How well do you know Perry Mason actress Barbara Hale?

Hale began her career at 21 and didn't look back.

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There might not ever be a legal secretary better than Della Street. The role played by Barbara Hale became a crucial part of the series Perry Mason. She considered quitting acting before she got the role, but it came just in time.

We know all about Della and how helpful she was on the show, but how well do you know Barbara Hale?

Good luck!

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  1. Where was Hale born?
  2. What did she want to be before becoming an actress?
  3. When did she move to Hollywood?
  4. Which movie was her film debut, although it was uncredited?
  5. Which show did she make an appearance on?
  6. What was her final film role?
  7. Which Frank Sinatra film was Hale's first credited role?
  8. What Emmy category did she win an award for her role in Perry Mason?
  9. Which series did she NOT make an appearance on?
  10. How many episodes of Perry Mason did Hale appear on during its nine seasons?

How well do you know Perry Mason actress Barbara Hale?

Your Result...

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75 Comments

Lgbpop 12 months ago
#10 is a ringer - none of the options are correct. At most, Hale appeared in only 268 episodes. She was credited, but didn't appear in, The Cases of the Frightened Fisherman, Arrogant Arsonist, and Garrulous Go-Between. (Season Seven, episodes 20-21-22.) She was unavailable to appear for somesuch reason and was written out as tending to a sick aunt.
Ashley 12 months ago
2/10
ThomasPotter Ashley 1 month ago
Don't feel bad, that was my score as well.
Ready2go 12 months ago
3/10. Whoops. Barbara also did commercials for the Amana Radarrange oven in the 70s.
JJ614 13 months ago
I didn't know details about her much, so I was only 6/10 guessing poorly. She was wonderful! Her Barbie-style heels in those first two years, and Perry making her run in them to time her! LOL
But I have to admit my absolute fave thing about Barbara was she mothered one of my younger faves - William Katt (Greatest American Hero as I'm sure everyone here knows). And I LOVE that he was in some of the Perry Mason movies as Paul's son. I so wish William Hopper had lived much longer and been in the PM movies too!
JJ614 JJ614 13 months ago
(I could be wrong that the heels she ran in were the original Barbie doll style - but they WERE heels!)
dodgebob 13 months ago
9/10, did ya ever get one of those days that you feel like a fire hydrant, and all your friends are dogs? Not today, buya.
irishroz1771 13 months ago
9 out of 10–last one wrong! She and her PM character were one in a million!
Geronimo 13 months ago
How would anyone know these personal questions of her? Anyway, did pretty good. All guesses
8/10
JAWhitman 13 months ago
not to bad 6/10 to bad there was no ? about who her son was,or even her husband
KJExpress 13 months ago
I just saw Barbara Hale on an episode of "Ironside." She was barely in the episode. Very disappointing. I was hoping for some of that Perry/Della chemistry.
Snickers 13 months ago
1/10. Guess I don't know Barbara Hale very well.
JJ614 Snickers 13 months ago
Most of these quizzes I just take to learn about the character/actor, not to prove what I already know. So hey - they can still be fun. I never even watched PM until 5 years ago when I just couldn't find anything else to watch that I hadn't already seen a zillion times. I'd never been interested in PM at all. But I've watched them all 2-3 times now on the METV rotation and I enjoyed most of them a lot. Still much better than a lot of new shows on TV.
JJ614 JJ614 13 months ago
(I love Star Trek so I MOST enjoy the episodes with pre-TOS actors guest starring.)
KJExpress JJ614 13 months ago
It's always fun seeing the ST folks in other things.
JJ614 KJExpress 13 months ago
Yeah, George/Sulu in the Blushing Pearls episode. He was a much more amazing actor than I'd realized. Made me wish he'd had his own spin-off Trek series.
Snickers JJ614 13 months ago
Would have to agree with you there, most of the stuff on network T.V is junk.
Trekkie1969 JJ614 3 months ago
I feel that way about Mission Impossible! 🙂
JHP 13 months ago
4/10 - too many inane movie questions
CaptainDunsel 13 months ago
3/10
Well, that was a Hale of a let-down!
JamesDean59 13 months ago
6/10 Guessed mostly. She was one of my favs.
Andybandit 13 months ago
I got 4/10. I got #2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 wrong. Other than her being William Katt's mother who was on the show The Greatest American Hero and Paul on PMTTM, Perry Mason, and PMTTM. I don't know much about her.
Wendy57 13 months ago
5/10
Oh please treat me to dinner Perry and order champagne to wipe away my tears. ☹️
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Wendy57 JJ614 13 months ago
I don’t remember that line.
?????
JJ614 Wendy57 13 months ago
Sorry Wendy57 - I didn't look it up to quote verbatim, so I looked it up NOW to be accurate! I bet you remember it now:
S7 E27 The Case of the Careless Kidnapper
"Della, when was the last time you went to a nightclub, drank champagne, and danced till dawn?"
"Hmm... That, dear boss, is a memory so far back in time... I can't even drag it back to look at and enjoy in retrospect."
"All right, then. Let's create some new memories."
"You're the boss."
Pacificsun JJ614 12 months ago
That Ep was recently on and I remember those lines perfectly. PM was pretty cozy in that episode. Didn't it start with something like, "How would you like to be my wife?" Or an episode very close to it, 'cause I thought, wow the writers are really playing up the chemistry. Were they in the middle of Sweeps Month, or what?? (Just kidding!).
JJ614 Pacificsun 12 months ago
(or NOT kidding. They knew what their audience wanted.)
Robertp 13 months ago
Isn’t her son William Katt of, The Greatest American Hero?
Pacificsun 13 months ago
😉 Barbara Hale stole every scene she was in. Not for herself. But in ways to enhance the scene and the spotlight on Perry Mason. Watch her, and she's never 𝙣𝙤𝙩 doing something. Mostly by her facial reactions, to confirm or react to an emotion. She handles the props, elegantly. Like, there's a clumsy way or an artful way of using the phone book. In the office she only had her steno book, the phone, a coffee service, and the door.
JJ614 Pacificsun 13 months ago
Yeah, not many aspiring actors would stay 9 years in such a tiny part. I mean, she and Paul really got some screen time. But mostly sitting in the background. And yet they both managed to impress us constantly. Paul and Della got their hits in stereotypically, in the series finale at the very end. Letting us know we might not get to watch, but they were right on to the next case, still taking notes and flying out tonight for sleuth work that just couldn't wait till the next morning!
Trekkie1969 Pacificsun 3 months ago
Yeah, she's such a solid actor - even when she's barely in focus, she is 100% in character, reacting as anyone might in her situation, and not just sitting there. She's always fun to watch.
Pacificsun JJ614 3 months ago
I could be mistaken, but believe she came back to acting for the sake of Perry Mason (Series). She was married and raised her son, William Katt. Who started off on his acting career as well. Not that she was "aspiring" in terms of giving it her professional all. But some actors like the regularity of a routine schedule (dialogue, no travel) and all that goes with it. I enjoy her sense of confidence, peace, and skill. But from what's been written, most of the craft-talent (behind the scenes were devoted to Raymond Burr. And because he treated everyone so well. They were a "professional family." And while as a fan, am sure you know all this. Am adding for readers who come at a later date to these articles and backstories.
Sally 13 months ago
9/10 I love watching Perry Mason
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