TCOT Podcast Episode 045 - Violent Vest

Season 4 - Episode 24

Originally aired - April 29, 1961

The Case of the Podcast is a Perry Mason Fan Podcast. We love and enjoy episodes from a tv show from the late 1950’s and early 1960. It’s so old, it was filmed in Black & White.

This is an episode we decided to do because the actors were interesting.

Police Lt: Tragg

DA: Burger

Guest Stars:

Erik Rhodes(55)- only ep of PM/37 roles from 1934 -1962 (passed in 1990) including several Roger’s & Astaire movies/musicals

Herman Albright

Robert Harrow - only ep of PM/2 roles from 1961 -1962 including

Young Man

Dorothy Green- 3 eps of PM/123 roles from 1953 -1997 including Benson/Fish/Ironside/Gunsmoke/Bonanza/The Munsters/Marcus Welby/Y&R

Ida Albright

Myrna Fahey- 4 eps of PM/55 roles from 1954 -1985 including Imitation of Life/34 eps Father of the Bride- Bride/Batman/passed at 40 cancer

Fahey became the subject of death threats while dating baseball great Joe DiMaggio in 1964. The FBI determined the threats came from a patient at the Agnews Developmental Center, a mental hospital in San Jose, California. Apparently the patient could not bear to see DiMaggio with anyone other than Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962.

Grace Halley

Joe Cronin - 3 eps of PM/12 roles from 1958 -2017 including Dr Kildare/Loretta Young Show

Buddy Frye

Hayden Rorke- 3 eps of PM/151 roles from 1943 -1985 including Lone Ranger/ Burns and Allen/Andy Griffith-Hollywood/Dr Kildare/Dr Bellows - I Dream of Jeannie

Walter Caffrey

Sonya Wilde SA - 2 eps of PM/10 roles from 1960 -1962 including Bonanza/Lead in I Passed for White/Bonanza/Death Valley Days

In 1962, Wilde married the banker Jake Butcher, having met him on New Year's Eve 1961 on a blind date.[4] He later became a politician, before spending seven years in prison for fraud.[5] They had four children.[6]

Following her husband's 1985 20-year jail term for bank fraud (he served seven years), Wilde went to court in 1986 to try to keep the family's $675,000 home in the exclusive Sweetwater Club subdivision just outside Orlando.[6]

Joy Lebaron

Rosemary Eliot - only ep of PM/14 roles from 1959 -1980 including Danny Thomas Show/Bewitched

Vicky Dolan

Frank Jenks - 2 eps of PMcab driver in DD)/202 roles started in silent films in 1933. Passed away at the age of 59 in May 1962.

12 roles from 1933 - 1962 including Milton Berle/Red Skeleton

Walter Clemens the Bartender

Richard Gaines - 14 episodes as Judge

Judge

Barbara Pepper - 4 eps of PM Nosy neighbor in Prankish Professor /188 roles from 1933 -1969 including Mayberry RFD/Green Acres/Petticoat Junction/Burns and Allen/10 eps of I Love Lucy/Fat Lady in Danny Thomas Show/passed age 54 heart attack

Mrs. Diamond

Bill Erwin - 5 eps of PM(Mythical Monkeys)/252 roles from 1941 -19xx including The Danny Thomas Show/Andy Griffith/4 eps of Twilight Zone/Get Smart/Mannix/14 eps Gunsmoke/Jeffersons/ST:TNG/Home Alone

Superintendent

Sam Flint

Welkes

George E. Stone

Court Clerk

Flower Parry

Courtroom Spectator

(uncredited)

Fun Stuff:

Furniture/Design

Perry’s Office Window View

Fashion

Cigarettes

Money Translation

$200 in 1961 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,118.34 today, an increase of $1,918.34 over 63 years.

Dee Spills the Tea:

NOBODY HAD A SPOUSE ON THE SHOW. BUT WHO WAS MARRIED IN REAL LIFE?

Burr was married in 1948 but the marriage only lasted a couple of months before they separated and later divorced in 1952. According to Wikipedia, Burr never married again despite his claims to the contrary. Burr said he married twice more but there is no evidence of any other marriages. Burr and Benevides were partners from 1960 until Burr’s death in 1993.

Ray Collins (Tragg) was married twice. He was married to his second wife in 1926 until he died in 1975 – almost 50 years.

Wiliam Hopper (Paul) was married twice. He was married during the filming of Mason, but there’s not much information about specific dates.

William Talman (Burger) was married three times and had nine children and step children from the marriages. He was married twice during the filming of Mason.

Barbara Hale (Della) was married to Bill Williams for 46 years until his death. She was married with three children when she started working on the show. Her husband Bill was an actor and he guest starred on Mason and performed the trifecta of roles on the show. He played the murderer once, the defendant once and the murder victim twice.