Acting
Barbara Hale
Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 - January 26, 2017) was an American actress best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on more than 250 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television series and in 30 made-for-TV movies. Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois, to Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener, and his wife, Wilma Colvin. She is of Scots-Irish ancestry. Hale graduated from high school in Rockford, Illinois, then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, planning to become an artist. Her performing career began in Chicago when she started modeling to pay for her education. She moved to Hollywood in 1943, and made her first screen appearances playing small parts (often uncredited). Hale was under contract to RKO Radio Pictures through the late 1940s. She appeared in Higher and Higher (1943) with Frank Sinatra; played leading lady to Robert Mitchum in West of the Pecos (1945); enjoyed top billing in both Lady Luck (1946) opposite Robert Young and The Window (1949) with Arthur Kennedy; and co-starred in Jolson Sings Again (1949), with Larry Parks playing Al Jolson and Hale as Jolson's wife, Ellen Clark. She played the top-billed title role in Lorna Doone (1951) and portrayed Julia Hancock in The Far Horizons (1955) with Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston. Her flourishing movie career more or less ended when Hale accepted her best known role, Della Street, secretary to attorney Perry Mason, in the TV series with Raymond Burr. The show ran from 1957 to 1966, and she reprised the role in several television movies. Her last performance to date was in 2000 at age 78. In 1967 she guest starred on the ABC series Custer. Hale also had a featured role in the 1970 ensemble film Airport, playing the wife of a jetliner pilot (Dean Martin).
Filmography
Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
Film · 1995
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Film · 1994
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
Film · 1994
Perry Mason: The Case of the Wicked Wives
Film · 1993
Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss
Film · 1993
Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal
Film · 1993
Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host
Film · 1993
Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride
Film · 1992
Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo
Film · 1992
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing
Film · 1992
Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter
Film · 1991
Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin
Film · 1991
Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster
Film · 1991
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion
Film · 1991
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
Film · 1990
Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen
Film · 1990
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception
Film · 1990
Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter
Film · 1990
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
Film · 1989
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
Film · 1989
Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
Film · 1989
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake
Film · 1988
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
Film · 1988
Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel
Film · 1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
Film · 1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love
Film · 1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Film · 1987
Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun
Film · 1986
Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star
Film · 1986
Perry Mason Returns
Film · 1985
Perry Mason Returns
Series · 1985
The Young Runaways
Film · 1978
Big Wednesday
Film · 1978
The Flight of the Grey Wolf
Film · 1976
The Giant Spider Invasion
Film · 1975
Dinah!
Series · 1974
Chester, Yesterday’s Horse
Film · 1973
Airport
Film · 1970
The Red, White, and Black
Film · 1970
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Series · 1969
Buckskin
Film · 1968
Adam-12
Series · 1968
The Doris Day Show
Series · 1968
Desert Hell
Film · 1958
The Oklahoman
Film · 1957
Slim Carter
Film · 1957
Perry Mason
Series · 1957
The Houston Story
Film · 1956
7th Cavalry
Film · 1956
The Country Husband
Film · 1956
The Far Horizons
Film · 1955
Meet the Governor
Film · 1955
Unchained
Film · 1955
The Millionaire
Series · 1955
Screen Director's Playhouse
Series · 1955
Lassie
Series · 1954
Climax!
Series · 1954
The Wonderful World of Disney
Series · 1954
Studio 57
Series · 1954
Last of the Comanches
Film · 1953
Seminole
Film · 1953
A Lion Is in the Streets
Film · 1953
The Lone Hand
Film · 1953
General Electric Theater
Series · 1953
Letter to Loretta
Series · 1953
General Electric Theater
Series · 1953
The First Time
Film · 1952
The Ford Television Theatre
Series · 1952
The Ford Television Theatre
Series · 1952
The Ford Television Theatre
Series · 1952
Lorna Doone
Film · 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Series · 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Series · 1951
The Jackpot
Film · 1950
Emergency Wedding
Film · 1950
The Window
Film · 1949
The Clay Pigeon
Film · 1949
Jolson Sings Again
Film · 1949
And Baby Makes Three
Film · 1949
The Boy with Green Hair
Film · 1948
A Likely Story
Film · 1947
Lady Luck
Film · 1946
First Yank into Tokyo
Film · 1945
West of the Pecos
Film · 1945
The Falcon in Hollywood
Film · 1944
The Falcon Out West
Film · 1944
Heavenly Days
Film · 1944
Prunes and Politics
Film · 1944
Goin' to Town
Film · 1944
Higher and Higher
Film · 1943
The Iron Major
Film · 1943
Government Girl
Film · 1943
Gildersleeve's Bad Day
Film · 1943
Around the World
Film · 1943
The Seventh Victim
Film · 1943