I was a little surprised to see her show such an interest in football. I never thought of her as much of a sports fan.

Perhaps it’s not so much that she has an interest, but just that as long as she’s there, watching, she gets excited in the moment. They have friends on the team and among the team’s management, too, so she might be rooting for them, really. And they know that if the Wildcats win, there will hopefully be that payoff and they can crack the case.

It is kind of a cute thought, though, if Della enjoys football in general. It would be such an unexpected aspect of her character.

Brice also has an interesting moment in The Impetuous Imp. When Paul arrives on the crime scene and Steve doesn’t want him underfoot right then, Brice shrugs and calmly says, “He’s the boss. Let’s go, Paul,” rather indicating that if it was up to him, he would probably just let Paul stay.

I’m currently trying to find the post where I compared the defendants of The Impetuous Imp and The Negligent Nymph, and mused on preferring the more mature and serious girl from Nymph as opposed to the ditz from Imp, but so far I can’t seem to locate it. (Oh wait, I just found it.) I tend to not tag a post with an episode title if I only mention the episode in one paragraph, but sometimes that results in my losing track of the post. I think I need a better tagging system. It would help if Blogger didn’t limit you on how many characters via tags you can use per post. I think that’s why I started the system I’ve been using.

Anyway, I watched The Impetuous Imp too, generally enjoying it as I usually do, but the epilogue gave me pause this time, in spite of its amusing nature. It occurred to me that it really is terrible that Paul wasn’t consulted on the subject of the girl’s novel. Since she changes the name, however slightly (Paul Lake), I assume he could not sue her if he doesn’t care for the portrayal. But it seems it would just be the most decent thing to do, to tell him before a character heavily based on him goes into the world of print. Perry even seems to know about the book, since he says, “You’ll see, Paul.”

I guess it was just the practice back then, to keep it a surprise. But I heard about more than one instance where somebody sued in real-life because a television character was named exactly after them without their permission and they did not like it one bit. One would assume Perry would mention to the girl that even if Paul could not potentially sue, out of decency she should let Paul know before publishing the book. It would be a little different if it had just been a finished manuscript that she was planning to send off, and Paul was just learning the truth then, but in the scene it’s an actual, published novel. Before he even knows about it, people all over the nation (maybe even the world) are paying to read about Paul Lake, Private Eye. Wow.

In all fairness to the girl, it does sound like she portrays Paul quite well in the excerpt that's read. Paul's feelings on being the subject of her book, however, are not expressly clear. He gives one of his classic facial expressions during the excerpt and yet another when he sees the title of the book. And we are left with that.

Perry Mason Returns

Well, I finally bit the bullet and watched Perry Mason Returns today. My feelings are, as I expected, mixed.

To be honest, overall the movie was largely what I expected from it, in plot, tone, and execution. There were few surprises for me.

Featuring a newly recorded version of the theme was wonderful. It added a feeling of “this is so right/this is really a Perry Mason movie.” It was the perfect opening and closing.

The set-up, with a murdered boss and his estranged family all suspect, seemed like classic Perry. I really got the vibe of “this is like a Perry episode” when we met the suspects and saw and heard their reasons for disliking the victim.

Della was absolutely adorable. I always liked her fine in the series, but I think I like her even more in the film. She blossomed into such a sweet mother/grandmotherly type. I love that she smiled for her difficult boss and was so close with Paul Jr.

I was glad that there wasn’t any mention of Paul Senior being dead, but not including any line about what had happened to him felt sad and like a glaring omission. It almost seemed like they were deliberately trying to avoid the topic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the actors, indeed, were.

Paul Jr. having to let all the other operatives go also seemed really sad, especially when thinking back on the agency when Paul Senior ran it. There were so many operatives then!

I loved the touch of Paul Senior’s picture on Paul Jr.’s desk.

I was surprised that wasn’t even one scene of Perry serving in the capacity of a judge at the beginning. I thought maybe he’d be in a court case and someone would deliver a note about Della being in trouble. Instead, we don’t see him until he arrived following a phone call from Della about being arrested for her recent boss’s murder.

