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Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (born August
7, 1885 in Washington D.C.; died May 14, 1970 in
Los Angeles, California) was a pretty, delightful
and funny actress primarily known to modern
audiences for her role as Glinda, the Good Witch
of the North in The Wizard of Oz (1939 movie)|The
Wizard of Oz. 

Known as Billie Burke, she was just a pretty
little girl when she toured the US and Europe with
the circus because her father 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 side. 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 theatre|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.

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 next year, she
starred in the delightful comedy Dinner at Eight,
directed by George Cukor. This was shortly
thereafter followed by 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. In 1939 she was the unforgettable Glinda,
the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz
(1939 movie)|The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor
Fleming.  Another successful series followed with
Father of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little
Dividend (1951), both of them with Spencer Tracy
and Elizabeth Taylor.

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 also worked often in early TV,
and co-starred in the notoriously short-lived
sitcom Doc Corkle (1952). She wrote two
autobiographies, With a Feather on My Nose in 1949
and With Powder on My Nose in 1959.

In 1960, when she retired from the show business,
she said, "Acting just wasn't any fun anymore."

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 (movie)|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 movie)|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

==External link==
* http://www.kansasoz.com/infogoodwitch.htm Billie
Burke as Glinda the Good Witch
*imdb name|id=0000992|name=Billie Burke