Perry Mason Star Raymond Burr Blazed Trails for Gay Actors and Hid Behd a Straight Tragedy

Contents:

• HOW ‘PERRY MASON’ TACKLED QUEERNS WH A CONTEMPORARY LENS: “YOU’VE BEEN GAY, BUT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN GAY THE 1930S”
• ‘PERRY MASON’ STAR RAYMOND BURR BLAZED TRAILS FOR GAY ACTORS—EVEN IF HE HID BEHD A STRAIGHT TRAGEDY

HOW ‘PERRY MASON’ TACKLED QUEERNS WH A CONTEMPORARY LENS: “YOU’VE BEEN GAY, BUT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN GAY THE 1930S”

Naturally, their sexualy is too taboo to live openly such a fiercely homophobic era, and th Della and Haton’s iendship is also mutually beneficial: They n go out together publicly so that Haton particular n eva qutns about his private life, wh Della posg as a romantic tert. “I’ve never done a perd piece where I got to explore a gay experience, ” she says — while admtg the era which Ana liv is far different om her own generatn, spe their siar inti. “And she rightly said, ‘Well, you’ve been gay, but you’ve never been gay the 1930s.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Red, Whe and Royal Blue’ on Amazon Prime Vio, a Charmgly Star-Crossed Gay Rom-Com.

Perry isn’t a queer in like RuPl or Ellen or Elton—but the kids gettg to HBO’s Perry Mason should know their history and know the character’s place wh the gay non. Perry Mason serv a ltle regnn durg Pri bee of the actor most associated wh the role: Raymond Burr, one of the first—if not the first—gay actors to ever star the lead role of a succsful TV seri. Blanche Deverex’s gay brother) played him a short-lived ’70s TV revival, and Matthew Rhys is the current Mason.

‘PERRY MASON’ STAR RAYMOND BURR BLAZED TRAILS FOR GAY ACTORS—EVEN IF HE HID BEHD A STRAIGHT TRAGEDY

Burr was also gay, and he achieved a level of notoriety on televisn that was unrivaled by every other gay TV actor of the era(s)—and like all of his gay peers, Burr was also eply closeted. To put Burr’s imposg stature ntext, of urse there were closeted gay actors workg on televisn when Burr land the lead role of Mason 1957.