Billie Burke - wikipedia Billie Burke For other uses, see Billy Burke. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) Billie Burke Billie Burke, by Harris & Ewing Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke ( 1884 - 08 - 07 ) August 7, 1884 Washington, D.C., U.S. May 14, 1970 ( 1970 - 05 - 14 ) ( aged 85 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1903 -- 1960 Spouse ( s ) Florenz Ziegfeld ( m. 1914 ; d. 1932 ) Children Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson Mary William Ethelbert Appleton `` Billie '' Burke ( August 7, 1884 -- May 14, 1970 ) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway, in early silent film, and subsequently in sound film. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the movie musical The Wizard of Oz ( 1939 ). Burke was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1938 for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live and is also remembered for her appearances in the Topper film series. Her high - pitched, wavering, aristocratic voice was her trademark, which made her a frequent choice to play dim - witted, spoiled society types. Billie Burke was the wife of Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death in 1932. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Radio and television 3 Personal life 4 Legacy 5 Radio 6 Broadway 7 Filmography 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Early life Billie Burke was born Mary Burke, the daughter of William `` Billy '' Burke and Blanche ( née Beatty ; 1844 -- 1921 ), in Washington, D.C. She toured the United States and Europe with her father, who was a singer and clown and worked for the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Her family ultimately settled in London where she attended plays in the West End. In 1903, she began acting on stage, making her debut in London in The School Girl. Other London shows included The Duchess of Dantzic ( 1903 ) and The Blue Moon ( 1904 ). She eventually returned to America to star in Broadway musical comedies. Career Billie Burke in the Broadway production of Arthur Wing Pinero 's The `` Mind the Paint '' Girl ( 1912 ) Burke with daughter Patricia ( 1917 ) 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. Two years later they had a daughter, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson ( 1916 -- 2008 ). Burke was signed for the movies and made her cinematic debut in the title role of Peggy ( 1915 ). Her success was phenomenal, and she was soon earning what was reputedly the highest salary ever granted to a motion picture actress up to that time. She followed her first feature with the 15 - part serial Gloria 's Romance ( 1916 ), another popular and critically acclaimed vehicle. By 1917 Billie Burke was a favorite with silent movie fans, rivaling Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Clara Kimball Young and Irene Castle. Billie Burke starred primarily in provocative society dramas and comedies, similar in theme to The `` Mind - the - Paint '' Girl, her most successful American play. The star 's girlish charm rivaled her acting ability, and as she dressed to the hilt in fashionable gowns, furs and jewelry, her clothes sense also won the devotion of female audiences. Among the films in which she appeared during this period were Arms and the Girl ( 1917 ), The Mysterious Miss Terry, Let 's Get a Divorce ( 1918 ), Good Gracious, Annabelle ( 1919 ), Away Goes Prudence ( 1920 ) and The Frisky Mrs. Johnson ( 1920 ). The actress 's beauty and taste made her a major trendsetter throughout the 1910s and 20s. During this time, much of her wardrobe ( on screen and off ) was provided by the leading European couturier Lucile ( in private life Lady Duff Gordon ), whose New York branch was then the fashion mecca for socialites and entertainment celebrities. Despite her success in film, Burke eventually returned to the stage, appearing in Caesar 's Wife ( 1919 ), The Intimate Strangers ( 1921 ), The Marquise ( 1927 ) and The Happy Husband ( 1928 ). When the family 's investments were wiped out in the Wall Sreeet Crash the following year, she resumed screen acting to aid her husband. Burke made her Hollywood comeback in 1932, when she starred as Margaret Fairfield in A Bill of Divorcement, which was directed by George Cukor. She played Katharine Hepburn 's mother in the film, which was Hepburn 's debut. Despite the death of her husband Florenz Ziegfeld during the film 's production, she resumed acting shortly after his funeral. Billie Burke as Glinda with Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. ( 1939 ) In 1933, Burke was cast as Millicent Jordan, a