Barbara Hale
Birth : 1922-04-18, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Death : 2017-01-26
History
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).
Della Street
Attorney Bill McKenzie takes the case when his niece is framed for the murder of a popular and demanding sitcom star.
Della Street
The alleged suicide of a gubernatorial candidate triggers a series of mysterious deaths leading to the governor's mansion, and "Wild" Bill McKenzie, a friend of Perry Mason, is on the case.
Della Street
A former associate of Perry Mason returns to handle the defense of a world-class chess player accused of murdering a prominent TV personality.
Della Street
Anthony Caruso, an old friend of Perry Mason, comes to Denver on the request of Dee Morrison. She's married to famed photographer David Morrison, who wants to shoot a photo featuring his former models. The tricky thing is that all of his former models are also his former wives. But Dee knows Anthony can convince them to do it which he does. And David shoots them. Later Dee catches David it what appears to be in an inappropriate situation with his assistant. They have an argument and she leaves. Later David is found dead and she's arrested and Anthony defends her. And he suspects it could have been one of the wives
Della Street
On the set of a popular daytime soap opera 'Mile High', actress Kris Buckner is being forced off by co-star Mark Stratton. When she says that she'll 'kill him before she leaves the show', she makes herself the prime suspect when Stratton is murdered by someone poisoning him. As an old friend, Perry Mason comes to the help of Kris and agrees to defend her. Meanwhile Ken goes in search of information with the help of fan of the show.
Della Street
Dr Sheila Carlin is good friends with Della who calls Perry in when she is being pestered by someone. On the theory that it could be somebody that she works with at a radio stations she arranges Perry to be interviewed by Winslow Keene who is also the station's owner. Winslow enrages the rest of the talk show hosts on the station by informing them of changes that he is making to their time slots. That night, Winslow is shot by a hit man hired by someone at the station and Sheila is set up for the murder. She calls in Perry and as usual Perry, Della and Ken swing into action to find out who really did it.
Della Street
The owner of a cosmetics company is unveiling a new cream which she claims she's been using. She's been keeping her age a secret and now reveals that she's 60 and owes her appearance to the cream. She's later killed and the formula missing. Her husband is arrested and Perry defends him.
Della Street
Perry Mason is invited to the marriage of the daughter of an old friend of his. But after the ceremony the uncle of the bride is dead. Certainly this is a case for Perry Mason.
Della Street
Sleazy talk show host Ted Mayne writes a tell-all book, which enrages and embarrasses several very prominent women. One of them, actress Roxanne Shield, loses her composure during an interview and winds up making a televised death threat. Of course, when Ted is murdered, she is arrested. Witnesses claim they saw Roxanne outside his apartment that night and police later find the murder weapon in her car. Renowned defence attorney Perry Mason accepts the challenge of defending her in court.
Della Street
A painter, believed to be dead, returns to make allegations that a gallery owner is selling counterfeits of his work. Later, the artist is murdered.
Della Street
Della's friend is accused of murdering a rival fashion magazine editor.
Della Street
David Katz is a world famous magician and he comes to Denver with his group to perform for a charity gala for disabled children. Also there is Perry and Della as all three are supporters of the charity. Kate Ford, an assistant with an arrogant attitude, tells David that she is, from now on, going to do an illusion in which an assistant is raised in a glass coffin only to disappear when the coffin is opened up in the air (while the assistant climbs out before the coffin is raised.) After a one night stand with David, Kate is pregnant and she blackmails David with this. David and his wife Judy can't have children so that comes as a double blow to them. However Kate, with her attitude, creates much hatred at her from the rest of the group. At the gala, the glass coffin is raised but when it opens Kate's dead body falls to the ground - strangled.
Della Street
A gangster who has commited all kinds of crimes is accused to have killed his wife. As he was not the murderer in this case Perry Mason intents to find the killer...
Della Street
Perry is at TV station "KGGY" to be interviewed but thanks to the interference of main anchor-person Brett Huston the interview is pulled. Mostly everybody hates Brett as Brett knows all the station workers secrets. He has also written a memo insulting all of the main station players - Vic St. John - the station manager, Twyla Cooper - the producer, Chuck Gilmore - the sports reporter, Gary Slate - the weatherman, Cassie Woodfield - the reporter and Gillian Pope. Brett is shot dead with Gillian's gun and therefore is arrested for the crime. Gillian calls in Perry, Della and Ken to investigate. As Della and Perry set out to solve the mystery, Ken gets close to Cassie but she is a suspect and when it appears that somebody is trying to kill her, the mystery deepens..