Perry certainly became gruff through the years. I definitely picked up on some Ironside-ish traits, particularly his refusal to tell Paul Jr. that he was doing a good job until the very end. I suppose the idea was that Perry was growing older and a bit more aloof, but I wasn’t sure I liked that change to the character. Perry and Ironside should be two different people. Perry is a lot warmer in the original series, especially to younger people. I can’t see the Perry of the original series being so standoffish where praising Paul Jr. (when he warranted it) was concerned.

Richard Anderson was absolutely adorable too, speaking of adorable people. I loved him through the film and just wish that he hadn’t been the Big Bad. I also thought his relationship with the victim’s daughter was very sweet—or it would have been, if his character hadn’t been married.

His character was familiar with both Perry and Della, and they had some fun scenes together. When he was friendly and kind with them, it reminded me so much of Lieutenant Drumm, and I wished again that Richard had brought that character back.

The police Lieutenant they did have was very generic and forgettable. Paul Jr.’s Sergeant Stratton friend was more memorable, although Paul Jr. was certainly proving a pest! All in the line of saving Della, of course, but poor Sergeant Stratton.

Paul Jr. was very right about having his own style of being a P.I. He seemed to fall back on the clichés of a private eye constantly passing himself off as someone else. He pretended to be an insurance agent, among other things, and his utter gall in trying to remove the evidential wig from the hitman’s hotel suite was appalling. Paul Senior would have totally had a fit! I can just imagine him lecturing Paul Jr. on his conduct.

I wasn’t totally sure what to make of the character. I love the adorableness of him being played by Barbara Hale’s son; you could see the bond between them in their scenes and even when they spoke of each other while not being in the same scene. But I guess I feel like how a lot of fans feel about David Gideon, in the respect of feeling he was there mainly to cater to a younger fan base.

The original series didn’t need to fall back on such stunts; I’ve run across many Perry fans who say they started watching when they were kids. If the series could hold the attention of young people during its original run, it could hold the attention of young people in the 1980s, too. My interest certainly proves that it can continue to grab the attention of the youngest generations. It doesn’t need a character from my age bracket to make it more interesting.

That said, since they really needed a P.I., I thought it was lovely to have it be Paul’s son instead of some random guy. I adore that Perry said that he had known Paul Jr. all of his life. I have an image of Paul Senior making Perry the godfather and Della the godmother. Lots of family and friendship squee.

The prosecutor being a woman was fun to see. That’s something I would have enjoyed seeing in the original series. But I wasn’t sure what to make of her, either. While Hamilton always works for the ends of justice above everything else, and is happy when the real murderers are exposed even if he has to lose a case, this lady seemed to be quite upset about losing even with the murderer uncovered. Her facepalm when the judge ordered a dismissal was rather eyebrow-raising. (Or perhaps, I suppose, she was just upset that she hadn’t uncovered the truth herself, rather than that she had lost.) On the other hand, I really liked that she pushed her feelings aside and went over to congratulate Perry on winning.

The movies are extremely popular with Perry/Della relationship fans, and it’s easy to see why. They had some lovely scenes together in the movie; the part where Perry was introduced and Della went to him and cried is very moving and emotional. They had quite a good deal of interaction throughout, and of course, their interaction in this and in the succeeding movies is probably in large part why the television movies were such a success.

It was apparent that there were deliberate nods to the original series, even slipping in a mention of Hamilton by the current district attorney and the aforementioned picture of Paul Senior. But, try as I might, when all was said and done, the movie was not Perry as I know and love it. I knew the television movies never could be, with only two original characters returning. It’s a treasure that Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale reprised their roles, but everyone is needed for it to really feel like Perry Mason, not just Perry and Della.

It’s so sad that for all the absent characters except Steve (and Sergeant Brice), the actors were dead at the time the film was made. I wonder what a Perry reunion movie would have been like if more of them had still been alive and willing to take part as the characters they played on the series.

