CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
from 1943 to 1955, the series was adapted into '' The Edge of Night'' which ran on television for an additional 30 years.
Production
The 15-minute continuing series ''Perry Mason'' aired weekdays October 18, 1943 – December 30, 1955, on CBS Radio. Geared more towards action than courtroom drama, it mixed mystery and soap opera, with attorney Perry Mason sometimes even exchanging gunfire with criminals.
Erle Stanley Gardner's literary success with the Perry Mason novels convinced Warner Bros. to try its hand, unsuccessfully, with some motion pictures. However, the ''Perry Mason'' radio show stayed on the air for 12 years.
As ''The Edge of Night'', it ran for another 30 years on television, but Gardner disliked the proposed daytime television version due to a lack of his own creative control. He ultimately withheld his endorsement of the daytime TV show, forcing the name change.
Cast
The actors portraying Mason switched frequently over the first three years of the show's run, starting with Bartlett Robinson, then followed by
Santos Ortega
Santos Edward Ortega (June 30, 1899 – April 10, 1976) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for playing Will Hughes in ''As the World Turns'', taking over from Will Lee, who had played the role from the first episode on April 2, ...
and Donald Briggs.John Larkin took over the starring role March 31, 1947, and portrayed Perry Mason until the end of the series.Hickerson, Jay (1992), ''The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows''. Hamden, Connecticut: Jay Hickerson second edition
Larkin played the equivalent character on ''The Edge of Night''.
The guest cast included Mercedes McCambridge. Principal cast members are listed in order of portrayal.
* Perry Mason
*: Bartlett Robinson
*:
Santos Ortega
Santos Edward Ortega (June 30, 1899 – April 10, 1976) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for playing Will Hughes in ''As the World Turns'', taking over from Will Lee, who had played the role from the first episode on April 2, ...
Matt Crowley
Matt Crowley (June 20, 1905 – March 7, 1983) was an American film, television and radio actor.
Life and career
Matt Crowley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a student of George Pierce Baker at Yale University.
As an actor, Crowl ...
Gertrude Warner
Gertrude Warner (April 2, 1917 – January 26, 1986) was an American voice talent who played multiple characters on radio productions during the Golden Age of Radio.
Early life
Warner was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1917. Her father was ...
*:
Jan Miner
Jan Miner (October 15, 1917 – February 15, 2004) was an American actress best known for her role as the character "Madge", the manicurist in Palmolive dish-washing detergent television commercials beginning in the 1960s.
Biography
Early life ...
*:
Joan Alexander
Joan Alexander (born Louise Abrass; April 16, 1915 – May 21, 2009) ''
Radio's ''Perry Mason'' has more in common, in all but name, with the daytime serial '' The Edge of Night'' than the subsequent prime-time '' Perry Mason'' television show. As many radio serials moved to television, so was to be the destiny of ''Perry Mason''. However, Gardner disagreed with the direction of the new show and pulled his support. CBS insisted that Mason be given a love interest to placate daytime soap opera audiences, but Gardner flatly refused to take Mason in that direction. The sponsor,
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
hired the writers and staff of the ''Perry Mason'' radio series, the show was retooled, and it became ''The Edge of Night''. The characters and setting were renamed.
CBS would eventually acquiesce to Gardner's vision and greenlight an official ''Perry Mason'' TV adaptation in 1957. Since this version would air in
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
, it was not bound to the conventions of daytime soaps and would more closely resemble a conventional courtroom drama. Two actors who played Perry Mason on radio, Bartlett Robinson and John Larkin, appeared in episodes of the CBS-TV series, ''Perry Mason'', starring
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''.
Burr's early acting career included roles ...
as the title character.
Both ''The Edge of Night'' and ''Perry Mason'' would go on to success in television: the prime time ''Perry Mason'' ran for nine seasons (and would be revived in a series of television films in the 1980s that would run until Burr's death). ''The Edge of Night'' would run for 28 years on daytime television.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...