Barbara Hale
Acting
Born: April 18, 1922 · DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Died: January 26, 2017 (aged 94)
Highest Rated
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. 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
Airport
1970
Big Wednesday
1978
The Seventh Victim
1943
Perry Mason
1957
The Giant Spider Invasion
1975
The Window
1949
Lassie
1954
The Boy with Green Hair
1948
Adam-12
1968
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
Seminole
1953
The Far Horizons
1955
Photos (6)
Movies (74)
Airport
Sarah Demerest
Big Wednesday
Mrs. Barlow
The Far Horizons
Julia Hancock
7th Cavalry
Martha Kellogg
The Oklahoman
Anne
The Giant Spider Invasion
Dr. Jenny Langer
Government Girl
Girl in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal
Della Street
The Lone Hand
Sarah Jane Skaggs
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone
Last of the Comanches
Julia Lanning
Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception
Della Street
The Window
Mary Woodry
Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam
Della Street
The Boy with Green Hair
Miss Brand
Perry Mason Returns
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Della Street
Lady Luck
Mary Audrey
Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion
Della Street
Seminole
Revere
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson
Della Street
The Seventh Victim
Subway Passenger (Uncredited)
The Clay Pigeon
Martha Gregory
Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun
Della Street
The Jackpot
Amy Lawrence
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
Della Street
The Falcon Out West
Marion Colby
Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing
Della Street
The Young Runaways
Mrs. Ogle
Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel
Della Street
Higher and Higher
Katherine
The Falcon in Hollywood
Peggy Callahan
Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo
Della Street
Gildersleeve's Bad Day
Girl seeking donations from Gildersleeve
A Lion Is in the Streets
Verity Wade Martin
West of the Pecos
Rill Lambeth
Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host
Della Street
The Iron Major
Sarah Cavanaugh
Around the World
Barbara Hale
First Yank into Tokyo
Abby Drake
Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride
Della Street
Desert Hell
Celie Edwards
Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
Della Street
The Houston Story
Zoe Crane
Perry Mason: The Case of the Wicked Wives
Della Street
Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen
Della Street
Heavenly Days
Angie
Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
Della Street
The First Time
Betsey Bennett
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
Della Street
Jolson Sings Again
Ellen Clark
A Likely Story
Vicki
Unchained
Mary Davitt
Buckskin
Sarah Cody
Slim Carter
Allie Hanneman
Goin' to Town
Patty
The Country Husband
Mrs. Julia Wiley
Emergency Wedding
Dr. Helen Hunt
Prunes and Politics
Miss Barlow
And Baby Makes Three
Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walsh
The Red, White, and Black
Mrs. Alice Grierson
Chester, Yesterday’s Horse
Mrs. Belle Kincaid
The Flight of the Grey Wolf
Mrs Hanson
TV Shows (19)
Perry Mason
Della Street · 271 eps
Lassie
1 eps
Adam-12
Bonnie Jessup · 1 eps
Climax!
Mamie Eunson · 1 eps
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marjorie Brandon · 1 eps
The Millionaire
Kathy Munson / Marian Munson · 1 eps
The Doris Day Show
Thelma King · 1 eps
The Ford Television Theatre
Marta Linden · 1 eps
The Ford Television Theatre
Katherine Charles · 1 eps
The Ford Television Theatre
Nora White · 1 eps
Studio 57
Ruth · 1 eps
Screen Director's Playhouse
June Waters · 1 eps
The Wonderful World of Disney
Mrs. Ogle · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Ellen Newman · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Lorraine · 1 eps
Letter to Loretta
Mrs. Strawn · 1 eps
Perry Mason Returns
Della Street · 30 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Ginny Morgan · 1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1 eps
