Perry Mason—arguably the most celebrated attorney in all of fiction—personified the ideal criminal lawyer. Perry Mason has been the primary character in dozens of novels (penned by the man who created him, Erle Stanley Gardner, 1889–1970). He was featured in several motion pictures and in a radio (see entry under 1920s—TV and Radio in volume 2) series. He appeared in a classic television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) series; in a second, less-successful series; and lastly, in a succession of made-for-TV movies. Mason, backed by his loyal secretary, Della Street, and a dedicated private eye, Paul Drake, was determined to win his cases. Right always was on his side. He never rested until he successfully nailed the real villain and saved his always-innocent client. In the years before the popularity of more complexly plotted lawyer-based TV series like L.A. Law...