Charles Macaulay; Actor in ‘Perry Mason’ TV Movies

Charles Macaulay, an actor and director who was prominent in legitimate theater but is best remembered for his role as a hapless prosecutor facing the perpetually successful Raymond Burr in a number of “Perry Mason” movies, has died. He was 72.

Macaulay, a close friend of the late Burr and an administrator of his multimillion-dollar estate, died Friday of metastatic cancer in Healdsburg, Calif. He had been a partner and resident of the Raymond Burr Vineyards in Sonoma County.

William Talman played the frustrated Dist. Atty. Hamilton Burger in the original 1957-65 “Perry Mason” television series. But Macaulay assumed the role for a group of television movies in the 1980s and early 1990s, after starting as the judge in “Perry Mason Returns” in 1985.

Macaulay appeared in about 200 television shows, including episodes of “I Spy,” “Star Trek,” “The Wild, Wild West,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Gunsmoke,” “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” “Columbo” and the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.” He also appeared in several dozen movies during his years in Southern California.

But Macaulay’s most prestigious work was on the stage. Born and raised in Kentucky, he was trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Upon graduation, he won the First Judges Medal and notes of congratulation on his performance in “The Heiress” from the eminent British actors John Mills and John Gielgud.

Macaulay made his New York debut in 1952 in Somerset Maugham’s “The Sacred Flame” and for a number of years worked on the East Coast, performing in seven Broadway plays, six off-Broadway productions, and more than 70 live television programs such as “Armstrong Circle Theater” and “Studio One.” He also played various summer stock companies and acted in the Barter Theater opposite Dame Judith Anderson.

Among the plays in which he appeared were “The Winslow Boy,” “Bell, Book and Candle,” “Man and Superman” and “The Dark Is Light Enough.”

Macaulay also performed Shakespeare and played the title role in “Macbeth” and Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

The actor taught at the USC School of Theater from 1986 to 1992 and directed six student productions.

Survivors include two brothers, Ken of Wrightwood, Calif., and Donald of Seattle.