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Paul Drake (character)
Paul Drake is a fictional private detective in the ''Perry Mason'' series of murder mystery novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. Drake is described as tall and slouching, nondescript (as suits his profession), and frequently wearing an expression of droll humor. He often smoked cigarettes especially when he had a subject of interest under surveillance. He is friend and right-hand man to Mason, a highly successful criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles. Novels Drake is frequently described as "lanky" and slightly "fish-faced" or "pop-eyed". In talking with Mason, he generally likes to slouch in an armchair with his back over one arm and his legs over the other. The conversations often include complaints about his indigestion from living on cheap hamburgers and bad coffee when working for Mason. His appearance and attitude are deceptive, however: he is personally dedicated, and physically tough in a fight. Films Allen Jenkins played a variation on the Paul Drake character, referre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a client being charged with murder, usually involving a preliminary hearing or jury trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by finding the real murderer. The character was inspired by famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers. The character of Perry Mason was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by the best known adaptation, the CBS television series '' Perry Mason'' (1957–1966) starring Raymond Burr. A second television series, '' The New Perry Mason'' starring Monte Markham, ran from 1973 to 1974; and 30 ''Perry Mason'' television films ran from 1985 to 1995, with Burr reprising the role of Mason in 26 of them up to his death in 1993. A third television se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Case Of The Lucky Legs
''The Case of the Lucky Legs'' is a 1935 mystery film, the third in a series of Perry Mason films starring Warren William as the famed lawyer. Plot Margie Clune wins the "Lucky Legs" beauty contest concocted by Frank Patton, but has trouble collecting her $1,000 prize when the promoter skips town. It turns out it is all a scam he has pulled before. When he later turns up stabbed to death, she is a strong suspect. Cast * Warren William as Perry Mason * Genevieve Tobin as Della Street * Patricia Ellis as Margie Clune * Lyle Talbot as Dr. Bob Doray * Allen Jenkins as Spudsy Drake, Mason's private investigator * Barton MacLane as Police Chief Bisonette * Peggy Shannon as Thelma Bell * Porter Hall as Bradbury * Anita Kerry as Eva Lamont * Craig Reynolds as Frank Patton * Henry O'Neill as District Attorney Manchester * Charles Wilson as Police Officer Ricker * Joseph Crehan as Detective Johnson * Olin Howland as Dr. Croker, Perry's doctor * Mary Treen as Spudsy's wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Back Story
A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's preparation. Usage As a literary device, backstory is often employed to lend depth or believability to the main story. The usefulness of having a dramatic revelation was recognized by Aristotle, in ''Poetics''. Backstories are usually revealed, partially or in full, chronologically or otherwise, as the main narrative unfolds. However, a story creator may also create portions of a backstory or even an entire backstory that is solely for their own use. Backstory may be revealed by various means, including flashbacks, dialogue, direct narration, summary, recollection, and exposition. Recollection Recollection is the fiction-writing mode whereby a character calls something to mind, or remembers it. A character's memory plays a role for conve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Mason (TV Film Series)
A series of 30 ''Perry Mason'' television films aired on NBC from 1985 to 1995 as sequels to the CBS TV series ''Perry Mason''. After a hiatus of nearly 20 years, Raymond Burr reprised his role as Los Angeles defense attorney Mason in 26 of the television films. Following Burr's death in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the remaining television films that aired from 1993 to 1995, with Sorvino playing lawyer Anthony Caruso in the first of these and Holbrook playing "Wild Bill" McKenzie in the last three. Production Development The original ''Perry Mason'' television series was broadcast on CBS television from 1957 to 1966. Raymond Burr starred as Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer Perry Mason, a character created by American author and attorney Erle Stanley Gardner. Television producer Dean Hargrove resurrected the Perry Mason character in a series of television films for NBC beginning in 1985. Casting Dean Hargrove was able to bring back the two then-surviving ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Perry Mason
''The New Perry Mason'' is a CBS TV series that ran from 1973 to 1974. It was a revival of the 1957 ''Perry Mason'' television series about Erle Stanley Gardner's brilliant defense attorney. Plot All of the major characters of the original series appeared in the revival, along with Gertie, a receptionist seldom seen in the original (and played by Connie Cezon, in the original, on the few occasions when she was), and the plots and their devices were along the lines of the original. The familiar theme song of the original, "Park Avenue Beat", was replaced by a generic dramatic fanfare. Cast * Monte Markham as Perry Mason * Sharon Acker as Della Street * Albert Stratton as Paul Drake * Dane Clark as Lt. Arthur Tragg * Harry Guardino as Hamilton Burger * Brett Somers as Gertie Lade Production Development While several production personnel had worked on the original ''Perry Mason'' series (including executive producer Cornwell Jackson, producers Ernie Frankel and Art Seid, and dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Della Street
