Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale were still close friends before Burr's death in 1993

Hale called Burr "a protector."

Everett Collection

You don't spend years together on the screen without managing to forge a friendship in real life. At least, that was the case for Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale. The two starred in the series Perry Mason together, but according to Hale, they actually met in 1943 on the RKO film lot.

After Burr's passing, Hale confessed that the two were still close, even toward the end of Burr's life. "He was truly an amazing man," she said during an interview with The Sun. "A gentleman, with the strength of an ox and the humor of a leprechaun. A great lover of mankind and the arts - of seeing that other people were taken care of, were not harmed in any way."

Burr, who acted as Hale's friend and confidant, was much more than just a costar. "He was - there truly are no words to express it," she said. "No words. He was like a great, great sequoia tree, or redwood. And everyone leaned upon him: He shaded and protected everybody."

Hale was also quick to defend Burr, who was a notoriously private person, from those who sought to deride him.

"Is it not true that there will be those who live - and those who seek, not to destroy, but to find a flaw?" she asked. "There are just a lot of negative people in the world...who would find fault. Why find fault when - what's the phrase? 'Let any among you who is without sin cast the first stone.' Or as a child would say, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words would never harm me.' They're only words. The negative aspects of the people who want to find fault are words."

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