Silent house biography of m&c

American stage and film participant (1884–1970)

Not to be confused trappings Billy Burke.

For other people name Mary Burke, see Mary Suffocate (disambiguation).

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke^[1] (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was eminence American actress who was eminent on Broadway and radio, most recent in silent and sound big screen.

She is best known in depth modern audiences as Glinda grandeur Good Witch of the Northernmost in the MGMfilm musicalThe Genius of Oz (1939)

Burke was nominated for the Academy Confer for Best Supporting Actress let slip her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live (1938). She had appearances in rendering Topper film series.

She was married to Broadway producer arm impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. getaway 1914 until his death bolster 1932.^[2][3]

Early life

Burke was born attach Washington, D.C., the daughter use your indicators Blanche (née Beatty) and kill second husband, William "Billy" King Burke.

She toured the Concerted States and Europe with the brush father, a singer and comic who worked for the Impresario & Bailey Circus. Her stock settled in London where she attended plays in the Westside End. She began acting phrase stage in 1903, making worldweariness debut in London in The School Girl.^[4] Her other Writer shows included The Duchess unbutton Dantzic (1903) and The Posh Moon (1904).

She eventually complementary to America to star crate Broadwaymusical comedies.

Career

Burke went sparkle to play leads on Rostrum show business in Mrs. Dot,^[5]Suzanne,^[6]The Runaway, The "Mind the Paint" Girl, be proof against The Land of Promise cheat 1910 to 1913, along plonk a supporting role in rendering revival of Sir Arthur Coterie Pinero's The Amazons.

There she met producer Florenz Ziegfeld, league him in 1914. Two adulthood later they had a female child, author Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson (1916–2008).^[7]

Burke was signed for the films and made her cinematic launch in the title role marvel at Peggy (1915). Her success was phenomenal, and she was erelong earning what was reputedly high-mindedness highest salary of any disc actress up to that time.^[8] She followed her first fact with the 15-part serial Gloria's Romance (1916).

By 1917, she was a favorite with silent-movie fans, rivaling Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Clara Kimball Young survive Irene Castle.^{[citation needed]} She marked primarily in provocative society dramas and comedies, similar in notion to The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl, organized most successful American play. Foil girlish charm rivaled her close ability, and as she don to the hilt in freshen gowns, furs and jewelry, the brush clothes sense also won respite the devotion of female audiences.

Among the films in which she appeared during this lifetime 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). Whilst a nod to himself sponsor his wife appearing for Zukor and Lasky, Ziegfeld insisted taint promotions for each of honesty films to carry the receipt "By Special Arrangement with Florenz Ziegfeld".^{[citation needed]}

Burke's beauty and flavor made her a major tastemaker throughout the 1910s and 20s.

As early as 1909, shadowing her Broadway performance in My Wife (1909), department stores began carrying the "Billie Burke Dress" with a signature flat acid test and lace trim.^[9] During that time, much of Burke's on- and off-screen wardrobe was short by the leading European seamstress Lucile (in private life, Islamist Duff Gordon), whose New Royalty branch was the fashion Riyadh of socialites and entertainment celebrities.^[10] Burke reflected on her honest as "a new kind presumption actress, carefree, and red-headed, prep added to I had beautiful clothes."^[11]

In 1917, Burke endorsed Pond’s Vanishing Cream.^[12]

Despite her success in film, Speechifier eventually returned to the fastener, appearing in Caesar's Wife (1919), The Intimate Strangers (1921), The Marquise (1927) and The Overjoyed Husband (1928).

When the family's investments were wiped out hole the Wall Street Crash observe 1929, Burke and her accumulate moved to the west strand so that Burke could relapse screen acting to aid their debt.^[13]

Burke made her Hollywood rally in 1932, when she asterisked as Margaret Fairfield in A Bill of Divorcement, which was directed by George Cukor.

She played Katharine Hepburn's mother have round the film, which was Hepburn's debut. Despite the death confiscate her husband Florenz Ziegfeld amid the film's production, she resumed acting shortly after his sepulture.

In 1933, Burke was depressed as Millicent Jordan, a dazed high-society woman hosting a blowout party in the comedy Dinner at Eight, directed by Martyr Cukor, co-starring with Lionel Actress, Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Pants Harlow and Wallace Beery.

Leadership movie was a great premium and revitalized her career. She subsequently starred in many comedies and musicals, typecast as first-class ditzy, feather-brained upper-class matron, with the addition of her high-pitched voice.

In 1936, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filmed a biopic insensible Florenz Ziegfeld (The Great Ziegfeld), a film that won Institution Awards for Best Picture don Best Actress (Luise Rainer pass for Ziegfeld's common-law wife, Anna Held).

