Show196
Karyn Kupcinet, who played Penny Ames, was murdered not long after she made this episode. The murder is unsolved. Her body was found by Mark Goddard who appeared in two Perry Mason episodes. More here. Submitted by Mitch English, 2/3/2005
+ This was the only PM appearance and last acting role for Karyn Kupcinet, who the coroner said was strangled in her West Hollywood apartment on 28 November 1963. Her body was found on 30 November 1963 by Mark Goddard and his wife, whom Kupcinet had eaten with on 28 Nov 1963. Other persons were known to have visited Kupcinet's apartment after she returned from the Goddard's home. This PM episode did not air until January 1964...MikeM. 4/27/2018
Karyn's father was Chicago icon, columnist Irv Kupcinet. Joe B. 05/31/19
Okay, just this once: Elaine Stewart, who plays Irene Gray, is married to Merrill Heatter who was executive producer of the game show Runaround which was hosted by alum Paul Winchell which gives her a Mason number of 2 in the Six Degrees of Perry Mason. Submitted by Thom Smith, N8DXR, 7/17/2005.
Location: When Miss Blair drives away from the scene of the crime (about 5 minutes) into the episode, you can see several shots of the “Swiss Cleaners” sign across the street. Swiss Cleaners is at 7219 Sunset Blvd. She travels East on Sunset. You can catch a glimpse of the Saharan Motor Hotel which is still there and “Original Sound” which was owned by famous DJ Art Laboe. Art and Dick Clark (who starred in another episode) promoted the first rock and roll concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Miss Blair turns south on La Brea. You can see the neon sign for Carolina Pines Jr. which was a Googie styled 24-hour coffee shop on Sunset and La Brea. Sadly, it was knocked down for a mini-mall. As Miss Blair continues a few yards south to her left is Paisano Productions the home of the show at 1416 N. La Brea. Charlie Chaplin built the small studio, CBS owned it in the 1960s and now it’s home to Jim Henson Studios. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 6/22/2009.
+ The "PERRY" portion of the studio sign is caught in the Upper-Right corner of the frame* at precisely DVD 05:11. The linked 1965 photo shows the North face of the studio sign; at 05:11 Miss Blair is further down the block heading South (to the Right) and the camera is looking back at the South face of the sign. Added by Gary Woloski, 8/22/14.
* See the "Technical Note" at the bottom of the Comments section if this is not visible on your screen.
++ Three seconds after the glimpse of "PERRY" on the sign, Judith turns Left off La Brea onto De Longpre (the Southern boundary of the studio lot) and drives one block East before turning Right onto Sycamore: see map. Judith then evades the car that's been tailing her by pulling into the first driveway South of De Longpre. The driveway belongs to the same house that played the Layton residence in ep#179 and the Tarr residence in ep#180. Referring back to the map, at 03:50 Judith's drive began at Sunset & Poinsettia (4 blocks West of La Brea); she drove 4 blocks East to La Brea; one block South to De Longpre; one block East to Sycamore and finally a few yards South to the driveway (05:25), conveniently located just steps away from the back door of the Paisano Productions soundstage. Added by Gary Woloski, 8/27/14.
+ For an unusual view of the 1416 N. La Brea studios, do a Google image search for "Snow outside Charlie Chaplain studio in 1921". You will see real snow that fell in Hollywood. For more classic photos of Los Angeles, go to waterandpower.org/museum...MikeM. 4/27/2018
CARS. Cars (1) - (3) all appear in the sequence of shots from 03:50 - 06:02:
- (1) Judith Blair's medium-color 1959 or 1960 Corvette, without top, Licence No LWC 534. '59 and '60 Corvettes were virtually identical in external appearance; for 'Vette ID see Corvette: Year by Year. ID Judy's car as 59-60 when she turns in to the driveway: '58 Vette has two chrome strips on trunk lid (absent on Judy's); '61 Vette has duck-tail rear end (Judy's is rounded). [Ahem . . . the rear end of Judy's Car is rounded, that is.]
- (2) Norman Ames tails Judith & her 'Vette from Kadar's studio in his light-color 1964 Dodge 330 4-Door Sedan. The minimal body trim on this car, best seen at 05:35, IDs it as model 330, not the flashier Polara.
- (3) Karl Kadar arrives at his studio in his medium-color 1963 Buick Riviera, 05:50 - 06:02. The car is only partially shown in two close shots. Compare the features seen to the body lines shown in this set of 11 photos or this youtube walk-around (4:04). Kadar's car is not the almost identical 1964 Riviera because the '64's stand-up hood ornament is absent from Karl's car.
There's a myriad of background cars in the episode but I'll only mention the "Old Look" diesel Transit Bus travelling West on Sunset Blvd at 04:31 (buses came up recently in ep#194). This one is a General Motors TDH-4801 or TDH-5103.