Della Street
A young woman from Las Vegas wants Perry Mason to defend her father.
Della Street
Perry Mason defends the husband of a famous rock singer who was found being killed after having had a tremendous discussion with her husband and her manager.
Della Street
Perry Mason ventures to Paris to defend a U.S. Marine Corps Captain accused of murdering a man suspected of being a Nazi SS Officer.
Della Street
The chief suspects in the murder of an author are the numerous colleagues whom he continuously plagiarized.
Della Street
A hockey player of friend of Ken Malansky's is accused of murdering a team owner. Perry takes the case.
Della Street
A young theatre director is accused of killing a more famous Broadway director. Perry takes his case.
Della Street
Ken Malansky, a law student of Perry Mason's, is accused of murdering a fellow student. Perry is reluctant to take on his case as the victim was the son of a close friend.
Della Street
A woman suddenly disappears after an early morning walk, and her husband is accused of murder.
Della Street
Mason defends a man he had sentenced to prison when he was an appellate-court judge. Now, 18 months after the sentencing, a new witness turns up to prove the man's innocence. Mason steps in to defend the man.
Della Street
Perry is sueing a gutter trash newspaper that is running a story about a love affair between him and Della. The editor also has "dirt" files on an Army General, his banker and other "clients". All of them make little-concealed verbal threats to him at a party but the person that hated him most is a female reporter who the editor had just fired from the paper for attempting to write a serious story. She threatens him and soon after the editor is found, floating in his pool, shot. The reporter is arrested for the crime and Perry, who has a personal stake in this matter, with the aid of Della and Paul set out to solve the mystery. But the other suspects just want the case over with and will go to any lengths to protect their pasts and their secrets
Della Street
Perry investigates the murder of a former madam and uncovers a multimillion dollar banking fraud in the process.
Della Street
Jordan White, a publisher friend of Perry, is called to a hotel where a guest, famous horror writer David Hall, has cleared out the hotel for a weekend and has called his "friends" - an actress, a fortune-teller, David's private assistant and the two remaining staff at the hotel to discuss business. They have come to the hotel as all of them are going to sue David over his new book - "The Resort" which characters are obviously based on Jordan and the guests. A practical joker, David plays tricks on them until he is thrown from the high tower of the hotel where Susan Warrenfield, the manager and owner of the hotel sees the fall and then Jordan at the tower causing the police to arrest Jordan. While Perry and Della try to solve the main mystery, Paul tries to find out who is trying to scare Susan away from the hotel. Could it really be a ghost or a more earthy visitor?
Della Street
Perry must defend the husband of an old flame from a murder charge.
Della Street
An actor rigs a fake shooting on TV with the connivance of his friend, the show's host, but the practical joke goes wrong when the gun turns out to contain a live round.
Della Street
A priest is murdered and the main suspect is a nun.
Della Street
When his former secretary is accused of a murder, Perry Mason gives up a judgeship to defend her.
Mrs. Ogle
Heartless parents C.L. Doyle and his wife take two of their older children, Rosebud & Joseph T. Doyle, on a family vacation to Alaska, but dump their younger ones, Freddy & Margaret Jean, in a Los Angeles foster home. Infuriated by this, Rosebud talks Joseph T. into running away with her so that they can break their younger siblings out of the system, which sparks a manhunt, and an outburst of sympathy among kids everywhere.
Mrs. Barlow
Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.
Dr. Jenny Langer
A black hole hits North Wisconsin and opens a door to other dimensions. Giant 15 meter spiders emerge from it, who have an appetite for human flesh! Dr. Jenny Langer and Dr. Vance from NASA try to save the world.
Mrs. Alice Grierson
Told by a U.S. Army colonel and his wife, this vintage Western set in post-Civil War Texas chronicles the exploits of the all-black 10th cavalry regiment, which was formed in 1871. Cesar Romero plays the unit's commander.
