Raymond Burr Dies

Raymond Burr, the portly actor who became a TV icon as a crime-solving lawyer in the long-running "Perry Mason" series, died last night. He was 76.

Mr. Burr died at 8:40 p.m. at his home in the Sonoma County community of Dry Creek, Calif. The cause of death reportedly was liver cancer.

In mid-August, Mr. Burr completed work on his last Perry Mason TV film, reporting to the set at 4 a.m. despite his illness.

"Perry Mason" originally appeared weekly on CBS from 1957 to 1966. The series was an immediate ratings winner, and Mr. Burr was awarded the Emmy for best series actor in 1959 and 1961. The series still airs daily in reruns.

Mr. Burr also starred as the crusty, wheelchair-using San Francisco detective in NBC's "Ironside," which ran from 1967 to 1975.

The Canadian-born Mr. Burr went to Hollywood in 1946 after serving in the U.S. Navy. His film debut was in "San Quentin."

Among his memorable film roles: the prosecutor of Montgomery Clift in "A Place in the Sun;" the stalker of Natalie Wood in "A Cry in the Night;" the murderer James Stewart sees in "Rear Window."

Mr. Burr also appeared in "Tarzan and the She-Devil" and in the first "Godzilla" movie.

Raymond William Stacy Burr was born in New Westminster, B.C., on May 21, 1917. His parents divorced when he was 6, and Raymond grew up in Vallejo, Calif., where his grandfather ran a small hotel.

Mr. Burr suffered personal tragedies over the years. His first wife, actress Annette Sutherland, died in a 1943 plane crash. His second marriage, to Isabella Ward, ended in divorce. His third wife, Laura Morgan, died of cancer in 1955. His only child, Michael Evan Burr, died of leukemia at age 10 in 1953.

Mr. Burr is survived by his sister, Geraldine Fuller of Fairbanks, Alaska.