I have to admit, I’m now wondering all the more what to think where MeTV’s showings of the movies are concerned. I don’t know if I want to use as much tape as it would take to record the ones they’ll show, especially since tapes are so expensive these days and there are other things I want to record far more (such as Cannon). Nor am I sure that I even want to take the time to watch the movies. I was growing fairly restless by the time we reached the one-hour mark of this one.

I guess what I’d really like would be to just pick out the Perry and Della moments in the other films and view those, because even though I’m not an active fan of the romantic pairing, I love their interaction and am very interested in their shared scenes in the films.

Actually, I am very interested in any of Della’s scenes, too, but I imagine most of her scenes are shared with Perry. While I adored her in the movie even more than in the series, I think I prefer Perry in the original series. Things like him exhibiting Ironside-ish behavior turned me off a bit on his portrayal in the movie.

While I am glad that I finally got around to watching this film, I honestly can hardly wait until I see my next episode of the original series (which will hopefully be tonight if not right now).

As a parting note, I saw Lee Miller’s name in the credits. He played a security guard, but try as I might, I can’t think where he was in the film. Can anyone enlighten me? I love that he was involved with Raymond Burr’s projects all the way into the 1980s!

And to everyone who will be watching the Perry movie on MeTV tomorrow night (it’s the All-Star something, I think), I hope you enjoy it! (Especially if you’ve never before seen one of the films.)

William Talman Tribute Site!

So MeTV remembered William Talman's passing! They have a lovely plug on their site and include a link to a tribute site! This is awesome.

MeTV's Plug: http://metvnetwork.com/share/remembering-wiliam-talman

And, in case they don't always keep the plug up, the link to the tribute site directly: http://www.william-talman.com/

I am very excited about both the tribute site and MeTV's acknowledgment of it! William Talman deserves to be remembered this way.

I also think Wesley Lau deserves the same. I've been thinking of making a tribute site just for him, but have found the idea daunting in the face of my other projects (The Simon Oakland website, that blog, this blog, keeping Tumblr rolling, fanfiction stories, and of course, work). I have also been considering another blog, one that would focus on all of my favorite actors, Perry-related and otherwise, and their appearances.

I might not be able to make a Wesley site as detailed as the Simon site, since I co-run that site and am only responsible for half of its production, but I believe so strongly that such a site should exist for Wesley that I think I should get cracking and make even a little one.

In Memoriam, William Talman and Wesley Lau

I’ve been racking my brain for something unique and different I could say today. The idea I had hoped to use hasn’t worked out, so I’ve had to think of something else. And I decided perhaps it’s time to share the memorabilia I’ve crafted for myself featuring the characters created by William Talman and Wesley Lau, the two beloved Perry actors who departed this life on this day in 1968 and 1984, respectively.

I should add immediately: I am making no profit from any of these! It’s pure love for the series, and for anything existing in the physical sense, there is only one of each, just for me. I have not, nor will I ever, sell any of the designs here.

I’ve bemoaned the fact that there are no Perry character shirts. Well, I decided that I wanted some just for me. I crafted several designs, one of which has been turned into a real shirt.

The first one I came up with is humorous, with the famous “Objection!” caption from the Phoenix Wright games atop Hamilton’s head as he exclaims indignantly in court.

The second is a bit humorous too, but was also meant to show my great love for our district attorney. I used a shot of his beautiful smile from the end of The Lover’s Leap. This is the design I have on my shirt.

For Andy, I came up with a bit more of an overtly fangirlish design, utilizing one of my favorite shots of him from The Renegade Refugee. I'm hoping to make this into a real shirt this year.

I also created a keychain, with a plug for the blog on the front and a picture of Raymond Burr and William Talman on the back. I often wear this around on a lanyard when I’m not wearing my Hamilton shirt.

My biggest project was undoubtedly when I decided to make a Hamilton plushie. I first tried to utilize the services of someone who has made plushies for me in the past, but upon having a much more difficult time contacting her, I determined to make it myself. For someone who can sew, but doesn’t like it much, I knew it would be a huge challenge.