The 59/60 Corvette is the perfect choice for the driving sequence: a pretty Blonde in an open two-seater on Sunset Blvd using the dash-mounted rear-view mirror to detect and track the car tailing her. The rear-view mirror is a central element of the cinematography of this sequence. Added by Gary Woloski, 8/29/14.
Location-Establishing Shots:
- 19:35 - Front entrance of LAPD Headquarters with US, state and city flags flying; the next shot shows the address, 150 N Los Angeles Street. Opened 1954 as the "Police Administration Building" (PAB); renamed Parker Center following Chief Parker's fatal heart attack in July 1966; accomodated LAPD HQ until 2009.
- 24:06 - Unknown 8-story office building; camera pans upwards and zooms in on 6th-floor windows of Harper Green's Charm Incorporated model agency. Cars parked on street L→R: 1959 Buick LeSabre 4-Door HardTop, TRIUMPH TR3, 1958 Cadillac Series 62 4-Door HardTop, 1960 Chevrolet, two unknown cars and a 1956 Ford wagon (near-Right).
- 26:50 - Los Angeles Hall of Justice (Burger's offices) viewed from West Temple St, looking across intersection of Temple & North Broadway; US Court House & Post Office in background, see map. The four nearest cars entering the intersection are a 1956 Plymouth, a 1953 Buick, a 1950 Oldsmobile 88 4-Door Sedan and a 1957 Chevrolet Two-Ten Townsman 4-door wagon.
- 31:23 - The LA County Courthouse on Hill St. with a Yellow Cab Co 1957 Plymouth Plaza 4-Door Sedan taxi cruising by.
Added by Gary Woloski, 9/10/14.
Paula Raymond makes the last of 5 appearances here on Perry playing Katherine Ames. Her fourth appearance was in April 7, 1962 on “TCOT Angry Astronaut.” After that appearance on 20 August 1962, Ms. Raymond was a passenger in an automobile accident that severed her nose. Cosmetic surgery brought her back to near normal. See if you can tell any difference between the before and after appearances. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 3 September 2009.
+ I think Paula Raymond looks a lot like Loretta Young. LY pic Rick P. 1/20/22
Sightings: If we look carefully, we can spy the Pencil Mustache Man and Distinguished Lady #2 in the courtroom gallery, watching Perry in action. But who are they? Submitted by gracenote, 3/4/2011.
+ A blurry “Miss Carmody” is also visible among the courtroom spectators. And the aforementioned Gentleman reappears as a member of the crew at a movie set. Submitted by gracenote, 8/9/2011.
In this episode, Lt. Tragg and Lt. Anderson investigate the murder as a team. This was Ray Collins’ last screen appearance in the series. As I incorrectly noted in Trivia to Episode 178, Collins appeared as the prinicpal police investigator in 105 episodes and paired with Lau in 15 others for a total of 120. Submitted by FredK, 7 April 2011.
Medical Expert: Actor John Zaremba appeared in three other stories (139, 153, 176) as Autopsy Surgeon or Medical Examiner. In #153 TCOT Lonely Eloper his character was given the name Dr. Wales. Submitted by H. Mason 3/12/15
Baffling Bells: In the sumptuous Ames apartment, a fancy doorbell with four chimes is installed (perhaps the Nutone Barcelona model), but when the calendar girl arrives (about 8:10 on the DVD) we hear only the usual two "ding-dong" style. JohnK, 1 November 2015
This is the only PM appearance for Margo Moore, who survived childhood polio to be become a model and actress...MikeM. 12/30/2016
This is the only PM appearance for Margaret Mason,who appeared in three episodes of "Burke's Law"...MikeM. 4/7/2017
This is the only PM appearance and the final IMDb Filmography acting role for Elaine Stewart, who modeled for Playboy magazine in September 1959. She married game show producer Merrill Heatter in 1964, and they had two children. Elaine Stewart returned to television in the 1970s on various game shows. She passed in Beverly Hills in 2011 at the age of 81..MikeM. 4/27/2018
Star Trek Alert: Two in fact. John Harmon, the actor playing the somewhat inept fingerprint expert (see above), also plays Tepo, an alien mob boss in one of the most famous original series Star Trek episodes, "A Piece of the Action." In addition, Mark Dempsey (Norman Ames) was an Air Force captain in the original series episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday". "A Piece of the Action" had three Perry Mason alums (leaving aside Spock, McCoy, and Sulu): Harmon, Anthony Caruso (who played a mobster in both shows), and Clark Ross, who was uncredited as a alien passerby and appeared in four episodes of Perry as a courtroom spectator, a stenographer, and a clerk (TCOT Promoter's Pillbox, TCOT Bluffing Blast, TCOT Golden Oranges, TCOT Arrogant Arsonist). It was Planet Perry Mason. Submitted by MyFavoritePolarBear, 11/17/22.