Talman served for 30 months in the United States Army in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, beginning his service as a private on February 4, 1942, at Camp Upton in Yaphank, Long Island, New York.

He appeared on Broadway in Beverly Hills, Spring Again and A Young Man's Fancy, and toured with the road companies of Yokel Boy and Of Mice and Men.

Talman played the leading role of a career criminal, acknowledged as a genius in gangland circles, who painstakingly masterminded the armored car robbery of the title.

In the 1952 film Beware, My Lovely, in which Ida Lupino played a war widow terrorized by a madman in her home, a photograph of Talman was used for the picture of her late, heroic husband.

As a matter of fact, Burger in a good many instances has joined Mason in action against unethical attorneys, lying witnesses, or any one else obstructing justice.

[7]Talman, as Burger, went on to lose all but three cases in the nine-year series, including a record two separate murder trials in the final episode.

Talman had the title role in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor" in which Burger disqualified himself from prosecuting a longtime personal friend, Jefferson Pike, who was accused of murder.

Aside from his major supporting role in Perry Mason, Talman also guest-starred in various television series, including Wagon Train, Have Gun – Will Travel, Cimarron City and Gunsmoke.

[8] In 1960, Talman was fired from Perry Mason for a short period after Sheriff's deputies, suspicious of marijuana use, raided a party on March 13, 1960, in the West Hollywood apartment of Richard Reibold, an advertising agency executive.

[17] The short film began with the words: "Before I die, I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children"[18] Talman requested that the commercial not be aired until after his death.

He made another public service announcement, which opened with his voice-over and a picture of his home, followed by filmed shots of his wife and kids, then a still of himself "with a friend of mine you might recognize," Raymond Burr, from the Perry Mason TV series.

[19]Four weeks after filming the second public service announcement, Talman died of lung cancer (which had metastasized to his liver, bones and brain[17]) on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles.,[20] Informational notes Citations Bibliography