I thought for a while that I would have to make the entire plushie from scratch, but then we were at JoAnn’s and Mom noticed a pre-made plushie without clothes or features or hair (or ears). I immediately decided this was the best possible solution. The face shape wouldn’t be quite right for Hamilton, but that was alright. I would do everything I could otherwise to make it a loving tribute to my favorite Perry character.

I based the clothes off of what Hamilton wears in The Twice-Told Twist, during the lunch scene with Perry. I love the blue suit and felt it would make a very nice color combination. I managed to get fabric in just about the right shades of blue for both the suit and the tie, and white for the shirt.

I felt it would be easier for me to sew everything by hand instead of with a machine, when it would be so small. And that is exactly what I did. The pants got a little lop-sided, as did the shirt collar, but overall I think I did pretty well, especially when I used to be extremely sloppy at sewing anything. I was very meticulous here.

The ears were definitely one of the strangest challenges. I have no idea why the plushie was sold without them, so I had to make them. The first attempt was too small and I had to try again. The next attempt went a lot more smoothly, and I was able to get the ears attached without too much trouble.

Then there was the hair. I did not want to try to attach loose hair onto a backing; I wanted something already on a backing. I was just lucky that I found some mohair for sale on eBay. It’s perhaps a bit darker than it should be, but Hamilton’s hair looks darker in the earlier seasons, so I went with it anyway. I sewed it on in pieces and was quite proud of how it came out.

I still haven’t made socks or shoes, both because I really don’t like sewing and was ready to scream by that point and also because I’m a little worried that the black material of the socks might start rubbing off on the plush after a while. That’s what happened with the gloves on another plush of mine (that I didn’t make). But aside from those things, he’s done and has been for over a year.

I have a whole bunch of pictures on a roll of film, but I’m wondering if they’ll even turn out. When I tried to have a few recent pictures taken, I found that they were all extremely light. I have never had that happen with a camera before. It’s like when a printer is running out of ink and prints everything way too light. I tried very hard to darken a couple of them, but the details are still really hard to see. The pictures can be clicked on to see their original size, but I'm afraid that still won't make some details show up well. Oh, I hope that other roll of film is better.

I wanted his expression to be calm, Hamilton on a good day. I based it on a lovely picture of William Talman from before Perry, and practiced a simplified version of it many times over, on paper, before I drew it on the plush with Sharpies.

I have also wanted to make a plush of Andy. My biggest problem is wondering how to do the hair. From asking all around, it seems that for him I would have to work with loose pieces of hair, and I’m not sure I’m brave enough for that adventure. But I’m still looking for a more feasible solution, even a doll wig in the right size and approximate style, because I would really like to have one of him, too!

My love for the characters these wonderful men brought to life has certainly resulted in my trying out new methods of showing that love and being creative. I would never spend time engaging in such projects as plushie creation if the characters involved hadn’t deeply touched me.

And of course, I’ve also explored a medium with which I’m very familiar, that of fanfiction stories. I think with every new series I write about, I learn a little more about writing, and writing for the Perry crew has taught me a great deal. I spent and still spend many happy hours watching the character go on their adventures, and it makes me happier still to craft new ones for them to have. I only wish that the actors themselves could have participated in acting out my little adventures. That would have been a dream come true! I like to think that they are aware of and enjoy the stories, at least, even though some of them are very unusual.

I have even occasionally dipped into making fanart with Perry characters, even though I have mountains of trouble drawing anything resembling real people. Hamilton and Andy have both been drawn by me, although the one of Andy didn't turn out very well. I am happy that I managed to do a fairly good one of Amory Fallon, however. And I certainly haven't given up on hoping to get Andy right.

On August 30^th, and on every day, really, I strongly think about and miss our wonderful William Talman and Wesley Lau. Though they were both gone before I was even born, I wish I could have met them. From all that I have been able to find out, they were both people I would have enjoyed knowing—very devoted to family and friends, friendly, good-humored, and fun to be around.

I have tried to take lessons from them, especially in being close to family. I want to thank them both for how they and their characters have touched me and for things I have learned along the way. I may not like sewing, but knowing how to do it better might help me someday! And writing, as always, is my deep passion. I love to express myself, especially when I am inventing new stories for characters I love or otherwise writing about them.

