Television Producer (1955-1966)

As Gail Patrick's children got older and spent more time at school, she became antsy about finding something to occupy her free time. "I guess I represent, in a way, every educated woman who feels that housework, once the children go off to school, is simply not too stimulating," she shared in a later interview. She expressed how she ended up watching daytime TV and joined a bridge club to keep busy. "That was even worse," Patrick quipped, referencing the bridge club, "I couldn't stand it, so I said to myself, 'Gail, you'll just have to find a job.'" Luckily, Gail Patrick did not have to wait long before finding her next job.

 

Along with her literary agent husband Cornwell Jackson and one of his clients, attorney and author Erle Stanley Gardner, the three started a production company, Paisano Productions. Erle Stanley Gardner was the creator of the fictional attorney Perry Mason, and Patrick knew it would make a great television series. She urged her husband to speak to Gardner about acquiring the rights to the character, but originally he refused. Patrick worked hard to convince Gardner to license the character and won. The three had worked for several years to develop the series, and Patrick was the one to finalize the sale to CBS in 1957. When explaining the creative process behind the series, Patrick said, "We had the material. Material becomes more valuable with time. A personality doesn't. We were not out to sell, they [CBS] were seeking us." CBS finally reached out and notified her, the time to create the Perry Mason series was now.

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Gail Patrick Jackson, whom she legally changed her name to, agreed to sign on as the executive producer for Perry Mason on CBS at the request of her husband and Gardner. Patrick Jackson was one of the first female television producers and the only female television executive producer at the time. Because of her interest in law and role as executive producer, she was extremely engaged with every aspect of the show. In the photo to the left, you can see how involved she was behind the scenes with the cast and creatives. She was known for being meticulous and ensured every episode appeared perfect. She spent every day working on scripts, casting, and drafting contracts. Patrick Jackson described herself as the "Mother confessor, listening post, [and] correlating agent" on set. In an article on Gail Patrick Jackson for the Chicago Tribune, TV Week's June 1962 issue, she highlighted how she spent seven to eight hours daily at her desk as executive producer and worked Saturdays and Sundays. The article's author, Larry Wolters, explained what went on in her brain as "masculine," in the sense that she negotiated contracts and took charge. "I don't have the soul of an actress," Patrick Jackson told Wolters, "I have a dollar sign for a soul," she joked.

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The entire cast and crew of Perry Mason adored Patrick Jackson and felt very honored to have her as executive producer. Her husband, Cornwell Jackson, said Gail "was a natural," thanks to her background in the industry. Raymond Burr, the lead of Perry Mason, and title character, shared how amazing of a woman she was in an interview. "She's not only a great success as a wife, actress, producer, and woman, but she's extremely well-liked by every member of this company. She never orders, only suggests. She never raises her voice, never pulls rank...she is the closest thing to a dream I've met in this business." Multiple articles from the 1960s called her the "mother of Perry Mason," and the show was unbelievably successful. Perry Mason had a remarkable nine-season, 271-episode run on CBS, and viewers made the show an instant hit. According to Patrick Jackson, the show was averaging 30 to 40 million viewers an episode. In 1959, Raymond Burr, along with co-star Barbara Hale, won an Emmy Award for their respective performances as criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his legal secretary, Della Street. The show became a standard example for courtroom procedural dramas and is regarded today as one of the most acclaimed series in television history.  

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Anne Nelson, a longtime CBS executive who dealt with the contractual agreements for television during the 1950s was fond of Patrick Jackson and they became friends. In 2008, on Perry Mason's: 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, she explained how unheard of it was for a woman like Gail Patrick Jackson to lead these executive meetings for Perry Mason. Nelson told the interviewer, "Women today won't believe things were that tough, but Gail was alone in her bailiwick. Years later, Patrick told me she had written up the contract herself and that it was so wild and favorable to Paisano Productions that she had no idea CBS would accept it." Nelson continued to share how lucky they were to have bought the show due to its continued financial success for CBS and Paisano Productions. 

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During her time as Perry Mason executive producer, Patrick Jackson remained involved in the now growing television industry. From 1960 to 1962, she took on the role of Vice President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and President of the Hollywood chapter. It was the first time a woman held a leadership role in the television academy, and Patrick Jackson was the only one to do so until two decades later. "I'm a take-charge gal," Patrick Jackson described herself in a 1960 interview with The San Francisco Examiner, "Corney [her husband] says I go for broke. With me, it's all or nothing." ​The final episode of Perry Mason aired May 26, 1966, and was titled "The Case of the Final Fade-Out." Gail Patrick Jackson, her husband Cornwell Jackson, and some other creatives made a brief appearance in the show's final episode. In the photo to the left, you can see producers Art Seid and Patrick Jackson at the bar, along with Gail's husband, as the bartender. 

 

It is no secret how critical Gail Patrick was in the creation and success of Perry Mason. To hold numerous high-profile titles in the industry, engage in philanthropic work, and raise a family would prompt many people today to call her a "superwoman." When asked about her newfound career path after leaving acting, Patrick Jackson said, "I'm the happiest woman in the world!" Patrick will forever be known, in addition to being a Hollywood actress, as a pioneer in the television and entertainment industry, and leaves a lasting legacy for women everywhere.