| Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (7 August 1885 - 14 May 1970) was an
actress primarily known to modern audiences for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz. To earlier audiences
she was the tremulous, daffy Clara Topper in a series of popular movies about a man haunted by two alcoholic ghosts and
their pet St. Bernard.
Known as Billie Burke, she was born in Washington, D.C.
to the famous English clown Billy Burke. She spent much of her youth travelling with her
family as her father played Europe in Barnum and Bailey's Circus. 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. There she caught the eye of theatre
producer Florenz Ziegfeld, marrying him in 1914. In 1916, they had one daughter, Patricia Ziegfeld.
According to some sources, Burke reportedly had an affair with the silent-film director Dorothy Arzner.
She was quickly signed for the movies, with her first movie, in the starring role, in Peggy in 1916. She continued to
appear on both stage and screen, but when the family's savings were wiped out in the Crash of 1929, she began to concentrate on the movies. Ziegfeld died in 1932, worsening her financial situation. That same year, she starred in Dinner at Eight. This was shortly
thereafter followed by the Topper series of films and The Wizard of Oz. Another successful series followed with
Father of the Bride and Father's Little Dividend.
On CBS radio, The Billie Burke Show was heard on Saturday mornings from April 3, 1943 to 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 died in Los Angeles, California, and was
interred at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York. For many years, her framed photo was displayed above the exit staircase at New
York's Ziegfeld Theater.
Broadway
- 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
Radio
- The Billie Burke Show - 1943-1946
Films
- Peggy - 1916
- Gloria's
Romance - 1916
- The
Mysterious Miss Terry - 1917
- Arms and the
Girl - 1917
- The Land of
Promise - 1917
- Eve's Daughter -
1918
- Let's Get a
Divorce - 1918
- In Pursuit of
Polly - 1918
- The
Make-Believe Wife - 1918
- Good
Gracious, Annabelle - 1919
- The Misleading
Widow - 1919
- Sadie Love - 1919
- Wanted: A
Husband - 1919
- Away Goes
Prudence - 1920
- The
Frisky Mrs. Johnson - 1920
- The
Education of Elizabeth - 1921
- A Bill of
Divorcement - 1932
- Christopher
Strong - 1933
- Dinner at Eight -
1933
- Only Yesterday - 1933
- Where Sinners
Meet - 1934
- Finishing School - 1934
- We're Rich
Again - 1934
- Forsaking All
Others - 1934
- Society Doctor -
1935
- After Office
Hours - 1935
- Becky Sharp - 1935
- Doubting Thomas - 1935
- She Couldn't
Take It - 1935
- A Feather in
Her Hat - 1935
- Splendor - 1935
- My American
Wife - 1936
- Piccadilly Jim -
1936
- Craig's Wife -
1936
- Parnell - 1937
- Topper - 1937
- The Bride Wore
Red - 1937
- Navy Blue and
Gold - 1937
- Everybody Sing -
1938
- Merrily We Live - 1938
- The Young in
Heart - 1938
- Topper Takes a
Trip - 1939
- Zenobia - 1939
- Bridal Suite -
1939
- The Wizard of Oz -
1939
- Eternally Yours -
1939
- Remember? - 1939
- The Ghost Comes
Home - 1940
- Irene - 1940
- The Captain
Is a Lady - 1940
- Dulcy - 1940
- Hullabaloo - 1940
- And One Was
Beautiful - 1940
- The Wild
Man of Borneo - 1941
- Topper Returns -
1941
- One Night in
Lisbon - 1941
- The
Man Who Came to Dinner - 1942
- What's
Cookin'? - 1942
- In This Our
Life - 1942
- They
All Kissed the Bride - 1942
- Girl Trouble -
1942
- Hi Diddle
Diddle - 1943
- So's Your Uncle
- 1943
- You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith - 1943
- Gildersleeve on Broadway - 1943
- The Laramie
Trail - 1944
- Swing Out, Sister - 1945
- The Cheaters - 1945
- Breakfast
in Hollywood - 1946
- The
Bachelor's Daughters - 1946
- Billie Gets Her
Man - 1948
- The
Barkleys of Broadway - 1949
- Father of the Bride - 1950
- Father's Little Dividend - 1951
- Small Town Girl -
1953
- The Young Philadelphians - 1959
- Sergeant
Rutledge - 1960
- Pepe - 1960
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