Happy Raymond Burr-thday!
A chapter from my 1998 novel about the glass-closeted actor, born 109 years ago today
May 21, 2026
The great Raymond Burr was born 109 years ago today.
Whenever I think of him, I remember how surprised I was when I discovered he was glass-closeted. It was pure prejudice on my part to spend so much time obsessing over the pretty boys like Cary Grant and James Dean and others who seemed to be so obviously gay they simply had to be, all the while forgetting that regular dudes could be gay, too.
Then again, I was also blinded by Burr’s unsexy performances on Perry Mason and Ironside and in Rear Window, not having seen that he used to be a hot piece in his own right:
Burr’s homosexuality was barely a secret in Hollywood. He lived for decades with his partner Robert Benevides (later a producer of Burr’s), whom he met in 1960.
Burr died at 76 in 1993; rather young by today’s standards.
Not long after, I was hard at work on my second novel, Blind Items: A (Love) Story. It was eventually published by St. Martin’s Press in 1998. About a wisecracking writer who falls into an affair with a closet case from a beach-set TV series (I think David Chokachi was my inspiration), Blind Items would make a great movie today, especially if someone producing it leaned into its ‘90s vibe.
One of the characters in it was a woman who runs Gods & Goddesses, a Hollywood memorabilia store (remember those?). I invented the character of an older woman who collected on Burr, and who didn’t seem to know he had been gay.
For fun, here is the full chapter:
The Case of the Lavender Cadaver!
Carol Terry — Transcript of a conversation at Gods & Goddesses between Carol Terry and Mary Felbin, the Raymond Burr lady.
Carol Terry: Hello. I haven’t seen you for a while —
Raymond Burr Lady: I’m very upset to see that you didn’t take my advice and feature Raymond in your windows.
CT: Well, like I said, he isn’t as big a draw as a Marilyn Monroe or a —
RBL: But you even have pictures of Tab Hunter in the window. Don’t you think Raymond was a better actor than Tab Hunter?
CT: I don’t know, Mary. I’m not the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I have a small photo of Tab Hunter in the corner of one of my windows because he’s good-looking and has more of a following than Raymond Burr.
RBL: You really think so? Are you aware of the Nielsens for the Perry Mason TV movies Raymond was doing right up until the end?
CT: Not offhand, but I do know that in this neighborhood, young Tab Hunter is more of a draw into my store than young or old Raymond Burr. Now, I’ve told you that I’m sure Raymond Burr was a great star and I am thrilled to have you as a customer, I’m happy to pick up Raymond Burr magazines for you when I see them, but you really can’t ask me to do something I don’t want to do just because he’s your favorite star.
RBL: It’s not just for me.
CT: What?
RBL: It’s not just for me, what I’m asking. It’s for everyone. Raymond Burr is a great star who is someone ... everyone should become familiar with.
CT: ?
RBL: I just feel that I have to ask you these things or I’m not doing everything I can since he passed away.
CT: Yes, but I ... I just don’t . . . I’m flustered [laughs]. Congratulations! You’ve got me completely — I’m almost... speechless!
RBL: I just wish I could have introduced you to Raymond. He was such an amazing and warm star; that’s rare.
CT: Oh? I wasn’t aware you’d ever met him.
RBL: Well, we weren’t close. I did see him at a movie premiere once. It was a press-only screening for his first return to Perry Mason, Perry Mason Returns, back in ’85. That was just about the greatest day of my life. I met Barbara Hale’s son William Katt, who is so handsome in real life. I can remember his curly blond hair!
Barbara Hale. A classy lady, a real gem. She talked with me for over 15 minutes, just like we were neighbors catching up. I saw her many times after that and she always seemed to recognize me from that day.
But the most wonderful thing was when Raymond arrived. He was just such a lovely man, so elegantly dressed. Barbara had told him I’d spent a long time waiting to see him, and he graciously came over and posed for a picture with me and asked me if I’d liked the movie. I hadn’t seen it because I didn’t have a ticket, but I assured him I would be just one of millions who would watch the movie once it debuted on TV the following week. It was the second-highest-rated telefilm of 1985.
CT: [Pause] Really?
RBL: Yes, it was one of the best days of my life. The worst was the day when the last regular episode, “The Case of the Final Fadeout,” aired on September 4, 1966.
CT: [Shrugging] He’s not making it into my window, but at least he never lost a case.
RBL: Oh, but he did. Those so-and-so’s had him lose “The Case of the Deadly Verdict’’ in either 1963 or I want to say ’64. That was just a shocker that I didn’t need.
CT: I have to tell you that even though I like Raymond Burr — well, I mean, at least I don’t not like him, I mean, no offense — I can’t really feature him more prominently because he doesn’t attract a large crowd of people like ... yourself.
RBL: [Bitterly] You’re just kowtowing to the gays.
CT: [Alarmed] Excuse me?
RBL: You’re just putting up all these stars that the gays like. There are other stars to like besides Marilyn Monroe, who was really just a glorified streetwalker. Christopher Street was such a charming place to bring up a child once upon a time, and now it is just wall-to-wall gay, gay, gay.
CT: But why do you care? Raymond Burr was gay, wasn’t he?
RBL: That’s a lie started by Hollywood insiders who were jealous of him and who wanted him to fail.
CT: He never got married, right?
RBL: That’s no proof! Are you married?
CT: No, and I’ve slept with lots of men, too.
RBL: !
CT: I’m sorry, I’m not trying to offend you, but Raymond Burr had a longtime lover who came out and talked about their relationship after he died. I’m sure I read that. In the papers, not just the supermarket tabloids.
RBL: [Leaving] I’m sure you did read it. And I’m twice as sure it was a lie! You people can’t leave well enough alone. You people can’t let a classy man rest in peace without dragging his name through the mud. You gays all stick together.
CT: But I’m not —[Pause]
[Door slams] ⚡️