Sarah Demerest
Melodrama about a bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
Sarah Cody
A Montana marshal fights a land baron out to parch homesteaders with a spite dam.
Celie Edwards
This melodrama tells the tale of a great battle between the French Foreign Legion and the rebellious Arab tribe, the Tuaregs, who fight it out upon the blistering Sahara sands. Just before the Legionnaires embark upon their dangerous mission, the commander discovers that he is being cuckolded by his lieutenant. Because the mission is urgent, there is no time to fight over the commander's wife. Unfortunately, as they travel, the tension between the two mounts and they begin squabbling over how to plan the attack. Their inability to work together results in tragedy.
Allie Hanneman
Hughie Mack, a not so nice western singer, is discovered by Clover Doyle as the next movie cowboy hero. His name is changed to Slim Carter and a promotional buildup begins. Leo Gallaher, an orphan boy wins the contest to spend a month with Slim. Leo is a good influence on his cowboy hero. Clover sees the good and more in Slim. Montana Burriss is Slim's double.
Anne
After his wife dies in childbirth, a doctor (Joel McCrea) settles down in the small Oklahoma town of Cherokee Wells to raise his newborn daughter. Unfortunately, not all the citizens there are hospitable, especially when the doctor hires a pretty Indian teenager (Gloria Talbott) as his child's nanny. Directed by Francis D. Lyon and released in 1957, this western also stars Barbara Hale, Brad Dexter, Verna Felton, Esther Dale, Douglas Dick, Michael Pate, Sheb Wooley, Ray Teal, Mimi Gibson and Anthony Caruso.
Martha Kellogg
An officer accused of cowardice volunteers to bring back General Custers's body after Little Big Horn.
Zoe Crane
A Texas oil driller schemes to steal millions of dollars in oil.
Mary Davitt
This fact-based prison drama tells the tale of a band of prisoners living in the innovative 2,600-acre prison at Chino, California. The place takes a humanistic approach to reform and there are no armed guards, no lockups and no uniforms. The underlying philosophy is that if these things are not there, the prisoners will not want to escape, and will instead accept their punishment. A new inmate arrives and soon accustoms himself to the new idea. The story includes the Oscar nominated song Unchained Melody.
Julia Hancock
Virginia, 1803. After the United States of America acquires the inmense Louisiana territory from France, a great expedition, led by William Lewis and Meriwether Clark, is sent to survey the new lands and go where no white man has gone before.
Verity Wade
A charismatic peddler from the bayous finds his true calling in politics. Is he a demagogue in the making?
Sarah Jane Skaggs
Zachary Hallock and his son Joshua are farmers who live in a frontier town that suffers the assaults of a band of outlaws. After the murder of a Pinkerton's detective, the farmers decide to unite against the bandits, but Hallock rejects the proposal. To the astonishment of his son and his fiancée, Hallock decides to join the outlaws.
Revere
19th-century army officer Lance Caldwell is assigned to Fort King in the Everglades. Immediately clashing with his commanding officer Major Dade, Caldwell opposes Dade's plans to wipe out the Seminole Indians. The fact that Caldwell was the boyhood chum of Seminole chief Osceola is all the more reason to resist Dade's genocidal policies. After a deadly confrontation which costs dozens of lives on both sides, Osceola rescues Caldwell, whereupon the latter is court-martialed. Later on, Osceola comes to Fort King to talk peace, and is promptly killed by persons unknown. An attempt is made to frame Caldwell for the killing, but the truth eventually prevails.
Julia Lanning
It's 1876 and all the Indians are at peace except the Comanches lead by Black Cloud. When Black Cloud wipes out a town, only six soldiers are left and they head for the nearest fort. In the desert they are reinforced by members of a stagecoach and find some water at a deserted mission. Pinned down by Black Cloud they send an Indian boy who was Black Cloud's prisoner on to the fort while they try to bargain with Black Cloud whom they learn is without water.
Betsey Bennett
A married couple welcomes their first child.
Lorna Doone
An English farmer leads a village uprising against their corrupt landlords.
Dr. Helen Hunt
Dr. Helen Hunt is a physician married to millionaire Peter Judson Kirk Jr., who is jealous his wife is spending too much time with her male patients. He makes a fool of himself trying to prove her guilt.
