Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live. She was also the wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death. Her voice was unique in intonation.
May 14, 1970, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Height
5' 3" (1.6 m)
Profession
Actress, Soundtrack
Nationality
American
Spouse
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (m. 1914–1932)
Children
Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson
Parents
Blanche E. Burke, William Burke
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Movies
The Wizard of Oz, Topper, Dinner at Eight, Father of the Bride, Sergeant Rutledge, Merrily We Live, Father's Little Dividend, The Man Who Came to Dinner, A Bill of Divorcement, Topper Returns, Christopher Strong, The Barkleys of Broadway, Topper Takes a Trip, Becky Sharp, The Young in Heart, The You...
[on her husband, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.] Ziegfeld has been portrayed as a man who pursued women. I have even come across a word which, in regard to him, is not only vulgar but incredibly inaccurate. The word is "Chaser." By all the pink-toed prophets, Flo Ziegfeld was never that! Flo never pursed any woman. He was cool and aloof and difficult. But there were times, more times than I prefer to recall, when he made a woman eager for his approval by a mere look, or a small expression, or by a slight grasp of her elbow, a low mumbling request to dance. That was all the effort he ever had to make. The story of one noted dancing girl about how Flo Ziegfeld used to batter down her door is a confection of sheer poppycock. I tell you: I know better.
2
By the time you get your name up in lights you have worked so hard and so long, and seen so many names go up and down, that all you can think of is: "How can I keep it here?"
3
[on Hollywood] To survive there, you need the ambition of a Latin-American revolutionary, the ego of a grand opera tenor and the physical stamina of a cow pony.
4
Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.
5
[on why she retired] Acting just wasn't any fun anymore.
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Fact
1
She was played by Myrna Loy in "The Great Ziegfeld".
2
During her early years on the American stage, she mixed socially with Mark Twain, Booth Tarkington, Enrico Caruso, and Somerset Maugham.
3
She is the 21st great granddaughter of King Edward I.
4
Her father was the internationally known English clown Billy Burke, who came to the U.S. with P. T. Barnum's circus.
5
Began her show business career on stage in the British provinces.
6
Biography in "Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties" by Axel Nissen.
7
The $40,000 she was paid for eight weeks work for Peggy (1916) was the largest salary ever paid up to that point to an actor for a single film.
Interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, USA.
11
Best known as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Pepe
1960
Billie Burke
Sergeant Rutledge
1960
Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate
77 Sunset Strip
1960
TV Series
Mavis Matthews Conway
The Young Philadelphians
1959
Mrs. J. Arthur Allen
Playhouse 90
1957-1958
TV Series
Mrs. Purcell / Mrs. Rutledge
Matinee Theatre
1956
TV Series
Aunt
The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater
1955
TV Series
The Best of Broadway
1955
TV Series
Martha Brewster
Small Town Girl
1953
Mrs. Livingston
Doc Corkle
1952
TV Series
All Star Revue
1951
TV Series
Guest Actress
Father's Little Dividend
1951
Doris Dunstan
The Bigelow Theatre
1951
TV Series
Aunt Amanda
Lights Out
1950
TV Series
Three Husbands
1950
Mrs. Jenny Bard Whittaker
Father of the Bride
1950
Doris Dunstan
The Boy from Indiana
1950
Zelda Bagley
And Baby Makes Three
1949
Mrs. Marvin Fletcher
The Barkleys of Broadway
1949
Mrs. Livingston Belney
Billie Gets Her Man
1948
Short
Billie Baxter
Silly Billy
1948
Short
Billie
The Bachelor's Daughters
1946
Molly Burns
Breakfast in Hollywood
1946
Mrs. Frances Cartwright
The Cheaters
1945
Clara Pidgeon
Swing Out, Sister
1945
Jessica Mariman
Gildersleeve on Broadway
1943
Mrs. Laura Chandler
You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
1943
Aunt Harriet Crandall
So's Your Uncle
1943
Aunt Minerva
Hi Diddle Diddle
1943
Liza Prescott
Girl Trouble
1942
Mrs. Rowland
They All Kissed the Bride
1942
Mrs. Drew
In This Our Life
1942
Lavinia Timberlake
What's Cookin'
1942
Agatha Courtney
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1942
Mrs. Ernest W. Stanley aka Daisy
One Night in Lisbon
1941
Catherine Enfilden
Topper Returns
1941
Mrs. Topper
The Wild Man of Borneo
1941
Bernice Marshall
Hullabaloo
1940
Penny Merriweather
Dulcy
1940
Eleanor Forbes
The Captain Is a Lady
1940
Blossy Stort
Irene
1940
Mrs. Vincent
And One Was Beautiful
1940
Mrs. Julia Lattimer
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
Cora Adams
Remember?
