Vale: Barbara Hale

US actress Barbara Hale, best known for Perry Mason, has died aged 94.

She passed away at home according to her son, actor William Katt (The Greatest American Hero).

“She left peacefully at her home in Sherman Oaks Ca surrounded by close family and dear friends. We’ve all been so lucky to have her for so long. She was gracious and kind and silly and always fun to be with. A wonderful actress and smart business woman she was most of all a treasure as a friend and mother! We’re all a little lost without her but we have extraordinary stories and memories to take with us for the rest of our lives,” he wrote on Facebook.

Hale played Della Street, assistant to Raymond Burr’s Perry Mason, in nine seasons of the series and 30 telemovies from 1957 to 1966.

The show was one of the first hour-long series in US television history.

She spent her early career under contract with RKO, and went on to star in Higher and Higher, Lady Luck, The Window, Jolson Sings Again, Lorna Doone, The Far Horizons before later film roles in Airport and Big Wednesday.

Source: Variety