Della Street is the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, short stories, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner. In 1950, Gardner published the short story "The Case of the Suspect Sweethearts" under the pseudonym Della Street. Description Original novels A character named Della Street first appeared in Gardner's unpublished novel ''Reasonable Doubt'', where she was a secretary, but not the secretary of the lawyer, Ed Stark. Gardner described her this way: "Della Street … Secretary, twenty-seven, quiet, fast as hell on her feet, had been places. Worked in a carnival or side show, knows all the lines, hard-boiled exterior, quietly efficient, puzzled over the lawyer, chestnut hair, trim figure, some lines on her face, a hint of weariness at the corners of her eyes." When Gardner submitted ''Reasonable Doubt'' to William Morrow, an editor suggested that "Della Street is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Running Gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not considered to be running gags. Running gags can begin with an instance of unintentional humor that is repeated in variations as the joke grows familiar and audiences anticipate reappearances of the gag. The humor in a running gag may derive entirely from how often it is repeated, but the underlying statement or situation will always be some form of joke. A trivial statement will not become a running gag simply by being repeated. A running gag may also derive its humor from the (in)appropriateness of the situation in which it occurs, or by setting up the audience to expect another occurrence of the joke and then substituting something else ('' bait and switch''). Running gags are found in everyday life, live theater, live comedy, televi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gail Patrick
Gail Patrick (born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick; June 20, 1911 – July 6, 1980) was an American film actress and television producer. Often cast as the bad girl or the other woman, she appeared in more than 60 feature films between 1932 and 1948, notably '' My Man Godfrey'' (1936), ''Stage Door'' (1937), and ''My Favorite Wife'' (1940). After retiring from acting, she became, as Gail Patrick Jackson, president of Paisano Productions and executive producer of the '' Perry Mason'' television series (1957–1966). She was one of the first female producers, and the only female executive producer in prime time during the nine years ''Perry Mason'' was on the air. She served two terms (1960–1962) as vice president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and as president of its Hollywood chapter—the first woman to serve in a leadership capacity in the academy, and its only female leader until 1983. Career Gail Patrick was born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamilton Burger
Hamilton Burger is the fictional Los Angeles County District Attorney (D.A.) in the series of novels, films, and radio and television programs featuring Perry Mason, the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner. Character Hamilton Burger first appears in chapter 10 of Gardner's 1935 novel, ''The Case of the Counterfeit Eye'', in which he is described as "a broad-shouldered, thick-necked individual with a close-cropped moustache". Gardner describes Burger in the cast of characters of that novel as an "honest but stubborn" D.A. In chapter 15 of ''The Case of the Caretaker's Cat'' (1935), Burger's residential address is given as 3297 West Lakeside, and his phone number is EXposition 9–6949. Burger is one of literature's least successful district attorneys, and critics have suggested that he must have been the most incompetent lawyer in history, although his record against defense attorneys other than Mason is unknown. He inevitably prosecutes the wrong personMaso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor who had a lengthy Hollywood film career and portrayed the title roles in the television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television, and film, usually as the villain. He portrayed the suspected murderer in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller ''Rear Window'' (1954), and he also had a role in the 1956 film ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'', which he reprised in the 1985 film '' Godzilla 1985''. He won Emmy Awards for acting in 1959 and 1961 for the role of Perry Mason, which he played for nine seasons (1957–1966) and reprised in a series of 26 ''Perry Mason'' TV movies (1985–1993). His second TV series, '' Ironside,'' earned him six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations. Burr died due to liver cancer in 1993, and his personal life came into question, as many details of his biography appeared to be unverifiable. He was ranked num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Television Network
A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or, in the United States, Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributors. Until the mid-1980s, broadcast programming on television in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast network, terrestrial networks. Many early television networks such as the BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, PBS, People's Television Network, PTV, NBC or ABC American Broadcasting Company, in the US and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, in Australia evolved from earlier radio networks. Overview In countries where most networks broadcast identical, centrally originated content to all of their stations, and where most individual television transmitters therefore operate only as large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