scatterbrained high - society woman hosting a dinner party in the 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 revived her career. She subsequently starred in many comedies and musicals, typecast as a ditzy, fluffy and feather - brained upper - class matron with her high - pitched voice. In 1936, MGM filmed a sanitized biopic of Florenz Ziegfeld ( The Great Ziegfeld ), a film that won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress ( Luise Rainer as Ziegfeld 's common - law wife, Anna Held ). William Powell played Flo Ziegfeld and Myrna Loy played Burke, which infuriated Burke because she was under contract to the studio and could have played herself, but MGM considered her too old to cast in the part despite her obviously having the look and mannerisms down perfectly otherwise. In 1937 Burke appeared in the first of the Topper films, about a man haunted by two socialite ghosts ( played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett ), in which she played the twittering and daffy Clara Topper. Her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live ( 1938 ) resulted in her only Oscar nomination. In 1938 she was chosen to play Glinda the Good Witch of the North, in the musical The Wizard of Oz ( 1939 ), directed by Victor Fleming, which starred Judy Garland. She had worked on a Garland film, Everybody Sing, in which she played Judy 's histrionically hysterical actress - mother. Director George Cukor offered her the role of Aunt Pittypat in Gone With the Wind ( 1939 ), but she declined and it was played by Laura Hope Crews, a character that Cukor wanted to be played in a `` Billie Burke - ish manner '' with `` the same zany feeling ''. Another successful film 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. Burke wrote two autobiographies, both with Cameron Van Shippe, With a Feather on My Nose ( Appleton 1949 ) and With Powder on My Nose ( Coward McCann, 1959 ). Radio and television Burke joined the cast of Eddie Cantor 's radio show in 1948 On CBS Radio, The Billie Burke Show was heard on Saturday mornings from April 3, 1943 until September 21, 1946. Sponsored by Listerine, this situation comedy was initially titled Fashions in Rations during its first year. Portraying herself as a featherbrained Good Samaritan who lived `` in the little white house on Sunnyview Lane, '' she always offered a helping hand to those in her neighborhood. She worked often in early television, appearing in the short - lived sitcom Doc Corkle ( 1952 ). She was a guest star on several TV and radio series, including Duffy 's Tavern. On television, Burke starred in her own talk show, At Home With Billie Burke, which ran on the DuMont Television Network from June 1951 through the spring of 1952. She was one of the first female talk show hosts, after the hostesses of the earlier DuMont series And Everything Nice ( 1949 -- 50 ) and Fashions on Parade ( 1948 -- 49 ) which both included some talk show segments. Burke tried to make a comeback on the New York stage. She starred in two short - lived productions : This Rock and Mrs. January and Mr. X. Although she got good reviews, the plays did not. She appeared in several plays in California as well, although her mind became clouded, and she had trouble remembering lines. In the late 1950s, her failing memory led to her retirement from show business, although her explanation for that was, `` Acting just was n't any fun anymore. '' Burke made her final screen appearance in Sergeant Rutledge ( 1960 ), a Western directed by John Ford. Personal life Memorial statue at Burke 's grave in Kensico Cemetery Burke was married to producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. Burke resided in Beverly Hills, California. She died in Los Angeles of natural causes on May 14, 1970, at the age of 85 and was interred at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York. Legacy For many years, Burke 's framed photo was displayed above the exit staircase at New York 's Ziegfeld Theatre, but it vanished after renovations. However, an opening night program that bore a picture of her from her 1912 triumph The Mind The Paint Girl ( Sir Arthur Wing Pinero ) is still displayed in the lobby of the Lyceum Theatre in Manhattan. A park in the New York City suburb of Hastings on Hudson, New York, is named the Burke Estate. For her contributions to the film industry, Burke was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 with a motion pictures star located at 6617 Hollywood Boulevard. On November 4, 2015, a crater near the north pole of the planet Mercury was named after her. Radio Burke early in her career The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air -- 1932 Doubting Thomas - 1935 Good News of 1939 -- 1938 The Rudy Vallee Hour -- 1939 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater -- 1939 The Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show -- 1940 -- 41 The Pepsodent Show -- 1941 The Billie Burke Show -- 1943 -- 1946 Duffy 's Tavern -- 1944 The Sealtest Village Store -- 1944 Mail Call -- 1944 The Charlie McCarthy Show -- 1944 -- 47 Tribute to Ethel Barrymore -- 1945 The Rudy Vallee Show -- 1945 Show Stoppers -- 1946 The Danny Kaye Show -- 1946 WOR 25th Anniversary -- 1947 Your Movietown Radio Theatre -- 1948 The Eddie Cantor Pabst Blue Ribbon Show -- 1948 Family Theater -- 1948 -- 52 This Is Show Business -- CBS - TV, 1949 The Martin and Lewis Show -- 1949 The Bill Stern Colgate Sports Newsreel -- 1949 Stagestruck -- 1954 Biography in Sound -- 1955 -- 56 Broadway Burke in the February 1920 issue of Vanity Fair in a portrait by Adolf de Meyer Burke with Shelley Hull in The Land of Promise, 1913. My Wife -- 1907 Love Watches -- 1908 Mrs. Dot -- 1910 Suzanne -- 1910 The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard -- 1911 The Runaway -- 1911 The Amazons -- 1913 The Land of Promise -- 1913 Jerry -- 1914 The Rescuing Angel -- 1917 A Marriage of Convenience -- 1918 Caesar 's Wife -- 1919 The Intimate Strangers -- 1921 Rose Briar -- 1922 Annie Dear -- 1924 The Marquise -- 1927 The Happy Husband -- 1928 Family Affairs -- 1929 The Truth Game -- 1930 Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 -- 1934 Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 -- 1936 This Rock -- 1943 Ziegfeld Follies of 1943 -- 1943 Mrs. January and Mr. X -- 1944 Filmography Silent Our Mutual Girl ( 1914 ) as Herself Peggy ( 1916 ) as Peggy Cameron Gloria 's Romance ( 1916 ) as Gloria Stafford The Mysterious Miss Terry ( 1917 ) as Mavis Terry Arms and the Girl ( 1917 ) as Ruth Sherwood The Land of Promise ( 1917 ) as Nora Marsh Eve 's Daughter ( 1918 ) as Irene Simpson - Bates Let 's Get a Divorce ( 1918 ) as Mme. Cyprienne Marcey In Pursuit of Polly ( 1918 ) as Polly Marsden The Make - Believe Wife ( 1918 ) as Phyllis Ashbrook Good Gracious, Annabelle ( 1919 ) as Annabelle Leigh The Misleading Widow ( 1919 ) as Betty Taradine Sadie Love ( 1919 ) as Sadie Love Wanted : A Husband ( 1919 ) as Amanda Darcy Cole Away Goes Prudence ( 1920 ) as Prudence Thorne The Frisky Mrs. Johnson ( 1920 ) as Belle Johnson The Education of Elizabeth ( 1921 ) as Elizabeth Banks Sound Glorifying the American Girl ( 1929 ) as Billie Burke ( uncredited ) A Bill of Divorcement ( 1932 ) as Margaret Christopher Strong ( 1933 ) as Lady Strong - His Wife Dinner at Eight ( 1933 ) as Millicent Jordan Only Yesterday ( 1933 ) as Julia Warren Where Sinners Meet ( 1934 ) as Eustasia Finishing School ( 1934 ) as Her Mother / Mrs. Helen Crawford Radcliff We 're Rich Again ( 1934 ) as Mrs. Linda Page Forsaking All Others ( 1934 ) as Aunt Paula Society Doctor ( 1935 ) as Mrs. Crane After Office Hours ( 1935 ) as Mrs. Norwood Becky Sharp ( 1935 ) as Lady Bareacres Doubting Thomas ( 1935 ) as Paula Brown She Could n't Take It ( 1935 ) as Mrs. Daniel Van Dyke A Feather in Her Hat ( 1935 ) as Julia Trent Anders Splendor ( 1935 ) as Clarissa My American Wife ( 1936 ) as Mrs. Robert Cantillon Piccadilly Jim ( 1936 ) as Eugenia Willis, Nesta 's Sister Craig 's Wife ( 1936 ) as Mrs. Frazier Parnell ( 1937 ) as Clara Wood Topper ( 1937 ) as Mrs. Topper The Bride Wore Red ( 1937 ) as Contessa di Meina Navy Blue and Gold ( 1937 ) as Mrs. Alyce Gates Everybody Sing ( 1938 ) as Diana Bellaire Merrily We Live ( 1938 ) as Mrs. Kilbourne The Young in Heart ( 1938 ) as Marmy Carleton Topper Takes a Trip ( 1939 ) as Mrs. Topper Zenobia ( 1939 ) as Mrs. Tibbett Bridal Suite ( 1939 ) as Mrs. McGill The Wizard of Oz ( 1939 ) as Glinda the Good Witch of the North Eternally Yours ( 1939 ) as Aunt Abby Remember ? ( 1939 ) as Mrs. Bronson The Ghost Comes Home ( 1940 ) as Cora Adams And One Was Beautiful ( 1940 ) as Mrs. Julia Lattimer Irene ( 1940 ) as Mrs. Vincent The Captain Is a Lady ( 1940 ) as Blossy Stort Dulcy ( 1940 ) as Eleanor Forbes Hullabaloo ( 1940 ) as Penny Merriweather The Wild Man of Borneo ( 1941 ) as Bernice Marshall Topper Returns ( 1941 ) as Mrs. Topper One Night in Lisbon ( 1941 ) as Catherine Enfilden The Man Who Came to Dinner ( 1942 ) as Daisy Stanley What 's Cookin ' ? ( 1942 ) as Agatha Courtney In This Our Life ( 1942 ) as Lavinia Timberlake They All Kissed the Bride ( 1942 ) as Mrs. Drew Girl Trouble ( 1942 ) as Mrs. Rowland Hi Diddle Diddle ( 1943 ) as Liza Prescott So 's Your Uncle ( 1943 ) as Aunt Minerva You 