Perry and Della

The sly glances, the casual banter, the innuendos, the back rubs… I think we all knew what was going on, but no one said it out loud. Let’s face it, Perry Mason was having an affair with Della Street, while Paul Drake, Hamilton Burger, and even super sleuth, LT Tragg, were all unaware.

This past winter, Cathy and I discovered Perry Mason reruns on TV. We chuckled as we decided to watch the first episode, but soon became addicted. Nothing else on tonight? Let’s go watch a couple episodes of Perry.

Perry Mason was on the air from ‘57-‘66, and Raymond Burr won two Emmys. I have to say the show is great entertainment, although a couple of thoughts have crept into my brain while watching.

First, was there ever a more inept District Attorney than Hamilton Burger? Over the course of nine years, Perry won 268 out of 271 cases right off the bat, and while Burger didn’t handle all of them, he was the prosecutor for the vast majority. (Note that the actor who played Burger, William Talman, was fired from the show in 1960 for about six months after being arrested on charges of marijuana possession and lewd vagrancy. During that period, there were several different prosecutors. After the charges were later dismissed, he returned to the show). How could Hamilton Burger be so bad? He is ALWAYS on the wrong side. Even the cases he won were eventually overturned on appeal. Fred Thompson, as the DA on “Law and Order”, would have had no use for him… 😉

What really intrigues me is the relationship between Perry, and his Executive Assistant Della Street. I mean, hello, if these two aren’t having an affair, then nobody is. The sly, knowing looks, the continual side-by-side presence, the flirty banter back and forth… It all adds up. Plus, Della is ALWAYS there. Early morning in a diner with a client? Della’s right there with Perry sipping coffee. Midnight or 2AM in the office waiting on a call? There’s Della asleep on the couch. When Perry’s home sick with the flu, laying on his couch in pajamas, who brings him chicken soup? Della of course. Perry has a tough day at the office – who gives him a back rub? Della! And who’s walking off a vacation cruise ship with Perry to go help him solve a murder? I think you know the answer.

We were discussing Perry and Della one evening with a friend when he exclaimed “I know! And you have that gorgeous Paul Drake right there! What is wrong with her? She’s definitely going after the older guy with the money!”

What about the “gorgeous” Paul Drake? He appears to be the ultimate catch. He drives a convertible sports car, wears sport coats or turtlenecks instead of the suits Perry is always in, has that rakish haircut, and is just hip in general. Not only was he an investigator, he acted as Perry’s tough guy, was an alleged ladies’ man, and the coolest dude on the show. And yet, he apparently has no personal life. Perry needs him in the middle of the night for a murder investigation? He’s there. Someone needed for a 24 hour stakeout? Paul’s your man. Here’s an interesting tidbit – Although he is a supposed “ladies’ man”, he never once hits on Della. Not once. If James Bond was always flirting with Miss Moneypenny, Paul, other than the occasional “Hello beautiful” to Della, was just the opposite. There was zero flirting. Was this in deference to Perry, or for some other unstated reason? We’ll never know.

We continue working our way through the episodes and are somewhere in season 5 by now. Perry continues his winning ways, Hamilton continues to snivel and lose, Paul continues looking cool, and Della? Della’s right there for Perry, anticipating his every need.

Addendum:

– This blog was written tongue in cheek, but it turns out that it is a common question among fans as to whether Perry and Della ever had an affair. The author of the Perry Mason books, Erle Stanley Gardner, wanted the answer to be, “No.” Believing that if Perry ever married Della “he would lose his sex appeal,” Gardner intended the nature of the relationship between the two to remain a mystery. In fact, he said that if they ever had a romance, he’d write about it. He never did.