Ray Bidwell Collins (December 10, 1889 – July 11, 1965) was an American character actor in stock and Broadway theatre, radio, films, and television.

Collins appeared in more than 75 films and had one of his best-remembered roles on television, as Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg in the CBS-TV series Perry Mason.

[2] His mother was the niece of John Bidwell, pioneer, statesman, and founder of society in the Sacramento Valley area of California in the 19th century.

At the start of the Great Depression, Collins turned his attention to radio, where he was involved in 18 broadcasts a week, sometimes working as many as 16 hours a day.

[11] He also played parts in short films, starting in 1930, including the Vitaphone Varieties series based on Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories.

[17] Collins became a member of the repertory company of Welles's CBS Radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air (1938)[18] and its sponsored continuation, The Campbell Playhouse (1938–1940).

Collins's best-known (albeit uncredited) work on this series, however, was in "The War of the Worlds", the celebrated broadcast in which he played three roles, most notably the rooftop newscaster who describes the destruction of New York.

[20] Along with other Mercury Theatre players, Collins made his feature-film debut in Citizen Kane (1941), in which he portrayed ruthless political boss Jim W.

[13] Having returned to his native California, Collins appeared in more than 75 major motion pictures,[23] including Leave Her to Heaven (1945); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); Crack-Up (1946); A Double Life (1947); two entries in the Ma and Pa Kettle series; and the 1953 version of The Desert Song, in which he played the nonsinging role of Kathryn Grayson's father.

[25] 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.

[26] 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.