Barbara Hale

Barbara Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois, to Wilma (née Colvin) and Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener. She had one sister, Juanita, for whom Hale's younger daughter was named. The family was of Scottish and Irish ancestry. In 1940, Hale was a member of the final graduating class from Rockford High School in Rockford, Illinois. She then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, planning to be an artist. Her performing career began in Chicago, when she started modeling to pay for her education. ==Career==

Film Hale moved to Hollywood in 1943, and under contract to RKO Radio Pictures, made her first screen appearance (uncredited) in ''Gildersleeve's Bad Day. Hale had leading roles in RKO features including West of the Pecos (1945) with Robert Mitchum in his second star vehicle, Lady Luck'' (1946) — opposite Robert Young in what she described as her first "full stardom" and "her fifth A picture" — that a further 29 movies were produced until 1995. Hale continued her role as Della in the four telefilms produced after Burr's death in 1993, subtitled A Perry Mason Mystery (and starring Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso in the first film and Hal Holbrook as "Wild" Bill McKenzie in the remaining three). Hale is thus the only actor to be featured in all 30 films. Hale's son William Katt played detective Paul Drake, Jr., alongside Hale in nine of the Perry Mason TV movies from 1985 to 1988. Hale in turn guest-starred on Katt's series, The Greatest American Hero in which Katt played the title role, aka Ralph Hinkley; Hale played Hinkley's mother in the 1982 episode, "Who's Woo in America". She also played his mother in the 1978 movie Big Wednesday. Hale guest-starred in "Murder Impromptu", a 1971 episode of Ironside, Burr's first post-Perry Mason series. Her last on-screen appearance was a TV biographical documentary about Burr that aired in 2000. Radio Hale's activity in radio was limited; she appeared in one episode each of Voice of the Army (1947), Lux Radio Theatre (1950), and Proudly We Hail (syndicated), as well as five episodes of Family Theater (1950–1954). ==Spokeswoman==

When the Amana Corporation wanted a spokeswoman for its new Radarange microwave ovens, Barbara Hale was selected, her friendly personality already familiar to millions of women viewers. In each of Hale's TV commercials, she would mention the company's slogan: "If it doesn't say Amana, it's not a Radarange." ==Private life and death==

In 1945, during the filming of West of the Pecos, Hale met actor Bill Williams (birth name Herman August Wilhelm Katt). They were married on June 22, 1946. The couple had two daughters, Jodi and Juanita, and a son, actor William Katt. Hale became a follower of the Baháʼí Faith. Hale died at her home in Sherman Oaks, California, on January 26, 2017, at age 94 of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was the last surviving original Perry Mason cast member. ==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==

Films Television ==References==