Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on stories written by Gardner. A 1973 revival of the series with a different cast was poorly received. In 1985 the first in a successful series of 30 Perry Mason television films aired on NBC, with Burr reprising the role of Mason in 26 of them prior to his death in 1993.