All About Billie Burke: Death, Children, Relationship, Age, Wedding

Known for movies

Short Info

Died	May 14, 1970, Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse	Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Fact	Began her show business career on stage in the British provinces.
Payments	Earned $300,000 from Gloria's Romance (1916)

Billie Burke (1884-1970) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz.

Burke was born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke in Washington, D.C., on August 7, 1884. Her parents were William and Martha Burke. She had two sisters, Josephine and Marian. Burke was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Washington and the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New York City.

Burke’s acting career began on the stage. She made her Broadway debut in 1903 in The Wild Rose. She went on to appear in a number of successful Broadway productions, including The Girl with the Green Eyes (1905), The Wizard of Oz (1906), and The Honeymooners (1908).

In 1914, Burke made her film debut in The Perils of Pauline. She went on to appear in a number of silent films, including The Lost World (1925), The Unholy Three (1925), and The Great Gatsby (1926).

With the advent of sound films, Burke’s career took off. She appeared in a number of successful films, including Dinner at Eight (1933), Merrily We Live (1938), and The Wizard of Oz (1939). She also appeared in the popular television series Topper (1953-1955).

Burke was married three times. Her first husband was Frank Fay, an actor and comedian. They were married from 1914 to 1931 and had one child, a daughter named Barbara. Burke’s second husband was Gregory Ratoff, a Russian-born film director. They were married from 1932 to his death in 1960. Burke’s third husband was John Wodehouse, 3rd Earl of Kimberley, a British aristocrat. They were married from 1962 until his death in 1966.

Burke died of natural causes on May 14, 1970, at the age of 85.

General Info

Full Name	Billie Burke
Died	May 14, 1970, Los Angeles, California, United States
Height	1.6 m
Profession	Actor, Singer
Nationality	American

Family

Spouse	Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Children	Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson
Parents	Blanche E. Burke, William Burke

Accomplishments

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...

Social profile links

IMDB	http://imdb.com/name/nm0000992

Salary

Title	Salary
Gloria's Romance (1916)	$300,000
Peggy (1916)	$40,000

Quotes

#	Quote
1	[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.

Facts

#	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.
8	A 1919 Cadillac, owned by her and husband Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. is now in the possession of best-selling author Clive Cussler.
9	Daughter, with Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.: Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson, born 1916.
10	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).

Pictures

Movies

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
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	2005	Video documentary short	Glinda
Broadway: The American Musical	2004	TV Mini-Series documentary	Herself
Ziegfeld on Film	2004	Video documentary short	Herself
The Legend Floyd: The Dark Side of the Rainbow	2000	TV Movie	Glinda
That's Entertainment! III	1994	Documentary	Clip from 'The Wizard of Oz' (uncredited)
Hal Roach: Hollywood's King of Laughter	1994	TV Movie documentary	Herself
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic	1990	TV Movie documentary	Herself
The Laurel and Hardy Show	1986	TV Series	Bessie Tibbett (1986)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy	1976	TV Movie	Tribute Montage
Hollywood: The Selznick Years	1969	TV Movie documentary	Actress 'Dinner at Eight' (uncredited)
Ford Star Jubilee	1956	TV Series	Glinda
Columbia Laff Hour	1956
The Golden Twenties	1950	Documentary	Herself