Biography

Barbara 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 in 1940 from Rockford 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. Hale's family included a sister, Juanita, for whom Hale's younger daughter was named.

Acting career

William Hopper, Barbara Hale and Frank Sully in Perry Mason (1958)

Film

Hale moved to Hollywood in 1943, and made her first screen appearances playing small parts (often uncredited). Her first role was in Gildersleeve's Bad Day. She was under contract to RKO Radio Pictures through the late 1940s. She appeared in Higher and Higher (1943) with Frank Sinatra and sang with the crooner; played leading lady to Robert Mitchum in West of the Pecos (1945); enjoyed top billing in both Lady Luck (1946) opposite Robert Young, her first "full stardom" and "her fifth A picture", 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), co-starred with James Stewart in The Jackpot (1951), with James Cagney in a 1953 drama, A Lion Is in the Streets, and opposite Rock Hudson in 1953's Seminole. She then appeared in 1955's The Far Horizons with Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston, also working with some of Hollywood's best-known leading men of the day.

Television

Hale's flourishing movie career more or less ended when Hale accepted her best known role as legal secretary Della Street in the television series Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr as the titular character. The show ran from 1957 to 1966, and she reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason television films (1985-95).

She co-starred with Joel McCrea in a 1957 western, The Oklahoman, but there were few leading roles thereafter. Hale did have a featured role in the 1970 ensemble film Airport, playing the wife of a jetliner pilot (Dean Martin).

Hale's career became inextricably linked with that of Perry Mason co-star Burr, including her 1971 guest-starring role on his next series, Ironside, in an episode titled "Murder Impromptu," followed by their 1980s and early '90s TV movies together.

Her last onscreen appearance to date came in a TV biographical documentary about Burr that aired in 2000.

Radio

Hale's activity in radio was more limited than in film or television. She appeared in five episodes of Family Theater (1950-1954) and in one episode each of Lux Radio Theatre (1950), Voice of the Army (1947), and Proudly We Hail (syndicated).

Spokesperson

Barbara Hale also is remembered as a spokesperson for Amana, makers of Radarange microwave ovens, memorably intoning, "If it doesn't say Amana, it's not a Radarange."

Private life

In 1945 during the filming of West of the Pecos, Hale met actor Bill Williams. They married June 22, 1946, and became the parents of two daughters, Jodi and Juanita, and a son, actor William Katt. Katt played detective Paul Drake, Jr., with her in several made-for-television Perry Mason movies. She also guest-starred as the mother of Ralph Hinkley (played by Katt) in a 1982 episode of The Greatest American Hero (Episode 29, "Who's Woo in America"), and appeared as his mother in the movie Big Wednesday (1978).

Bill Williams died of cancer in 1992, after 46 years of marriage. Hale herself is a cancer survivor, and a grandmother. She is a follower of the Bahá'í Faith.

Accolades

Hale was recognized as a Star of Television (with a marker at 1628 Vine Street) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960. She won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series in 1959 and was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series in 1961.

