Barbara Hale | 'Perry Mason' star, 94

Barbara Hale, 94, a wavy-haired model and Hollywood leading lady of the 1940s and 1950s who warbled with Frank Sinatra in his first big film role and had a long television career as the devoted secretary Della Street to Raymond Burr's tireless defense lawyer Perry Mason, died Thursday at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Ms. Hale was the matriarch of a show-business family that included her late husband, Bill Williams, who starred in the 1950s western series The Adventures of Kit Carson, and son William Katt, who played the title role in the early 1980s TV series The Greatest American Hero.

Katt confirmed the death and said the cause was complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Although Ms. Hale had a flourishing career in movies - often in wholesome roles opposite stars such as James Stewart, James Cagney, and Robert Mitchum - she found her big-screen career overshadowed by her work on CBS's Perry Mason.

The series aired from 1957 to 1966, making it one of the longest-airing courtroom shows in history, and Ms. Hale won an Emmy for her role as Street. Two decades later, she reprised her role in more than two dozen made-for-TV movies for NBC.

Later films included the original Airport, playing the husband of Dean Martin's pilot character, and Big Wednesday, in which she appeared with her son. - From Wire Reports