Actors - Billie Burke

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	Actors - Billie Burke

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (born August 7, 1884 in Washington D.C.; died May 14, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) was an Oscar-nominated American actress primarily known to modern audiences for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in the musical The Wizard of Oz.

Early life

Known as Billie Burke, she toured the U.S. and Europe with a circus because her father, Billy Burke, was employed with them as a singing clown. One could say that Billie was bred for show business. Her family ultimately settled in London where she was fortunate to see plays in London's historic West End. She wanted to be a stage actress. In 1903, she began acting on stage, making her debut in London, and eventually returning to America to become the toast of Broadway as a musical comedy star. She was praised by The New York Times for her charm and her brightness.

Career

Thanks to her representation by famed producer Charles Frohman, Burke went on to play leads on Broadway in Mrs. Dot, Suzanne, The Runaway, The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl, and The Land of Promise from 1910 to 1913, along with a supporting role in the revival of Sir Arthur Wing Pinero’s The Amazons. There she caught the eye of producer Florenz Ziegfeld, marrying him in 1914. In 1916, they had one daughter, Patricia Ziegfeld.

She was quickly signed for the movies, making her film debut in the title role of Peggy (1916). She continued to appear on the stage, and sometimes she starred on the screen. She loved the stage more than movie-business, not only because it was her first love, but at least she had speaking parts. But when the family's savings were wiped out in the Crash of 1929, she had no choice but to return to the screen. In 1932 Billie Burke made her come-back to Hollywood, starred as Margaret Fairlfield in A Bill of Divorcement
, directed by George Cukor, better known as Katharine Hepburn's first movie appearance. Despite the death of Florenz Ziegfeld during the film's production, Billie Burke resumed filming shortly after his funeral.

That next year, she starred as Mrs. Millicent Jordan, a scatterbrained high-society woman in the witty comedy Dinner at Eight, directed by George Cukor, co-starring with Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery. The movie was a great success, and once again Billie Burke was back on top. She subsequently starred in many comedies and musicals, especially as ditzy, fluffy and feather-brained upper-class matron, thanks to her delightful comedic talent and her high and shrill voice. In 1937 she started the Topper
series of films, about a man haunted by two socialite ghosts (played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett), in which she played the tremulous and daffy Clara Topper. Her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live (1938) resulted in her only Oscar nomination.

In 1939 she was Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in the musical The Wizard of Oz
, directed by Victor Fleming, with Judy Garland. Glinda is an icon of goodness, strength and wisdom.

Another successful series followed with Father of the Bride
(1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951), both directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett and Elizabeth Taylor.

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Actors - Billie Burke

Early life

Career

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