Raymond Burr: Hiding In Plain Sight

Actor Raymond Burr was a regular TV presence for almost 20 years, first as crusading lawyer Perry Mason and then as wheelchair-bound detective Robert Ironside.

He was a household name for millions of fans, but in the era before blogs and tabloid magazines nobody knew very much about his private life.

"There had always been rumors about him," Michael Seth Starr, author of the new Burr biography, "Hiding In Plain Sight" told The ShowBuzz. "He was in television from 1957 to 1977 almost non-stop. You knew his characters, but you didn't really know anything about him personally. He was an icon and also a terrific actor."

According to the book, Burr was gay, but kept his orientation a secret by maintaining an elaborate back story that included a dead wife and child.

"He always was a very private man anyway, and he would never, ever, ever discuss his personal life," said Starr. "He would always just say 'we don't talk about that' or he might go into one of the stories about the 'dead ex-wives.' It must have been quite a burden carrying that around and thinking that if your 'secret' gets out your career could get ruined."

Starr is not the first to report that Burr was gay. A&E touched on the subject in a March 2000 profile of the actor, and there have been articles written about Burr's life on the Web and in magazines.

He does claim that his book is the first to go into the details of Burr's private life. He said the people he interviewed for the book were more open about the subject.

"I think the fact that Raymond Burr has been dead now for 15 years makes people more comfortable about it," he said. "(Being gay) wasn't a crime then and it's certainly not a crime now and it's something people are more open to talking about."

People were not so open in Burr's day. Starr believes that the actor was able to keep everything under wraps while he was alive because he was so well-liked and respected.

Even notorious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who wasn't above slyly referring to other actors as "confirmed bachelors," protected Burr in her columns. Hopper's son William became a regular cast member of "Perry Mason" and was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the show as investigator Paul Drake.

The book also details the actor's rise from film noir heavy to television star. Although he played serious characters who rarely cracked a smile, Burr was quite the opposite off-screen.

Both large in size and personality, Burr was known as a bon vivant who hosted legendary dinner parties (he cooked), showered friends with gifts, and was extremely generous with his time and money.

"The only thing I really knew going into the story was that he was a practical joker," said Starr. "I was very happy to discover the fact that he gave a lot of his money away, that he raised a lot of money for charity, that he traveled many, many times to Korea (and Vietnam) to entertain the troops. He was very philanthropic and helped a lot of people."

Starr interviewed 30 people who knew or worked with Burr, including the actor's "Perry Mason" co-star, Barbara Hale with whom he was quite close.

But even though Burr had many friends, Starr believes that the only person who really knew what made the actor tick was his long-time companion and business partner, Robert Benevides.

Starr said he approached Benevides twice for an interview and was turned down both times. Instead, the book contains quotes taken from an interview Benevides did with a gay-themed travel magazine.

"He might have been nervous about what kind of book I was doing," Starr said.

The book, however, is more a tribute to a life well-lived than an exposé.

Starr goes into detail about Burr and Benevides' life together in California and on their private island in Fiji. Together, they built a business empire that included an art gallery, a film and television production company, a vineyard, and an orchid nursery.

The book also covers the actor's battle with cancer and final days in 1993. He was 76 when he died.

Burr left his estate to Benevides, who continues to run the vineyard and grow orchids. He renamed the vineyard after Burr as a tribute.

Starr admits that in today's world of TMZ and Perez Hilton, it would have been much harder for Burr to keep his personal life private. What hasn't changed is the fear of many actors that what they do off-screen will affect their image.

"He would have probably been outed," Starr said. "There are people who are still in the closet that we're pretty sure that they're gay, but there's still that fear that it's going to ruin a career."

By Judy Rosen