William and Wesley: I know you're both shining wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Stars such as you will never go out.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the second anniversary of this blog! It’s hard to believe it’s been going that long.

It’s been such an intriguing two years of rediscovery. I’ve gone from detesting Deputy Sampson to adoring him, and from hating season 9 to being fascinated by its merits (for the most part). I’ve become familiar with many of television’s classic character actors and can now recognize them the moment they appear, on Perry or other shows. I’ve examined writing for the Perry characters in quite a few strange adventures. And through my interest in Perry actors, I’ve discovered many new and wonderful television series and some movies.

I’m wondering what the next year of the blog will bring, Perry-wise. I want to keep discovering the uncut episodes and post about what’s missing from the syndication versions. It will be a bittersweet moment when I’ve seen every available uncut episode.

I will most likely start posting about the television movies every now and then. And according to MeTV’s current schedule, the first two weeks of their “Made-for-TV Movie” deal on Friday nights will be devoted to two of the Perry television movies. Unfortunately, it looks like they will not be airing anything in any particular order, but if the movies don’t follow a timeline I suppose that doesn’t really matter.

The first one that they will air will appear on September 6^th. It’s from 1989. I will try to see the very first television movie, from 1985, before that time and post about it.

I know I want to keep writing fiction about the characters. The other day I was thinking I’d like to do at least one piece, maybe more, from Sergeant Brice’s point-of-view. I really like him, the quiet policeman whose presence is usually taken for granted. He’s a calming presence, an old, familiar friend who is there through all the changes in the police department. No matter who takes the main reins, Sergeant Brice is always there to help him out.

And I still have to figure out how to resolve the tangled mess of The Malevolent Mugging. I know exactly what the problem is, which is that while I knew what I wanted the bad guys to focus on doing to Amory in the second half of the story, I don’t really know why they’re doing it. I did a version of this storyline in a role-play in the past, but the motivation in it won’t work for the story version. So I’m puzzling over that.

I’m also wondering how Deputy Sampson’s past will connect with everything. I know that it’s supposed to; I didn’t just throw it in there in order to show my imagined backstory for him. (Even though I was excited to share it!) Part of me had considered that maybe the missing boy should turn up as the Big Bad of the criminal organization they’re fighting, but I don’t really want to do that. It would be too sad, and Sampson would definitely blame himself for the kid getting off on such a wrong path. I have another, cheerier idea that I will probably use instead, a ray of hope in the middle of their drastic problems. Or, on the third hand, I might not bring the boy into it at all, but leave his whereabouts a mystery and just focus on Warner Griffith being bent on revenge over the disappearance.

For this week, I’m wondering what I can do that’s different and unique for the William Talman and Wesley Lau memorial tributes on the 30^th. I have at least one idea, but I don’t know if it will work out.

Sergeant Holcomb, and some free books!

Oh dear, a late Thursday entry again. But at least I'm getting one in, as opposed to the weekend fail. (I wasn't feeling well.)

So, long ago, I discussed the Perry Mason computer game and mentioned my confusion over the inclusion of the Sergeant Holcomb character, whom I didn’t know. I thought they had created him solely for the game, as a Sergeant Brice-type character. Of course, more recent explorations into this matter have informed me that the character exists in the books, and that he isn’t at all like the quiet Brice.

Now armed with that knowledge, I realized his existence in the television series as well, when I was watching The Restless Redhead on my local station the other night. A character by that name also appears in The Fan-Dancer’s Horse.

Since he was a fairly prominent book character, at least early on, I wonder why they decided not to continue using him on the series. Did they figure Lieutenant Tragg was the only policeman who should be really prominent?

Were they having trouble keeping hold of actors to play the character? In two television appearances, he was played by two different actors to match.

I would say the biggest problem is that they couldn’t seem to decide how the character should be portrayed. In The Restless Redhead, he’s older, gruff, and no-nonsense, cut from the same cloth as Tragg, only definitely not putting on airs of being friendly when he doesn’t feel friendly at all.

