Barbara Hale

Barbara Hale is 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 later reprising the role 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: Acting

Born: DeKalb, Illinois, USA, 1922-04-18

Died: 2017-01-26

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1943	Gildersleeve's Bad Day	Girl seeking donations from Gildersleeve	64
2	1943	The Seventh Victim	Subway Passenger (Uncredited)	65
3	1943	The Iron Major	Sarah Cavanaugh	58
4	1943	Government Girl	Girl in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)	52
5	1943	Around the World	Barbara Hale	50
6	1943	Higher and Higher	Katherine	60
7	1944	Prunes and Politics	Miss Barlow	50
8	1944	The Falcon Out West	Marion Colby	55
9	1944	Goin' to Town	Patty	0
10	1944	Heavenly Days	Angie	0
11	1944	The Falcon in Hollywood	Peggy Callahan	60
12	1945	West of the Pecos	Rill Lambeth	41
13	1945	First Yank into Tokyo	Abby Drake	54
14	1946	Lady Luck	Mary Audrey	54
15	1947	A Likely Story	Vicki	42
16	1948	The Boy with Green Hair	Miss Brand	62
17	1949	The Clay Pigeon	Martha Gregory	55
18	1949	The Window	Mary Woodry	69
19	1949	Jolson Sings Again	Ellen Clark	60
20	1949	And Baby Makes Three	Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walsh	49
21	1950	The Jackpot	Amy Lawrence	69
22	1950	Emergency Wedding	Dr. Helen Hunt	55
23	1951	Lorna Doone	Lorna Doone	46
24	1952	The First Time	Betsey Bennett	65
25	1953	Last of the Comanches	Julia Lanning	64
26	1953	Seminole	Revere	54
27	1953	The Lone Hand	Sarah Jane Skaggs	52
28	1953	A Lion Is in the Streets	Verity Wade	55
29	1955	The Far Horizons	Julia Hancock	62
30	1955	Unchained	Mary Davitt	0
31	1955	Meet the Governor	June Waters	0
32	1956	The Houston Story	Zoe Crane	55
33	1956	The Country Husband	Mrs. Julia Wiley	0
34	1956	7th Cavalry	Martha Kellogg	57
35	1957	The Oklahoman	Anne	56
36	1957	Slim Carter	Allie Hanneman	0
37	1958	Desert Hell	Celie Edwards	0
38	1968	Buckskin	Sarah Cody	53
39	1970	Airport	Sarah Demerest	64
40	1970	The Red, White, and Black	Mrs. Alice Grierson	0
41	1973	Chester, Yesterday’s Horse	Mrs. Belle Kincaid	0
42	1975	The Giant Spider Invasion	Dr. Jenny Langer	39
43	1976	The Flight of the Grey Wolf	Mrs Hanson	60
44	1978	Big Wednesday	Mrs. Barlow	69
45	1978	The Young Runaways	Mrs. Ogle	60
46	1985	Perry Mason Returns	Della Street	70
47	1986	Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun	Della Street	69
48	1986	Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star	Della Street	70
49	1987	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love	Della Street	72
50	1987	Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit	Della Street	77
51	1987	Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam	Della Street	68
52	1987	Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel	Della Street	71
53	1988	Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace	Della Street	71
54	1988	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake	Della Street	68
55	1989	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson	Della Street	71
56	1989	Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder	Della Street	65
57	1989	Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin	Della Street	64
58	1990	Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen	Della Street	71
59	1990	Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception	Della Street	68
60	1990	Perry Mason: The Case of the Silenced Singer	Della Street	73
61	1990	Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter	Della Street	70
62	1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter	Della Street	62
63	1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster	Della Street	65
64	1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin	Della Street	73
65	1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion	Della Street	74
66	1992	Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Framing	Della Street	66
67	1992	Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo	Della Street	70
68	1992	Perry Mason: The Case of the Heartbroken Bride	Della Street	79
69	1993	Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal	Della Street	73
70	1993	Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host	Della Street	71
71	1993	Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss	Della Street	76
72	1993	Perry Mason: The Case of the Wicked Wives	Della Street	66
73	1994	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle	Della Street	73
74	1994	Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor	Della Street	67
75	1995	Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester	Della Street	75

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1951	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	Ginny Morgan	73
2	1951	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		73
3	1952	The Ford Television Theatre	Marta Linden	73
4	1952	The Ford Television Theatre	Katherine Charles	73
5	1953	General Electric Theater	Ellen Newman	63
6	1953	General Electric Theater	Lorraine	63
7	1953	Letter to Loretta	Mrs. Strawn	65
8	1954	Lassie		61
9	1954	Studio 57	Ruth	0
10	1954	Climax!	Mamie Eunson	33
11	1954	The Wonderful World of Disney	Mrs. Ogle	78
12	1955	The Millionaire	Kathy Munson / Marian Munson	50
13	1955	Screen Director's Playhouse	June Waters	65
14	1957	Perry Mason	Della Street	77
15	1968	Adam-12	Bonnie Jessup	70
16	1968	The Doris Day Show	Thelma King	53
17	1969	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Marjorie Brandon	65
18	1974	Dinah!	Self	67
19	1985	Perry Mason Returns	Della Street	70

Barbara Hale

Film

Television