Hamilton Burger is the fictional Los Angeles district attorney who is the nemesis of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, films, 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.[1]
Critics 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.[2]
Burger was portrayed (in the long-running original Perry Mason television series) 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.
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