Descriptive Summary
Biography
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Date (inclusive): 1957-1994,
Date (bulk): (bulk 1957-1966)
and
Date (bulk): (bulk 1985-1994)
Collection number: 284
Creator: Hale, Barbara, 1922-
Extent: 25 boxes (12.5 linear ft.)
Abstract: Barbara Hale began her acting career in 1943 and although she has appeared in numerous screen and television productions,
she is most recognized as her character Della Street, in the television drama
Perry Mason. The collection consists of television scripts, call sheets, and production information from the original Perry Mason series
(1957-1966) and Perry Mason two hour movies (1985-1994).
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Performing Arts Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Performing
Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Biography
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).
Scope and Content
The collection consists of television scripts related to the career of actress, Barbara Hale. It includes assorted scripts
for episodes of the original Perry Mason television series (1957-1966) and the later Perry Mason two hour made-for-television
movies (1985-1994). Additionally, there are occasional call sheets and production information found with the scripts, and
two publicity stills. A very small number of scripts may be known by alternate titles which are listed in the notes field.
The original series scripts were written by a variety of authors including: Jackson Gillis, Jonathan Latimer, Samuel Newman,
and Robert Dennis. None of the scripts are identified as being written by Erle Stanley Gardner. The made-for-television scripts
were written by a variety of writers including Anne Collins and George Eckstein.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Hale, Barbara--1922- Archives.
Actresses--United States--Archival resources.
Genres and Forms of Material
Television Scripts.