In The Fan-Dancer’s Horse, he’s younger and not entirely ethical. He deliberately misleads witnesses in trying to establish identification of the real Lois Fenton, and even puts the real one in the shadow box when no one is there to see her. He knows very well that he did wrong, too, as he tries to run out of the courtroom when the whole matter is exposed. Hamilton angrily calls him back.

I would have to say that the main reason I never noticed the Holcomb name being used is that I don’t often watch either of the episodes in which he appears, and when I do watch them, the characters are so different that I can’t believe they’re the same guy. I came to that same conclusion now, after reviewing the relevant scenes in The Fan-Dancer’s Horse.

I feel that the Holcomb in The Restless Redhead is completely aboveboard. He may be closer to the book’s character; that is something I can’t say. But if he is Tragg’s predecessor in the books, as I read, then it seems to me that he is likely an honest cop there.

The Holcomb in The Fan-Dancer’s Horse certainly seems to be a slimeball. He doesn’t even have anything to say for himself (at least that we hear in canon). He’s still sitting in court after his antics come to light, but I imagine he received quite the reprimand and maybe even a reevaluation of his abilities when it was all over.

On TV.com, it discusses The Fan-Dancer’s Horse Holcomb and indicates a belief that both Holcombs are meant to be the same person. I can’t say what the casting director’s intentions were, but if either Holcomb wanders into a story of mine in the future, I will not try to say they are one and the same. I feel sorry for the poor Restless Redhead Holcomb, sharing a name with the Fan-Dancer’s Horse Holcomb and having people think they’re the same character. As far as I’m concerned, The Restless Redhead Holcomb is upright and someone to be admired, even if people feel he’s too hard on Perry. I like to think he would be disgusted by the Fan-Dancer’s Horse Holcomb, the same way Tragg is repulsed by the dishonest cop in The Moth-Eaten Mink. In fact, maybe that’s how I’ll get Holcomb into my stories; I’ll do a short piece of him upset over the incident.

I wonder if the two Holcombs could be related? Father and son, perhaps? Or, if the age difference isn’t that extensive, brothers or cousins?

This will be fun to play with.

And oh my goodness, in my Internet search to learn a bit more about the Holcomb character, I stumbled across something exciting for anyone who would like a chance to look at the books but hasn’t had access to them yet. http://www.e-reading-lib.com/bookbyauthor.php?author=21005 This website features fourteen Perry books to read, right on the site! I think they’re all complete; I skimmed through one to make sure. Since the books are long out of print, and the publishers won’t lose any money from the site’s existence due to that, I find nothing wrong with enjoying what the site has to offer. They have a couple there that I’d really like to read the book versions of, particularly The Singing Skirt (of course) and The Caretaker’s Cat. So, even though I don’t normally like reading books online (I much prefer curling up with one on the couch or the bed!), I will definitely be examining these. Or, here’s a thought, maybe I’ll print them up so I can curl up with them.

Musical Mayhem and Murder

Today I started thinking about another sub-category of episodes: Those involving music as an important plot point. There’s enough of them that a post is possible.

The first foray into any kind of music is season 2’s The Jaded Joker, certainly one of the most disliked episodes, at least as far as I can tell. It’s definitely a strange one, as it explores some level of the beatnik culture and one particular beatnik’s philosophies on life. But it has its good points, including the wonderful friendship between two of the main guest-stars, Tragg using beatnik talk, and the titular song, which is played off and on throughout the episode by the resident beatnik.

It’s interesting that the episode boasts a big name in music, yet the man doesn’t sing one note! Frankie Laine plays the main guest-star, a discouraged comedian.

It’s also interesting that the episode has a little tie with the next major music-themed episode, The Missing Melody. Bobby Troupe, who is one of the main guest-stars in The Missing Melody, wrote the instrumental piano piece played throughout The Jaded Joker.

While Paul Drake's Dilemma doesn't revolve around music, it does make an important subplot, with the singer who refuses to testify and help Paul once she realizes her career would be helped along if she did not. And there is also the record she sings that plays in the murder apartment.

