The Case of the Final Fade-Out

For all of us who grew up on PERRY MASON, the show will never end. However, there was an actual final episode, and this is it. It's excellent.

Fittingly, set in Hollywood, not too far from Perry's office, at a movie studio. In fact, this was cost effective; the La Brea studio where the series was filmed was used. Today, the studio at 1416 North LaBrea, near Hollywood High School, is known as The Jim Hensen Recording Studios. Originally, Charlie Chaplin's famous silent film studio.

What a neat mystery. Producer Denver Pyle (Jackson Sidemark) is desperate to sign star Barry Conrad (played by James Stacy) to a new contract for his hit tv show. Conrad refuses to sign, leaving Sidemark in a terrible mess --and is promptly murdered. Open and shut case, right?

Wrong. What happens when Sidemark is also murdered? Enter Perry Mason.

Lots of terrific actors (and suspects) to boot, namely Dick Clark, who was a very good dramatic actor. He plays a character called Leif Early? Jackie Coogan plays Desmond and 80 year old Estelle Winwood (simply the best actress) plays Winifred.

Yes, author Erle Stanley Gardner (himself) fittingly plays the judge, but plays it down, not to attract much attention. Gardner, who was an attorney long before turning to writing, said he based Perry Mason on an actual Los Angeles lawyer who won 77 murder trials, and only lost 3. He was amazed, especially at the attorney's advanced crime solving skills.

Jesse Hibbs did a fine job of directing, although I don't think Mr. Gardner needed assistance. In all, Hibbs directed 44 episodes, then moving to the FBI tv series. An interesting note, Gardner personally picked Raymond Burr for the role after seeing his screen test. Burr also lost 100 pounds before the audition.

Raymond Burr, toward the end of the series run, was earning 1 million dollars a season. At the beginning of the show, each episode cost about $85,000, and by the 1960s was running close to $185,000 each, about 1.7 million dollars today (2023), which is about average.

Gardner sadly died a few years after this episode (of cancer) at his sprawling ranch at Temecula, about 60 miles north of San Diego. Strangely, William Hopper died about a week after him, also a long time smoker, as was William Talman, who passed in 1968. Barbara Hale later commented that everybody smoked on the show, almost like a club.

It was later revealed there were plans to shoot the final season in color (wouldn't that have been spectacular), but CBS dragged their feet.

SEASON 9 EPISODE 30 remastered CBS dvd box set. Volumes 1 and 2. Buy this set for the memories.

I got to visit the Set during the Final Day of Filming this Episode. I was 9 years old and my Great Uncle Jesse Hibbs was the Director. I got to meet all the Actors, including Raymond Burr. A very nice man, who was leaving the next day to visit our military in South Vietnam with the USO. Burr was very Patriotic. In the one scene, where a Recess of Court was called, and Della Street (wonderful Barbara Hale) was coming into the courtroom, they played a joke on her. All of the extras and actors who were exiting the courtroom were told by Director Jesse Hibbs to get close and prevent her from entering. It was very funny, and Hale took it with good humor. A very relaxed and pleasant set with an Ensemble Cast who were like family after 9 years together. I loved the TV Show American Bandstand, and it was a treat meeting Dick Clark. Another very friendly and warm person. I like how they brought in Erle Stanley Gardner from his Ranch in Riverside to be the Judge! I probably met him, but at age 9, did not know who he was. A great TV Series put together by Beautiful Actress/Businesswoman Gail Patrick and her husband, Agent Thomas Jackson (Paisano Productions), that still is worth watching. My Great Uncle Jesse Hibbs directed 44 Episodes of this Series along with many other TV Shows, such as The FBI, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and The Fugitive. 1966 was during the Golden Age of Television, with many Terrific Shows!

This is kind of a fun episode with two murders at the center of it. It's about a hit TV show where the star is insufferable and leaves his producer out to dry. The star is eventually shot to death while shooting a scene. There are plenty of suspects and a couple of courtroom scenes. The biggest weakness is the casting of Dick Clark as a significant character. He is one of he worst actors I've every scene. I would give him a 2 because he was easy to dance to.

A well-done series ending. The ensemble of Perry plus four was magic. All legal dramas since have been pale derivatives. But I have few quibbles about the final show:

* The actual crew appeared on screen, deservedly, but their dialog seemed a bit too amateurish.

* Lt. Tragg (Ray Collins) should have been mentioned somewhere, for old time's sake. He was my favorite actor in the series, and his wry wit was sorely missed after his death.

* Fred Steiner finally appeared in the credits as the composer of the Perry Mason theme, which is entitled Park Avenue Beat. (Incidentally, live performances of the full piece are on YouTube.)

Hollywood certainly is a dog-eat-dog world, but that's exactly why Barry shouldn't have been so smug.

In reality Sidemark would have simply found somebody else to fill the role, star or no, or just written him off the show. Even if ratings tanked, it still beats just walking away from the mess and taking a big loss. Now *THAT* would be how the Hollywood machine handles this.