Barbara Hale

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Barbara Hale

Born April 18, 1922 (1922-04-18) (age 86)
DeKalb, Illinois, USA

Barbara Hale (born April 18, 1922)[1] is an Emmy Award-winning American actress known for her roles as the loyal secretary of Perry Mason, "Della Street".

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois to Willa Colvin and Luther Ezra Hale,[2] a landscape gardener. She has Scottish-Irish ancestry.[3] Hale began appearing in motion pictures in 1943 after training at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1946 she married actor Bill Williams, a union that produced three children (including actor William Katt) and four grandchildren (two grandsons by her son William Katt and one grandson and one granddaughter by youngest daughter Juanita). The marriage lasted for forty-six years until his death in 1992 from brain cancer. Hale herself has survived several bouts of cancer. She has also been a spokeswoman for Amana appliances. She is an adherent of the Bahá'í Faith.[4]

[edit] Career

Hale was under contract to RKO Pictures in the late 1940's. Although she never became a major star, she was very good in films like 1946's Lady Luck opposite Robert Young and Frank Morgan as well as 1949's The Window.

Hale played a significant role as the loyal and knowledgeable secretary in the Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr that ran from 1957 to 1966 and was reprised in a number of television movies afterwards. The show was so successful that the actress's contribution was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was nominated for the Emmy Award twice, in 1959 and 1961, winning in 1959.

Hale had a featured role in the hit movie Airport portraying the wife of pilot Dean Martin.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Some sources cite 1921
  2. ^ Descendants of John Hale Sr. (Frontiersman) - Hale Roots
  3. ^ Barbara Hale - The Private Life and Times of Barbara Hale. Barbara Hale Pictures
  4. ^ The Associated Press. "Bahai faith teaches universal acceptance of God", 2000-12-30. 

[edit] External links


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Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series

Barbara Hale (1959) · Pamela Brown (1962) · Glenda Farrell (1963) · Ruth White (1964) · Lee Grant (1966) · Agnes Moorehead (1967) · Barbara Anderson (1968) · Susan Saint James (1969) · Gail Fisher (1970) · Margaret Leighton (1971) · Jenny Agutter (1972) · Ellen Corby (1973) · Joanna Miles (1974) · Ellen Corby (1975)