Music definitely comes to the forefront a lot more in season 5’s The Missing Melody. A jazz band has center stage, Bobby Troupe is part of it, and then there’s the titular item, which is not on the audiotape that Perry had thought it was on.

The episode boasts several very interesting guest-stars. James Drury, about a year before becoming the titular character in NBC’s long-running Western The Virginian, plays the leader of the jazz band and the bridegroom, who is jilted at the altar by the horrified bride due to a cruel blackmailer’s threats. Bobby Troupe plays one of his friends and a member of the band. Although he sang as well as played instruments, he doesn’t sing here.

Constance Towers does, however. This famous singer performs two big numbers in the episode and is also a major player throughout. She also ends up being the murderer.

Coming to think of it, Walter Burke, who plays Frankie Laine’s friend in The Jaded Joker, also turns up in this episode, with a smaller part.

The next major music episode is season 6's The Dodging Domino, the Halloween episode that really uses Halloween as a backdrop until the climax. The main plot revolves around a plagiarized song being used in a musical, a song that really sounds like it belongs in a musical made in the 1930s or 1940s, not the 1960s. But I could be biased because I don't care for the types of musicals that have a very thin plot held together by some musical numbers. The episode is filled with cheesy dialogue and seems to be very tongue-in-cheek throughout. It also features several different versions of the plagiarized song, including one played during a jam session courtesy of a beatnik's stolen tape.

Our next music venture is all the way in season 8, The Frustrated Folk-Singer. And singer Gary Crosby, who is of course one of Bing’s sons, appears with his guitar. He hires the main guest-star to sing at his place, although he says he can’t pay her. She just wants to sing, so she agrees. Her voice is passable, but not the greatest, a notation made in the episode by assorted characters. The poor girl ends up tricked by a lowdown creep into thinking she has a movie deal and eventually is accused of the guy’s murder. Gary’s character stands by her through it all, and in the end, if I remember right, he’s going to go back with her to her hometown in the South.

Of course, there’s The Avenging Angel in season 9, which spends most of its time making commentary on the music business and exploring the ins and outs of how it works. It’s amusing and interesting that even back then, some people were noting that talent wasn’t the most important factor in making a singing idol. The episode definitely isn’t dated today, and actually is quite enjoyable as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the industry, as it was likely meant to be. But for mystery fans, it does get exasperating that the murder doesn’t even happen until about 35 minutes into the episode! The writer got so caught up in laughing at the music industry that the mystery really got shuttled off to the side.

I can think of two other episodes where singers played some level of importance, but weren’t actually clues in any way to the mystery itself. In both The Bogus Books and The Tandem Target, a character plays a guitar and sings. Oddly enough, they both like the same song, This Train. The singer in The Tandem Target also sings another song, which is a rather odd one and I was disappointed he didn’t finish it or sing it again later in its complete form. Looking it up tells me it’s very old and fairly well-known, and that it has several versions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Riddle_Song

Our singer in The Bogus Books is the 1960’s Batman, Adam West. I’m not aware that he ever released an actual album, but he has sung during other roles too, and his singing on Perry is really quite good. He has a very nice, strong voice.

Our singer in The Tandem Target is Paul Carr. I’m not sure of the extent of his musical career, either, but he also has a pleasant singing voice. His official website describes him as a musician and mentions his abilities with both the guitar and the saxophone. He, sadly, has passed on. He sounds like he was an interesting and warm person. http://timem.com/starwebs/paulcarr/

The Bogus Books is also significant, music-wise, in the fact of the radio turning on at seven P.M. being a vital clue in solving the murder.

Of course, there are other episodes in which music plays a part in similar fashions, including season 4’s The Envious Editor, with its record being a key point in fixing the time of death and placing the defendant at the murder scene. I seem to remember a record being used in other episodes too, or at least one other, but this is the occasion that stands out the most for me at the moment. I remember an earlier episode that features a scene in a record store, and I believe it might be from season 3, but I can’t recall which one it is.