1939
Mrs. Bronson
Eternally Yours
1939
Aunt Abby
The Wizard of Oz
1939
Glinda
Bridal Suite
1939
Mrs. McGill
Zenobia
1939
Mrs. Tibbett
Topper Takes a Trip
1938
Mrs. Topper
The Young in Heart
1938
Marmy Carleton
Merrily We Live
1938
Mrs. Kilbourne
Everybody Sing
1938
Diana Bellaire
Navy Blue and Gold
1937
Mrs. Alyce Gates
The Bride Wore Red
1937
Contessa di Meina
Topper
1937
Mrs. Clara Topper
Parnell
1937
Clara
Craig's Wife
1936
Mrs. Frazier
Piccadilly Jim
1936
Eugenia Willis, Nesta's Sister
My American Wife
1936
Mrs. Robert Cantillon
Splendor
1935
Clarissa
A Feather in Her Hat
1935
Julia Trent Anders
She Couldn't Take It
1935
Mrs. Daniel Van Dyke
Doubting Thomas
1935
Paula Brown
Becky Sharp
1935
Lady Bareacres
After Office Hours
1935
Mrs. Norwood
Society Doctor
1935
Mrs. Crane
Forsaking All Others
1934
Aunt Paula
We're Rich Again
1934
Mrs. Linda Page
Finishing School
1934
Mrs. Helen Crawford Radcliff
Where Sinners Meet
1934
Eustasia
Only Yesterday
1933
Julia Warren
Dinner at Eight
1933
Millicent Jordan
Christopher Strong
1933
Lady Strong - His Wife
A Bill of Divorcement
1932
Margaret
Glorifying the American Girl
1929
Billie Burke (uncredited)
The Education of Elizabeth
1921
Elizabeth Banks
The Frisky Mrs. Johnson
1920
Belle Johnson
Away Goes Prudence
1920
Prudence Thorne
Wanted: A Husband
1919
Amanda Darcy Cole
Sadie Love
1919
Sadie Love
The Misleading Widow
1919
Betty Taradine
Good Gracious, Annabelle
1919
Annabelle Leigh
The Make-Believe Wife
1918
Phyllis Ashbrook
In Pursuit of Polly
1918
Polly Marsden
Let's Get a Divorce
1918
Mme. Cyprienne Marcey
Eve's Daughter
1918
Irene Simpson-Bates
The Land of Promise
1917
Nora Marsh
Arms and the Girl
1917
Ruth Sherwood
The Mysterious Miss Terry
1917
Mavis Terry
Gloria's Romance
1916
Gloria Stafford (as Miss Billie Burke)
Peggy
1916
Peggy Cameron
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Britain's Most Dangerous Songs: Listen to the Banned
2014
TV Movie documentary performer: "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead"
Hi Diddle Diddle
1943
performer: "The Pilgrim's Chorus" - uncredited
The Wizard of Oz
1939
performer: "Munchkinland Medley: 'Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are', 'The House Began To Pitch', 'As Mayor of the Munchkin City', 'As Coroner, I Must Aver', 'Ding Dong The Witch is Dead', 'Lullaby League', 'Lollipop Guild', and 'We Welcome You to Munchkinland'" 1939 - uncredited
Bridal Suite
1939
performer: "Funiculi, Funicula" 1880 - uncredited
Zenobia
1939
performer: "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" 1843 - uncredited
We're Rich Again
1934
performer: "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
TV Club
1951
TV Series documentary
Herself
The Ed Wynn Show
1950
TV Series
Herself
Texaco Star Theatre
1949
TV Series
Herself
Picture People No. 2: Hollywood Sports
1941
Short
Herself
Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 20
1930
Short
Herself, Mrs. Florenz Ziegfeld
Our Mutual Girl, No. 4
1914
Short
Herself
Our Mutual Girl
1914
Herself
Biograph Beauty Postcard
1905
Short
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
To Oz! The Making of a Classic
2009
Video documentary short
Herself
Today Tonight
2009
TV Series
Glinda
Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz
$17 Million