Amy Lawrence
Bill Lawrence wins a bevy or prizes from a radio program, but ends up having to sell them all in order to pay the taxes he's incurred.
Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walsh
A recently divorced couple see things differently after learning they are going to be parents.
Ellen Clark
In this sequel to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife has left him and the appeal of the spotlight isn't what it used to be. This time Jolson trades in the stage for life in the fast lane: women, horses, travel. It takes the death of Moma Yoelson and World War II to bring Jolson back to earth - and to the stage. Once again teamed with manager Steve Martin, Jolson travels the world entertaining troops everywhere from Alaska to Africa. When he finally collapses from exhaustion it takes young, pretty nurse Ellen Clark to show him there's more to life than "just rushing around".
Mary Woodry
An imaginative boy who frequently makes things up witnesses a murder, but can't get his parents or the police to believe him. The only people taking him seriously are the killers - who live upstairs, know that he saw what they did, and are out to permanently silence him.
Martha Gregory
Jim Fletcher, waking up from a coma, finds he is to be given a court martial for treason and charged with informing on fellow inmates in a Japanese prison camp during WWII. Escaping from the hospital he tries to clear himself by enlisting the aid of Martha Gregory, widow of a service buddy he was accused of informing on. Helped also by Ted Niles, a surviving fellow prisoner, he gets closer to finding the answers he needs, and becomes ensnared in a grandiose scheme involving his Japanese ex-prison guard, $10,000,000 of US currency forged by the Japanese and a burgeoning crime network poised to wreak havoc throughout southern California.
Miss Brand
Peter, an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.
Vicki
A shell-shocked young GI mistakenly believes he is dying, and a young artist takes it upon herself to prove to him that he's not.
Mary Audrey
A woman marries a gambler with the hopes of reforming him, but things don't quite work out the way she planned.
Abby Drake
A U.S. pilot undergoes plastic surgery and drops into Japan to get a captive scientist's (Marc Cramer) atomic secrets.
Rill Lambeth
Heading west for his health, Colonel Lambeth takes his daughter Rill along. Lost on the desert they are saved by Pecos and Chito. The Colonel hires the two and the Lambeths soon find themselves mixed up in Pecos' trouble. Pecos has killed Sawtelle's brother and Sawtelle as head of the vigilantes is after him.
Peggy Callahan
Suave amateur detective Tom Lawrence--aka Michael Arlen's literary hero The Falcon--arrives in Hollywood for some rest and relaxation, only to find himself involved in the murder of a movie actor. There's no shortage of suspects: the costume designer to whom he was married, a tyrannical director, a beautiful young French starlet, a Shakespeare-quoting producer, even a New York gangster. Helping The Falcon solve the crime is a cute, wise-cracking cab driver and a pair of bumbling cops.
Angie
Fibber McGee and Molly innocently get mixed up with the federal government.
Patty
General store owners, through a series of contrivances, end up on the better side of a practical joke being played on them.
Marion Colby
When a Texas playboy is murdered in a New York City nightclub the Falcon investigates. When he learns that the victim was slipped rattlesnake venom, the trail leads to Texas, his own kidnapping and near death.
Miss Barlow
Edgar is running for county supervisor against his mother-in-law. Edgar, whose campaign is going nowhere, decides to try some dirty-tricks style tactics but, as usual, everything backfires on him.
Katherine
A valet to a bankrupt millionaire plans to rebuild his boss's fortune by passing a scullery maid off as a high-society debutante.
Barbara Hale
Bandleader Kay Kyser takes his troupe of nutty musicians, goofball comics and pretty girl singers on a tour around the world to entertain the troops during World War II.
Girl in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
An aviation engineer and a government secretary are thrown together by the war effort.
Sarah Cavanaugh
Pat O'Brien in the role of William 'Frank' Cavanaugh, a top football coach who gave up his career to enter WWI where he became a hero. After the war he went back to coaching where he ended up having one of the best winning percentages in football history.
Subway Passenger (Uncredited)
A woman in search of her missing sister uncovers a Satanic cult in New York's Greenwich Village and finds that they could have something to do with her sibling's random disappearance.
Girl seeking donations from Gildersleeve
Gildersleeve has jury duty.
