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Terfex.com - Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $16.47
Your Save: $ 8.48 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45028092
EAN: 9781557836946
ISBN: 1557836949
Label: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
Manufacturer: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 268
Publication Date: 2008-04-15
Publisher: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
Studio: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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The complete story of the actor's career, including his secret gay life. Raymond Burr (1917-1993) was an enigma. A film noir star regularly known for his villainous roles in movies like Rear Window, he delighted millions of viewers each week with the top-rated shows Perry Mason and Ironside, which ran virtually uninterrupted for 20 years. But Burr was leading a secret gay life at a time in Hollywood when such a lifestyle was akin to career suicide. He invented a tragic biography for himself in which he was mythologized as a heartbroken husband and father. There was even an invented affair with a teenage Natalie Wood, 21 years his junior. He fought for truth as Perry Mason and Robert T. Ironside, yet he couldn't admit his own deception. Burr met his partner, struggling actor Robert Benevides, on the set of Perry Mason, and they remained together for over 35 years until Burr's death. Together, they built a business empire, traveled the world, and shared their passion for orchids and fine wine - keeping the true nature of their relationship a secret from all but their closest friends - a secret revealed here for the first time in depth.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing but not without value
Comment: Cheers to Michael Seth Starr for devoting a book to a beloved character actor the likes of whom rarely receive the biography treatment. Raymond Burr's name never appeared above the title on the big screen, but unlike other actors who never made the A list, he was a genuine superstar of TV and more recognizable than many brighter marquee names.
Unfortunately, "Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr" emerges as little more than a summary of the actor's career, seemingly patched together from news clippings and TV Guide interviews. The title is almost too perfect in that Burr remains hidden even after his biographer is done with him. The closest thing to a revelation here isn't much of a revelation at all: Burr was gay, and concealed his homosexuality with elaborate tales of marriages that never occurred and conveniently ended in tragedy. Burr even fabricated a son whom he claimed he took on a world tour prior to his death from leukemia. Remarkably (or should I say predictably?), the press never questioned these tales during his lifetime and faithfully repeated them in the numerous profiles that appeared through the years.
It's certainly no secret why Burr created this smokescreen. Homosexuality was even more of a taboo in his heyday of the `50s and `60s than it is now. The slightest whiff of a lifestyle that didn't conform to the mainstream majority could end a career, especially for a burly actor with a tough guy persona who didn't fit the fey stereotype. But however active his sex life, Burr was discreet. Unlike other closet cases, he left behind no trail of lovers to corroborate the rumors. Burr left only Robert Benevides who quietly shared much of his life. As a result, Starr provides little insight into his subject's homosexuality or whatever toll the need to hide took on his personal or professional life. There was an incident involving a female impersonator in a Greenwich Village bar that made a minor ripple in the tabloid press in 1961, but otherwise Burr avoided any hint of scandal. As for public pronouncements, the closest Burr came to coming out of the closet was an offhand comment about bedding a GI that he supposedly made to a TV producer.
There are other problems with Starr's book. His repeated references to Burr's weight seem borderline nasty, and he could have used a more diligent fact checker. Burr never hosted "Saturday Night Live" as Starr claims (he's probably mistaking the star of "Perry Mason" for Broderick Crawford of "Highway Patrol" who did indeed share a stage with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players), and I'm pretty sure that the "ridiculously curly wig" Burr wore in the failed "Mallory" pilot was actually his own curly hair (as seen in Hitchcock's "Rear Window") during a time out from the barber.
Ultimately, "Hiding in Plain Sight" fails to be anything but a fleshed out catalogue of Burr's acting credits and a rehashing of known facts about a man who lived an all together exemplary life. Admirably, Starr acknowledges Burr's concern for those less fortunate. The actor not only adopted several Vietnamese children, but also financed the educations of others who lived on the island he purchased with his "Perry Mason" fortune. That won't be tantalizing enough to make it a best seller, but it does give Starr's book value.
Brian W. Fairbanks
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Biography!
Comment: I was really looking forward to reading this biography about Raymond Burr as I knew little about his private life. Like many others, I admired him as an actor in both films and T.V.
Mr. Drake apparently discovered that there few facts about Mr. Burr's private life available since he used many pages to give us three basics facts. First, Mr. Burr was gay and allowed disguising profiles to be made up about him by the studios. Second, he was overweight for most of his life. Last, his typical response to inquiries was "I don't talk about that."
This book is a waste of your money for sure! Perhaps you will find it mildly interesting if you check it out from the library. It certainly can be read quickly!
Customer Rating:
Summary: An engrossing read
Comment: Michael Seth Starr has given us an engrossing read about a complex and endearing television icon. Raymond Burr's sexuality may have been "hiding in plain sight" but his generous, caring, and charming self was in the open for all to see. It is easy to forgive his fabricated story of a wife and son when you read about the number of foster children Burr cared for. Or his fictionalized military service when you discover his numerous trips to entertain the troops on the frontliines. These stories were an unforunate necessity in 1950's Hollywood. As a person with a disability working in television I truly appreciated Raymond Burr taking up the cause of disability rights during his Ironside series. This is a true sign of a caring, generous television professional. I learned a great deal from Michael Seth Starr's latest biography.For me Raymond Burr is no longer hiding in plain sight.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A bad read
Comment: One of the all time worst book I have ever read. Nothing about him as a person. I did not get to know Raymond Burr. All it was about was his work, movies and t.v.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Why Does Starr Hate Burr?
Comment: Michael Seth Starr's bio of Raymond Burr offers nothing new. Starr recounts well-known and better-told episodes from Burr's life with an almost snarling tone. Starr mercilessly criticizes Burr's weight, his perfectionism, his closeted life, and his oft-repeated stories used to cover his homosexuality. Not only are Starr's parenthetical asides and editorializing in bad taste, they ensure that his mediocre account will turn off any reader with the slightest fondness for his subject.
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