1957: Perry Mason Enters the Courtroom for the First Time

Based on the character from the books of Erle Stanley Gardner, Raymond Burr starred in the legal drama series known as Perry Mason which premiered on CBS on this day in 1957. The show was the first weekly hour-long drama series and featured the fictional Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer. Lasting nine seasons, the original show was nominated nine times for an Emmy and won five including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Burr, 1959 and 1960) and Best Supporting Actress (Barbara Hale, 1959). The show has been shown in syndication ever since it went off the air on May 22, 1966. In 1973, CBS attempted a revival of the series with a new cast (Monte Markham and Sharon Acker) but it wasn’t received well and it only ran for half a season. Then, magic struck a second time in 1985 when NBC created a made-for-TV movie starring Burr and Hale once again. It did so well that the network created 29 other Perry Mason movies. Burr starred in 26 of them before his death in 1993. The last four were filmed after his death but Mason absence was explained that he was on vacation. (Image: Wikimedia)