She was presented one of the Golden Boot Awards in 2001 for her contributions to western cinema.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1943	Gildersleeve's Bad Day	Girl at Party Getting Peavey to Donate	Uncredited
	Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event	Girl at Airport	Uncredited
	The Seventh Victim	Subway Passenger	Uncredited
	The Iron Major	Sarah Cavanaugh	Uncredited
	Gildersleeve on Broadway	Stocking Salesgirl	Uncredited
	Government Girl	Girl in Hotel Lobby	Uncredited
	Around the World	Barbara Hale	Uncredited
	Higher and Higher	Katherine Keating
1944	Prunes and Politics		Short film
	The Falcon Out West	Marion Colby
	Goin' To Town	Patty
	Heavenly Days	Angie
	The Falcon in Hollywood	Peggy Callahan
1945	West of the Pecos	Rill Lambeth
	First Yank into Tokyo	Abby Drake
1946	Lady Luck	Mary Audrey
1947	A Likely Story	Vickie North
1948	The Boy with Green Hair	Miss Brand
1949	The Clay Pigeon	Martha Gregory
	The Window	Mrs. Mary Woodry
	Jolson Sings Again	Ellen Clark
	And Baby Makes Three	Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walsh
1950	The Jackpot	Amy Lawrence
	Emergency Wedding	Dr. Helen Hunt
1951	Lorna Doone	Lorna Doone
1952	The First Time	Betsey Bennet
	Castle in the Air	Barbara Hale	Uncredited
1953	Last of the Comanches	Julia Lanning
	Seminole	Revere
	The Lone Hand	Sarah Jane Skaggs
	A Lion Is in the Streets	Verity Wade
1955	Unchained	Mary Davitt
	The Far Horizons	Julia Hancock
1956	The Houston Story	Zoe Crane
	7th Cavalry	Martha Kellogg
1957	The Oklahoman	Anne Barnes
	Slim Carter	Allie Hanneman
1958	Desert Hell	Celie Edwards
1968	Buckskin	Sarah Cody
1970	Airport	Sarah Demerest
	The Red, White and Black	Mrs. Alice Grierson
1975	The Giant Spider Invasion	Dr. Jenny Langer
1978	Big Wednesday	Mrs. Barlow
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952-56	The Ford Television Theatre	Marta Linden, Nora White	Episodes: "The Divided Heart", "Remember to Live", "Behind the Mask"
1953	Footlights Theater	Katherine Charles	Episode: "Change of Heart"
1953-55	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars		Episodes: "Vacation for Ginny", "Tourists-Overnight"
1955	Studio 57	Ruth	Episode: "Young Couples Only"
	General Electric Theater	Ellen Newman	Episode: "The Windmill"
	Screen Director's Playhouse	June Waters	Episode: "Meet the Governor"
	Celebrity Playhouse		Episode: "He Knew All About Women"
	Climax!	Mamie Eunson	Episode: "The Day They Gave Babies Away"
	Science Fiction Theatre	Nancy Stanton, Pat Hastings	Episodes: "Conversations With an Ape", "The Hastings Secret"
1956	The Loretta Young Show	Bill's Wife	Episode: "The Challenge"
	Damon Runyon Theater	Wendy Longfield	Episode: "The Good Luck Kid"
	Crossroads	Jane Sherman	Episode: "Lifeline"
	The Millionaire	Kathy Munson and Marian Munson	Episode: "The Kathy Munson Story"
1956-57	Playhouse 90	Mrs. Julia Wiley, Ann Barnes, Allie Hanneman	Episodes: "The Country Husband", "The Blackwell Story", "The Oklahoman", "Slim Carter"
1957-66	Perry Mason	Della Street	Credited in all 271 episodes
1959	General Electric Theater	Lorraine	Episode: "Night Club"
1960	Here's Hollywood	Herself
1963	Stump the Stars	Herself	2 episodes
1967	Custer	Melinda Terry	Episode: "Death Hunt"
1969	Insight	Mom	Episode: "A Thousand Red Flowers"
	Lassie	Sarah Caldwell	Episode: "Lassie and the Water Bottles"
1970	The Most Deadly Game		Episode: "Model for Murder"
1971	Ironside	Marsha Connell	Episode: "Murder Impromptu"
	Adam-12	Bonnie Jessup	Episode: "Pick-up"; Hale's husband Bill Williams also appears
1972	The Doris Day Show	Thelma King	Episode: "Doris' House Guest"
1973-78	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Mrs. Belle Kincaid, Mrs. Hanson, Mrs. Ogle, Mrs. Barlow	Episodes: "Chester, Yesterday's Horse", "Flight of the Grey Wolf, Parts 1 and 2", "The Young Runaways", "Big Wednesday"
1974	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Marjorie	Episode: "The Faith of Childish Things"
1976	Dinah!	Herself
1982	The Greatest American Hero	Paula Hinkley	Episode: "Who's Woo in America"
1985	Perry Mason Returns	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1986	The Case of the Notorious Nun	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Shooting Star	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1987	The Case of the Lost Love	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Sinister Spirit	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Murdered Madam	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1988	The Case of the Avenging Ace	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Lady in the Lake	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1989	The Case of the Lethal Lesson	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Musical Murder	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the All-Star Assassin	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1990	The Case of the Poisoned Pen	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Desperate Deception	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Silenced Singer	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Defiant Daughter	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1991	The Case of the Ruthless Reporter	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Maligned Mobster	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Glass Coffin	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Fatal Fashion	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1992	The Case of the Fatal Framing	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Reckless Romeo	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Heartbroken Bride	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1993	The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Killer Kiss	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Wicked Wives	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Defense Rests: A Tribute to Raymond Burr	Herself
1994	The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
	The Case of the Grimacing Governor	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
1995	The Case of the Jealous Jokester	Della Street	Perry Mason TV movie
2000	Biography	Herself	Episode: "Raymond Burr, The Case of the TV Legend"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]