Hamilton Burger
Encyclopedia
Hamilton Burger is the fictional Los Angeles
district attorney
who is the nemesis of Perry Mason
in the long-running series of novel
s, film
s, and radio
and television
programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner
. The name is a pun; shortening "Hamilton" to the popular nickname "Ham" would produce "ham-burger
".
Hamilton Burger first appeared in Erle Stanley Gardner's 1935 novel, The Case of the Counterfeit Eye, the 6th novel in his Perry Mason series. Mr. Burger is described in the Cast of Characters of that novel as an "honest but stubborn" D.A. He first appears in the 10th chapter of that novel, where he is described as "a broad-shouldered, thick-necked individual with a close-cropped moustache." In the 15th chapter of The Case of the Caretaker's Cat we learn that Burger's residential address is 3297 West Lakeside, and his phone number is Exposition 96949.
Critic
s have suggested that Burger must have been the most incompetent lawyer in history (see Mad Magazine's parody
, "The Day Perry Mason Lost a Case"), as his cases inevitably involved prosecuting the wrong, innocent person who was defended by Mason, who always in the end revealed the true criminal
through a series of inadmissible courtroom tricks. Burger's bag of tricks was comparatively empty, chiefly comprising indignant exclamations of, "Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial!" Once Mason had outed the true perpetrator, Burger always joined in Mason's motion to the judge
to dismiss the charges against Mason's client so that Burger could then charge the actual wrongdoer. A scene from the TV series in which Mason consoles Burger after such a dismissal inspired a young Sonia Sotomayor
to become a prosecutor.
) by actor
William Talman, who was replaced briefly after he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana
and indecent exposure
. Talman returned to the show after all charges against him were dropped.
In fact, Burger did actually defeat Mason twice on the television series: once in "The Case of the Terrified Typist" and again in "The Case of the Deadly Verdict". In addition, in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe", Burger figured out the true culprit (after some nudging in the right direction by Mason). In the TV series, the closest Burger gets to having Perry Mason "arrested" is when he has Mason cited for causing a trash fire within city limits (part of Mason's plan to free an innocent client).
In a later series, The New Adventures of Perry Mason, Burger is played by Harry Guardino
.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
who is the nemesis of Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
in the long-running series of novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner
Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories, best known for the Perry Mason series, he also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J...
. The name is a pun; shortening "Hamilton" to the popular nickname "Ham" would produce "ham-burger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
".
Hamilton Burger first appeared in Erle Stanley Gardner's 1935 novel, The Case of the Counterfeit Eye, the 6th novel in his Perry Mason series. Mr. Burger is described in the Cast of Characters of that novel as an "honest but stubborn" D.A. He first appears in the 10th chapter of that novel, where he is described as "a broad-shouldered, thick-necked individual with a close-cropped moustache." In the 15th chapter of The Case of the Caretaker's Cat we learn that Burger's residential address is 3297 West Lakeside, and his phone number is Exposition 96949.
Critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
s have suggested that Burger must have been the most incompetent lawyer in history (see Mad Magazine's parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, "The Day Perry Mason Lost a Case"), as his cases inevitably involved prosecuting the wrong, innocent person who was defended by Mason, who always in the end revealed the true criminal
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
through a series of inadmissible courtroom tricks. Burger's bag of tricks was comparatively empty, chiefly comprising indignant exclamations of, "Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial!" Once Mason had outed the true perpetrator, Burger always joined in Mason's motion to the judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
to dismiss the charges against Mason's client so that Burger could then charge the actual wrongdoer. A scene from the TV series in which Mason consoles Burger after such a dismissal inspired a young Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
to become a prosecutor.
Television portrayal
Burger was portrayed (in the long-running original Perry Mason television seriesPerry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
) by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
William Talman, who was replaced briefly after he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
and indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
. Talman returned to the show after all charges against him were dropped.
In fact, Burger did actually defeat Mason twice on the television series: once in "The Case of the Terrified Typist" and again in "The Case of the Deadly Verdict". In addition, in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe", Burger figured out the true culprit (after some nudging in the right direction by Mason). In the TV series, the closest Burger gets to having Perry Mason "arrested" is when he has Mason cited for causing a trash fire within city limits (part of Mason's plan to free an innocent client).
In a later series, The New Adventures of Perry Mason, Burger is played by Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino
Harry Guardino was an American actor whose career spanned from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. In 1964, he was cast in a short-lived CBS series entitled The Reporter, a drama about a hard-hitting investigative journalist named Danny Taylor. His principal co-star was Gary Merrill as city...
.