Vince Townsend, Jr. as the silent judge in "The Case of the Skeleton's Closet"
Vince Townsend, Jr. as the silent judge in “The Case of the Skeleton’s Closet”
Source: Screenshot

How Perry Mason Helped Change a Nation

If you watched the Perry Mason program during its original network television run (1957 – 1966), you saw a series in which all of the principle parts were played exclusively by White actors. Yet, with one subtle casting decision, the show helped to break down racial barriers in 1960s America.

Perry Mason was one of the most popular programs of the golden age of television. Its 271 episodes made such an impact that they have been continually shown in syndication right up to today.

But during the time frame in which the original Perry Mason series was produced, the one thing you seldom saw on network television was a Black person playing any substantial role other than that of a servant or perhaps an entertainer.

That’s why I was quite surprised, while recently watching a 1963 episode of the series, to see an African American judge sitting on the bench. A Black man shown in a position of authority over Whites? That just didn’t happen in the television world of the early 1960s!

Perry Mason Makes Television History

The episode in which the Black judge appeared was “The Case of the Skeleton’s Closet,” which originally aired on May, 2, 1963. Just showing a Black judge presiding over a courtroom was, for that time, very unusual.

But what’s even more unusual is that during the entire episode, which has an extended courtroom scene, the judge never speaks. As far as I am aware, that happened no more than twice during the entire run of the Perry Mason series.

The judge is seen several times in the background as Perry and District Attorney Hamilton Burger interrogate witnesses. And once, for a few seconds, he has the screen entirely to himself in a closeup. But he never speaks or makes any ruling, not even to call a recess for lunch.

Vince Townsend Jr.

The silent judge was played by Vince Monroe Townsend Jr. (1906-1997). He was a part-time actor who, between 1952 and 1987, appeared in more than two dozen television and movie productions.

But Townsend’s accomplishments went far beyond his work on the screen. He was especially well suited for his Perry Mason role because he was actually a real judge with the Los Angeles County Municipal Court.

Admitted to the California Bar in 1943, Townsend became the first African American judge in Los Angeles County. His career as a lawyer and judge was so impactful that in 1998 the National Bar Association established The Vince Monroe Townsend, Jr. Legacy Award, which honors lawyers who “exhibit historic and continual leadership in the civil rights arena.”

And as if all that wasn’t enough, Townsend was a minister at the First AME Church in Los Angeles.

Although Judge Townsend had a number of credited roles in television and movie productions, he did not receive screen credit for his appearance as the judge on Perry Mason. This apparently was because only speaking roles were credited.

An African American in a Position of Authority on 1960s TV!

Despite the fact that the judge in “The Case of the Skeleton’s Closet” was written in the script as a non-speaking part, I believe the choice of an African American to play the role was significant. For a nationally televised program to show a Black person in a position of authority over Whites was something that just didn’t happen in mid-twentieth century America. It may well be that the producers of the Perry Mason series wanted to help overcome that barrier, but without seeming to go too far.

This was a time when the civil rights movement was at its height. Every night on their television sets viewers around the country were seeing African Americans engaging in demonstrations to demand equal rights and equal treatment. Awareness of how Black people had been unfairly discriminated against and held back from full participation in the life of the nation was growing.

TV Was Still Held Hostage by Southern Segregationists

But network television was actually behind the civil rights curve. The entertainment industry, with a large portion of its revenues coming from the South, had historically felt the necessity of putting out a product that would be acceptable below the Mason-Dixon line.

Since any show that presented African Americans in anything but the most servile positions would simply not be broadcast by local stations in the South, it was very unusual for Blacks to play roles that went beyond the maids, Pullman porters, or comedic buffoons that fit the idea many Whites had of the positions it was proper for Black people to fill.

The Lasting Legacy of the Silent Judge

By casting Vince Townsend to sit on the bench in this episode, Perry Mason featured an African American judge who would stay firmly in the background, but who made a statement just by being there. It seems as if the producers of the show were willing to show a Black man on the bench and theoretically in control of the proceedings, but were not ready to risk showing him actually exercising authority over Whites in the courtroom.

Vince Townsend’s role was not considered significant enough, at the time, to merit screen credit. But for him to be there at all, as a judge presiding over a courtroom filled with White people, was a rather timid but important step forward for network television in that era.

By portraying a Black man in a position where he would exercise authority over Whites, Perry Mason successfully challenged prevailing prejudices and helped establish a new standard of racial equity in television—and in the nation as a whole—that would continue to bear fruit for decades to come.

Note: This article is part of a revised and expanded series originally published on HubPages.

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© Ronald E. Franklin