Person:Barbara Hale (3)

Brief Biography

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017) was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series Perry Mason (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason made-for-television movies (1985–1995).

Video Tributes

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Barbara Hale (abt 2014)

Barbara Hale modeling (abt 1943)

1. ↑ Record for Barbara B Hale, in DeKalb County, Illinois Births, 1831-1937.
2. ↑ United States. 1930 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T626).
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 United States. 1940 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T627).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Barbara Hale, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
   last accessed Mar 2017.

   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 270 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television series from 1957 to 1966, earning her a 1959 Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason movies for television. Her many films roles included The Window (1949), in which she starred as the mother of a boy who witnesses a murder. ...

5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} "Barbara Hale, who played Della Street on ‘Perry Mason,’ dies at 94", in The Washington Post: Entertainment
   article by Adam Bernstein, 27 Jan 2017.

   Barbara Hale, a wavy-haired model and Hollywood leading lady of the 1940s and 1950s who warbled with Frank Sinatra in his first big film role and had a long television career as the devoted secretary Della Street to Raymond Burr’s tireless defense lawyer Perry Mason, died Jan. 26 at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She was 94. Ms. Hale was the matriarch of a show business family that included her late husband, actor Bill Williams, who starred in the 1950s western series “The Adventures of Kit Carson,” and their son, William Katt, who played the title role in the early 1980s TV series “The Greatest American Hero.” Katt confirmed the death and said the cause was complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
   
   Barbara Hale was born April 18, 1922, in De Kalb, Ill., and grew up in Rockford, Ill., where her father was a landscape gardener. She won a beauty contest in high school, and while attending the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, she began modeling.

   Promotion photo for the movie "First Yank Into Tokyo" (1945)
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Barbara Hale, in FamousBirthdays.com
   retrieved 1 Apr 2017.

   Birthday: April 18, 1922
   Birthplace: De Kalb, IL
   Death date: Jan 26, 2017 (age 94)
   Birth sign: Aries
   About: Played secretary Della on over 250 episodes of the TV series Perry Mason.
   Before Fame: She attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
   Trivia: She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
   Family Life: She had three children with her husband Bill Williams.
   Associated With: She starred alongside Dean Martin in the 1970 film Airport.

7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} 'Perry Mason' actress Barbara Hale dies at 94, in The Telegraph News
   article by The Associated Press , 28 Jan 2017.

   Barbara Hale, a movie actress who found her most famous role on television as steadfast secretary Della Street in the long-running "Perry Mason" series, has died. She was 94. Hale appeared in "Perry Mason" on CBS from 1957 to 1966, winning an Emmy as best actress in 1959. She continued her role after Burr died in 1993 and was replaced by Hal Holbrook for the movies that continued into 1995. Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois, daughter of a landscape gardener and a homemaker. The family moved to Rockford when she was 4, and she later took part in a local theater. When her ambition turned to art she studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Barbara Hale Biography, in Barbara Hale Homepage
   retrieved 1 Apr 2017.

   Barbara Hale started her career in Hollywood in 1942. Actually, it wasn't her aim to be an actress. She had planned a profession in art.
   
   On April 18, 1922, Barbara was born in DeKalb, Illinois to parents of Scotch-Irish descent. She was the second child of Willa (born Calvin) and Luther "Ezra" Hale, a landscape gardener. Shortly after Barbara's birth, her parents moved to Rockford with her and her elder sister Juanita, who was born in 1913. Here, the actress grew up in a provincial idyll and started to take lessons in ballet and tap dancing at the age of twelve. Barbara also started to participate in local theater plays. Already, during her time in school, she discovered her talent and interest in painting. That's why Barbara decided to enroll in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts after her graduation from high school in Rockford.
   
   Her life in Chicago was more difficult than expected and the competition at the Academy of Fine Arts was huge. Barbara's aim was to work for the advertising industry, but she realized fast that it was a tough business. Thereupon, she started to concentrate on working as a model. She collected first experiences while posing for a comic strip named "Ramblin' Bill."
   
   Shortly after that, Barbara coincidentally met Al Seaman, the head of the Chicago Model Bureau, who was so enthusiastic about his new discovery that he sent photos to RKO Studios. An audition was arranged. Shortly after that, Barbara signed a stock contract and went on to California.

   Author's note: Several birth dates for Barbara Hale and also for her children are available. Some dates differ by a year. It is unclear how this confusion started. I chose the birth dates that seem to be the most likely ones.

9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4} Barbara Hale, in Find A Grave: Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
   Memorial# 175763060, Jan 27, 2017.

   Birth: Apr. 18, 1922, De Kalb, DeKalb County, Illinois, USA
   Death: Jan. 26, 2017, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles County, California, USA
   Burial: Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
   Plot: Enduring Faith section, Map #D10, Lot 2580, Ground Interment Space 2

   American Actress. She will best be remembered for her role as legal secretary Della Street on the long-running television series, 'Perry Mason'. At age twelve, she began taking lessons in ballet and started to participate in local theater plays. After she graduated from high school, she enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and briefly worked as a model, posing for a comic strip named 'Ramblin' Bill'. Her agent sent photos to RKO Studios in Los Angeles, an audition was arranged and shortly thereafter she signed a stock contract and relocated to California. Her first appearance on film was in 1943's 'Gildersleeve's Bad Day', followed by roles in such RKO films as 'Higher and Higher' (1944), 'The Falcon Out West' (1944), 'First Yank Into Tokyo' (1945), 'West of the Pecos' (1945), 'Lady Luck' (1946), 'The Jackpot' (1950), 'Lone Hand' (1951), 'Last of the Commanches' (1952) and 'The Houston Story' (1956). After that, arrangements with Columbia Studios and other production companies followed. In 1956, she was offered the part of Della Street in the 'Perry Mason' TV series opposite Raymond Burr in the leading role, working on the show for nine years, where she would receive an Emmy Award in 1959 for her role and was nominated again in 1961. When Burr got the offer in the mid 1980s to star in the 'Perry Mason' made-for-TV movies, he accepted only with the condition that Hale reprise the role of Della Street. She accepted the role and appeared in all the episodes until Burr's death in 1993. She also guest-starred in various TV series and in several films, such as 'Airport' (1970) 'The Giant Spider Invasion' (1975) and 'Big Wednesday' (1978). Hale, who was the matriarch of a show business family that included her late husband, actor Bill Williams, who starred in the 1950s western series 'The Adventures of Kit Carson' and their son, William Katt, who played the title role in the early 1980s TV series 'The Greatest American Hero', died from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (bio by: Louis du Mort)