're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith ( 1943 ) as Aunt Harriet Crandall Gildersleeve on Broadway ( 1943 ) as Mrs. Laura Chandler The Laramie Trail ( 1944 ) as Jessica Mariman Swing Out, Sister ( 1945 ) as Jessica Mariman The Cheaters ( 1945 ) as Clara Pidgeon Breakfast in Hollywood ( 1946 ) as Mrs. Frances Cartwright The Bachelor 's Daughters ( 1946 ) as Molly Burns Billie Gets Her Man ( 1948 ) as Billie Baxter The Barkleys of Broadway ( 1949 ) as Mrs. Livingston Belney And Baby Makes Three ( 1949 ) as Mrs. Marvin Fletcher The Boy from Indiana ( 1950 ) as Zelda Bagley Father of the Bride ( 1950 ) as Doris Dunstan Three Husbands ( 1950 ) as Mrs. Jenny Bard Whittaker Father 's Little Dividend ( 1951 ) as Doris Dunstan Small Town Girl ( 1953 ) as Mrs. Livingston The Young Philadelphians ( 1959 ) as Mrs. J. Arthur Allen Sergeant Rutledge ( 1960 ) as Mrs. Cordelia Fosgate Pepe ( 1960 ) as Billie Burke ( final film role ) See also Biography portal Academy of Music / Riviera Theatre List of actors with Academy Award nominations References Jump up ^ `` The School Girl a Hit ''. The New York Times, May 10, 1903, accessed February 20, 2011 Jump up ^ Mrs. Ziegfeld : The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke, p. 50. Jump up ^ Hampton 's magazine, Volume 26, Page 362. Jump up ^ `` Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson, Daughter of Legendary Broadway Impresario ''. Jazz News. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008. Jump up ^ Wilson, Steve ( 2014 ). The Making of Gone With the Wind. University of Texas Press. p. 86. ISBN 978 - 0 - 292 - 76126 - 1. Jump up ^ Los Angeles Times, Various issues, 1951 - 52. Jump up ^ Paley Center For Media recording. Jump up ^ Radice, Michael L. Glinda 's Ruby Slippers, Manuscript Draft, 2012. Jump up ^ Mitchell Owens, Legendary Hollywood Stars at Home, Architectural Digest Jump up ^ Obituary Variety, May 20, 1970. Jump up ^ `` Hollywood Walk of Fame - Billie Burke ''. walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 28, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature ''. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Billie Burke. Billie Burke on IMDb Billie Burke at the Internet Broadway Database AllMovie.com Billie Burke still photos from several Billie plays and lost Billie silent films Univ. of Washington Sayre collection Billie Burke photos Univ. of Louisville Macauley Collection Flo Ziegfeld - Billie Burke Papers, 1907 - 1984, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Billie Burke Digital Image Gallery, Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Billie Burke Collection, held by the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University Literature on Billie Burke Billie Burke at Find a Grave Billie Burke with one of her motorcars, a Rolls - Royce Ziegfeld Follies Shows Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 Radio The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air Films Glorifying the American Girl The Great Ziegfeld Ziegfeld Girl Ziegfeld Follies People Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Billie Burke Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson Related articles Ziegfeld Theatre Ziegfeld girl Book VIAF : 44487813 LCCN : n85151807 ISNI : 0000 0001 1631 6948 GND : 136289819 SUDOC : 162467516 BNF : cb139302489 ( data ) BIBSYS : 6067937 MusicBrainz : 73123cdd - d609 - 44a9 - b39a - 087a9111f36c SNAC : w6dn4mhs Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billie_Burke&oldid=826208118 '' Categories : 20th - century American actresses Actresses from Washington, D.C. Actresses from Beverly Hills, California American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American radio personalities American silent film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from dementia Vaudeville performers Burials at Kensico Cemetery 1884 births 1970 deaths Ziegfeld girls Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer contract players Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from October 2015 Articles needing additional references from August 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from November 2016 Articles with permanently dead external links Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu تۆرکجه Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano Latina Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Українська اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 17 February 2018, at 21 : 07. 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Question: who played the good witch of the north in the wizard of oz
Answer: Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke