September 21, 1957: "Perry Mason" Premieres

September 21, 1957: Perry Mason premieres on CBS, based on the novels of Erle Stanley Gardner. The series lasts 9 seasons.

Gardner had introduced Los Angeles-based defense attorney Mason in 1933, with The Case of the Velvet Claws. In 1934, with the 3rd novel, Gardner made the title alliterative: The Case of the Lucky Legs. Ultimately, there would be 82 Perry Mason novels, 53 of them having alliterative titles.

And Mason won his case in every book, except once: In 1956, in The Case of the Terrified Typist, the real killer had the same name as Mason's client, who did end up cleared in the end.

Erle Stanley Gardner had already allowed a series of 6 films, between 1933 and 1937, starring Warren William in 4, and Ricardo Cortez and Donald Woods in 1 each. There had also been a radio series, which Gardner hated, and so he had to be talked into allowing a TV version.

Raymond Burr was cast as Mason, which was odd on 2 levels: In 1951, he had played the prosecutor in the film A Place in the Sun; and in 1954, he had played the murderer in Rear Window. Nevertheless, he became the most famous defense counsel -- the most famous lawyer, period -- in television history.

He was assisted by his secretary, Della Street (played by Barbara Hale); and a private detective, Paul Drake (William Hopper, son of actor DeWolf Hopper and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper). Inevitably, the Mason team finds the evidence that not only exonerates Perry's client, but exposes the actual murderer, whom Perry calls to the stand, and deftly exposes, leaving his opponent, District Attorney Hamilton Burger (William Talman) to ask the judge (a rotating series of actors and characters) to dismiss the case.

The TV version of Burger did win 3 cases against Mason, but only 3 in the 9 seasons. In 1958, a journalist asked Talman how he felt about Burger losing to Mason week after week. Talman said, "Burger doesn't lose. How can a District Attorney lose when he fails to convict an innocent person? Unlike a fist or gun fight, in court, you can have a winner without having a loser. As a matter of fact, Burger in a good many instances has joined Mason in action against unethical attorneys, lying witnesses, or any one else obstructing justice. Like any real-life district attorney, justice is Burger's main interest."

The dramatic exposure of the real murderer gave TV viewers an unrealistic impression of murder cases. In real life, a trial wouldn't have happened so quickly, and any exonerating evidence would likely have been found before the case went to trial.

Nevertheless, Gardner closely supervised the scripts, and gave final approval. On May 22, 1966, the final episode aired, "The Case of the Final Fade-Out," with Gardner himself playing the Judge. Gardner died in 1973.

From 1967 to 1975, Burr played Robert Ironside, a wheelchair-bound chief of detectives in San Francisco, in the NBC drama Ironside. In 1985, Burr returned to play Mason in a successful series of TV-movies on NBC. A total of 30 films were made, and Burr starred in 26 of them before his death in 1993.

The first, Perry Mason Returns, featured Perry leaving his post as an appellate court judge to defend Della. Hopper had died in 1970, so Hale's real-life son, William Katt, was cast as Paul Drake Jr., who took up his father's job as Perry's private eye.

Talman had died of lung cancer in 1968, and was the 1st actor to film an anti-smoking ad to be aired after his death, as a warning. So a new character was created to be Mason's opponent: District Attorney Michael Reston, played by former M*A*S*H star David Ogden Stiers. Hale lived until 2017.

In 2020, HBO premiered a reboot series, giving Perry Mason an origin story. In 1932, Mason (Matthew Rhys) is a private investigator struggling with PTSD from World War I. Divorced with a young son -- this was new, as it was never mentioned in either the books or the original TV show -- he often works for E.B. Jonathan (John Lithgow), a defense attorney -- an original character, and, essentially, the Mason role, while young Mason takes the Paul Drake role. Drake (Chris Chalk) is a uniformed policeman with detective ambitions.

Della (Juliet Rylance) is Jonathan's secretary, and Burger (Justin Kirk) is the Assistant D.A. Both characters are revealed to be gay but in the closet. This was also not in previous canon, but it was a tip to Burr, who was closeted.

By the end of the 1st season, Jonathan and Burger have set Mason up to go to law school, and to become the great defense attorney known to legend. The show was an interesting twist on the legend, but never caught on, and lasted just 2 seasons.

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September 21, 1957 was a Saturday. Basketball star Sidney Moncrief, film director Ethan Coen, right-wing talk-show host Mark Levin, and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd were born. And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 8-3 at Yankee Stadium.  Ted Williams went 1-for-1. The 1 hit was a grand slam home run. He also drew 3 walks. Mickey Mantle also went 1-for-1, but it was a single, he only drew 1 walk, and had to leave the game with an injury. Four days later, the Yankees beat Baltimore to clinch the American League Pennant.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Ebbets Field.

* The New York Giants split a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Bucs won the opener, 5-4. The Jints won the nightcap, 9-5. Gail Harris hit 2 home runs for them. Over the 2 games, Willie Mays went 3-for-10G with an RBI, and Roberto Clemente went 3-for-7 with a walk and an RBI.

Three days later, the Dodgers beat the Pirates in the last game at Ebbets Field. Five days after that, the Pirates beat the Giants in the last Giants' home game at the Polo Grounds, while the Dodgers lost their last game as a Brooklyn team to the Phillies in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Roy Sievers hit 2 home runs. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1953 to 1959) beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-8 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Roy McMillan won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Frank Robinson went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Stan Musial went 3-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Adcock hit 2 home runs. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ernie Banks went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Two nights later, Aaron hit an 11th-inning home run to beat the Cardinals, and clinch the Braves' 1st Pennant in Milwaukee. They beat the Yankees in the World Series, in 7 games.

* And the Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

This was the 1st full week of the college football season, and these were among the games played:

* Number 1 Oklahoma beat Number 8 University of Pittsburgh, 26-0 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* Number 2 Texas A&M beat Maryland, 21-13 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (not at their usual home, Kyle Field in College Station).

* Number 7 Baylor beat Villanova, 7-0 at Baylor Stadium (later Floyd Casey Stadium) in Waco, Texas.

* Number 10 Duke beat South Carolina, 26-14 at Carolina Stadium (now Williams-Brice Stadium) in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Number 11 Georgia Tech beat Number 20 Kentucky, 13-0 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

* Number 12 Navy beat Boston College, 46-0 at Alumni Stadium outside Boston in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Army opened their season the next week.)

* Number 13 Oregon State 20, Number 19 Southern California (USC) 0 at Multnomah Stadium (now Providence Park) in Portland, Oregon.

* Number 14 Miami were upset by the University of Houston, 7-0 at Rice Stadium in Houston.

* Rivalry: North Carolina State beat North Carolina, 7-0 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

* Texas beat Georgia, 26-7 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

Notre Dame opened its season the next week. So would Rutgers and Princeton, against each other, a 7-0 Princeton win at Palmer Stadium.