Perry Mason's Barbara Hale dies at 94


Barbara Hale, who played the affable secretary in CBS' Perry Mason, died Jan. 26 at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., according to The Washington Post. She was 94.

Hale played Della Street in the courtroom drama, which aired from 1957 to 1966. She won an Emmy Award in 1959 for her performance as the titular lawyer's devoted secretary, and was nominated again in 1961. She would also reprise her role, along with star Raymond Burr, in the 30 Perry Mason made-for-TV movies that aired from 1985 to 1995.

The actress also starred in several films opposite screen legends James Stewart, Robert Mitchum and James Cagney.

Hale was part of a famous acting family. Her husband Bill Williams was the lead in The Adventures of Kit Carson, and one of her three children, William Katt, played the bumbling superhero Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero.

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