Hale, Barbara, 1922-...

Barbara Hale was born in DeKalb, IL on April 18, 1922. She attended Chicago Academy for the Arts in Chicago before starting her acting career with a role in Higher and Higher (1943). She married actor Bill Williams in 1946. Hale has appeared in numerous screen and television productions but is most recognized as her character Della Street, legal secretary in the television drama Perry Mason (1957-66). Perry Mason was created by mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner and was one of longest running lawyer programs on American television (1957-1966, CBS). Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) was ably assisted by Della Street and Paul Drake (William Hopper). Each episode centered around court cases fought against district attorney Hamilton Berger (William Talman). In 1985 Hale and Burr reprised their roles for a series of television movies based on the original Perry Mason television series (1985-95).