The Perry Mason TV Show Book
Episode Guide - The Eighth Season
November 5, 1964 [218] "The Case of the Bullied Bowler"

Director--Jesse Hibbs
Teleplay--Samuel Newman

This is another of the handful of episodes in which Perry doesn't appear Mike Connors, who went on to star in his own successful series, "Mannix," plays Joe Kelly, a lawyer friend of Paul Drake.

Perry is in Europe on business. Paul and Joe Kelly are vacationing in Tesoro, a small town run by Bonnie Mae Wilmot, a woman known by the locals as the duchess. Bill Jaris, who was married to the duchess's late daughter, and his brother run a bowling alley that the duchess wants closed. An outbreak of dysentery linked to the bowling alley results in an injunction to close the place, to the delight of the duchess.

Paul is a friend of Bill's, so he and Joe help get the injunction quashed for the time being. But Bill is soon in more trouble: Dr. Max Taylor, a man working with the duchess to close down Bill and his brother, is murdered. Bill is the number one suspect. Now Joe must work to free Bill.

It was his work in this episode that led the Mason series producers to consider Mike Connors as a replacement for Raymond Burr after Burr threatened not to re-sign his contract.

Joe Kelly--Mike Connors
Doctor Max Taylor--Milton Selzer (victim)
Bill Jaris--Robert Harland (defendant)
Jack Baker--Charles Gray
Judge--John Gallaudet

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The Perry Mason TV Show Book Copyright © 1987 by Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill. All rights reserved. Presented here by permission of the copyright holder. Commercial use prohibited. Web page Copyright © 1998 D. M. Brockman. Last edited 04 Nov 2004.