displayed comic ability in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) and The Man from Colorado (1948), and played a supporting role in Welles's Touch of Evil (1958). On television, Collins was a regular in The Halls of Ivy (1954–1955), starring Ronald Colman. He appeared as Judge Harper in a 1955 TV adaptation of the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, starring Thomas Mitchell, Teresa Wright, and MacDonald Carey. In 1957, Collins joined the cast of the CBS-TV series Perry Mason and gained fame as Los Angeles police homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg. By 1960, Collins found his physical health declining and his memory waning, problems that in the next few years brought an end to his career. About the difficulty in remembering his lines, he said "Years ago, when I was on the Broadway stage, I could memorize 80 pages in eight hours. I had a photographic memory. When I got out on the stage, I could actually — in my mind — see the lines written on top of the page, the middle, or the bottom. But then radio came along, and we read most of our lines, and I got out of the habit of memorizing. I lost my natural gift. Today it's hard for me. My wife works as hard as I do, cueing me at home." In October 1963, Collins filmed his last Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Capering Camera", broadcast January 16, 1964. Although clearly Collins would not return to work on the series, his name appeared in the opening title sequence through the eighth season, which ended in May 1965. Executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson was aware that Collins watched the show every week and wished not to discourage him. On July 11, 1965, Collins died of emphysema at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, at age 75. Masonic funeral services were held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills. Private life Collins supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election. Theatre credits Ray Collins played 900 roles on the legitimate stage. Radio credits Film and television credits References External links 1889 births 1965 deaths American male film actors American male stage actors American male radio actors American male television actors Male actors from Sacramento, California Deaths from emphysema Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors Federal Theatre Project people