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Barbara Hale
Actor

Barbara Hale

18 Apr 1922Born
26 Jan 2017Died
94Age at death
90Credits

Biography

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.

Read the full biography

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).

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 90 credits.

  1. 1995Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous JokesterFilm: Della Street
  2. 1994Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing GovernorFilm: Della Street
  3. 1994Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal LifestyleFilm: Della Street
  4. 1993Perry Mason: The Case of the Wicked WivesFilm: Della Street
  5. 1993Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer KissFilm: Della Street
  6. 1993Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show HostFilm: Della Street
  7. 1993Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep ScandalFilm: Della Street
  8. 1992Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken BrideFilm: Della Street
  9. 1992Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless RomeoFilm: Della Street
  10. 1992Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal FramingFilm: Della Street
  11. 1991Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal FashionFilm: Della Street
  12. 1991Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass CoffinFilm: Della Street
  13. 1991Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned MobsterFilm: Della Street
  14. 1991Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless ReporterFilm: Della Street
  15. 1990Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant DaughterFilm: Della Street
  16. 1990Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced SingerFilm: Della Street
  17. 1990Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate DeceptionFilm: Della Street
  18. 1990Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned PenFilm: Della Street
  19. 1989Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star AssassinFilm: Della Street
  20. 1989Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical MurderFilm: Della Street
  21. 1989Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal LessonFilm: Della Street
  22. 1988Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the LakeFilm: Della Street
  23. 1988Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging AceFilm: Della Street
  24. 1987Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous ScoundrelFilm: Della Street
  25. 1987Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered MadamFilm: Della Street
  26. 1987Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister SpiritFilm: Della Street
  27. 1987Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost LoveFilm: Della Street
  28. 1986Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting StarFilm: Della Street
  29. 1986Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious NunFilm: Della Street
  30. 1985Perry Mason ReturnsFilm: Della Street
  31. 1985Perry Mason ReturnsSeries: Della Street (30 episodes)
  32. 1978The Young RunawaysFilm: Mrs. Ogle
  33. 1978Big WednesdayFilm: Mrs. Barlow
  34. 1976The Flight of the Grey WolfFilm: Mrs Hanson
  35. 1975The Giant Spider InvasionFilm: Dr. Jenny Langer
  36. 1973Chester, Yesterday’s HorseFilm: Mrs. Belle Kincaid
  37. 1970The Red, White, and BlackFilm: Mrs. Alice Grierson
  38. 1970AirportFilm: Sarah Demerest
  39. 1969Marcus Welby, M.D.Series: Marjorie Brandon (1 episode)
  40. 1968The Doris Day ShowSeries: Thelma King (1 episode)
  41. 1968Adam-12Series: Bonnie Jessup (1 episode)
  42. 1968BuckskinFilm: Sarah Cody
  43. 1958Desert HellFilm: Celie Edwards
  44. 1957Slim CarterFilm: Allie Hanneman
  45. 1957Perry MasonSeries: Della Street (271 episodes)
  46. 1957The OklahomanFilm: Anne
  47. 19567th CavalryFilm: Martha Kellogg
  48. 1956The Country HusbandFilm: Mrs. Julia Wiley
  49. 1956The Houston StoryFilm: Zoe Crane
  50. 1955Meet the GovernorFilm: June Waters
  51. 1955Screen Director's PlayhouseSeries: June Waters (1 episode)
  52. 1955UnchainedFilm: Mary Davitt
  53. 1955The Far HorizonsFilm: Julia Hancock
  54. 1955The MillionaireSeries: Kathy Munson / Marian Munson (1 episode)
  55. 1954The Wonderful World of DisneySeries: Mrs. Ogle (1 episode)
  56. 1954Climax!Series: Mamie Eunson (1 episode)
  57. 1954Studio 57Series: Ruth (1 episode)
  58. 1954LassieSeries (1 episode)
  59. 1953A Lion Is in the StreetsFilm: Verity Wade Martin
  60. 1953Letter to LorettaSeries: Mrs. Strawn (1 episode)
  61. 1953The Lone HandFilm: Sarah Jane Skaggs
  62. 1953SeminoleFilm: Revere
  63. 1953Last of the ComanchesFilm: Julia Lanning
  64. 1953General Electric TheaterSeries: Ellen Newman, Lorraine (1 episode)
  65. 1952The Ford Television TheatreSeries: Marta Linden, Katherine Charles, Nora White (1 episode)
  66. 1952The First TimeFilm: Betsey Bennett
  67. 1951Schlitz Playhouse of StarsSeries: Ginny Morgan (1 episode)
  68. 1951Lorna DooneFilm: Lorna Doone
  69. 1950Emergency WeddingFilm: Dr. Helen Hunt
  70. 1950The JackpotFilm: Amy Lawrence
  71. 1949And Baby Makes ThreeFilm: Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walsh
  72. 1949Jolson Sings AgainFilm: Ellen Clark
  73. 1949The WindowFilm: Mary Woodry
  74. 1949The Clay PigeonFilm: Martha Gregory
  75. 1948The Boy with Green HairFilm: Miss Brand
  76. 1947A Likely StoryFilm: Vicki
  77. 1946Lady LuckFilm: Mary Audrey
  78. 1945First Yank into TokyoFilm: Abby Drake
  79. 1945West of the PecosFilm: Rill Lambeth
  80. 1944The Falcon in HollywoodFilm: Peggy Callahan

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.