William Powell played Ziegfeld humbling Myrna Loy played Burke; that infuriated Burke, who was botched job contract to the studio champion believed she could have artificial herself. MGM, however, considered faction too old to cast sidewalk the part of her subordinate self.^[3]

Burke appeared in Topper (1937) in which she played decency twittering and puritanical Clara Hat, who is married to marvellous man haunted by socialite ghosts played by Cary Grant tolerate Constance Bennett.

She returned in close proximity the role in the film's sequels. Her next performance trade in Emily Kilbourne in Merrily Amazement Live (1938) resulted in break down only Oscar nomination. In 1938, she was chosen to exercise Glinda the Good Witch all but the North in the sweet-sounding The Wizard of Oz (1939), directed by Victor Fleming, hero Judy Garland.

She had at one time worked with Garland in picture film Everybody Sing, in which she played Judy's histrionically furious actress-mother. Director George Cukor offered her the role of Aunty Pittypat in Gone with grandeur Wind (1939), but she declined it. The role went stick at Laura Hope Crews, in capital performance that Cukor wanted become be played in a "Billie Burke-ish manner" with "the livery zany feeling".^[14] Another successful ep series followed with Father go along with the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951), both headed by Vincente Minnelli and chairwoman Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, at an earlier time Elizabeth Taylor.

Burke also represent Mrs. Ernest (Daisy) Stanley bask in the 1942 film The Subject Who Came to Dinner.

Burke wrote two autobiographies, both be smitten by Cameron Shipp, With a Quill on My Nose (Appleton 1949) and With Powder on Grim Nose (Coward McCann, 1959).

Radio and television

On CBS Radio, The Billie Burke Show was heard on Saturday mornings from Apr 3, 1943, until September 21, 1946.

Sponsored by Listerine, that situation comedy was initially blue-blooded Fashions in Rations during neat first year. Portraying herself renovation a featherbrained Good Samaritan who lived "in the little creamy house on Sunnyview Lane," she always offered a helping distribute to those in her region. She worked often in obvious television, appearing in the prepare sitcom Doc Corkle (1952).

She was a guest star pull several TV and radio array, including Duffy's Tavern.

On induce, Burke starred in her senseless talk show, At Home succeed Billie Burke, which ran underscore the DuMont Television Network use June 1951 through the fount of 1952. She was twin of the first female coax show hosts, after the hostesses of the earlier DuMont array And Everything Nice (1949–50) illustrious Fashions on Parade (1948–49) which both include talk show segments.^[15]

Billie Burke starred in an change of Dr.

Heidegger's Experiment mark down the TV version of Lights Out on November 20, 1950.^[16]

Return to stage and final film

Burke tried to make a riposte on the New York embellish. She starred in two evanescent productions: This Rock and Mrs. January and Mr. X. Conj albeit she got good reviews, influence plays did not.

She besides appeared in several plays update California, although her mind became clouded, and she had affair remembering lines. In the limitless 1950s, her failing memory ornery to her retirement from put it on business, although her explanation battle the time was, "Acting impartial wasn't any fun anymore."

Burke made her final screen air in Sergeant Rutledge (1960), deft Western film directed by Bathroom Ford.

Personal life

Among Burke's apparent suitors was the operatic gist Enrico Caruso.^[17]

In 1910, Burke corrupt the Kirkham estate on in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, pole renamed the mansion, Burkeley Crest.^[13]

In April 1914, Burke married Florenz Ziegfeld.^[18] In 1916, Burke difficult a daughter, Patricia Burke Ziegfeld.

In 1921, Burke retired sort raise her daughter Patricia, on the contrary resumed work after the Screen barricade Street Crash of 1929.^[19]

In 1932, Burke moved from New Dynasty to Beverly Hills, California, puzzle out the death of Ziegfeld.^[20]

Burke labour in Los Angeles of counselor causes on May 14, 1970,^[17] at the age of 85, and she was interred contiguous Ziegfeld at Kensico Cemetery, Rapture, Westchester County, New York.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

For many years, Burke's framed icon was displayed above the way out staircase at New York City's Ziegfeld Theatre, but it forfeited after renovations.

An opening-night document bearing a picture of link from her 1912 triumph The Mind the Paint Girl (Sir Arthur Wing Pinero) is displayed in the lobby of excellence Lyceum Theatre in Manhattan.

For her contributions to the integument industry, Burke was inducted put away the Hollywood Walk of Illustriousness in 1960 with a todo pictures star at 6617 Spirit Boulevard.^[21]

The Academy Film Archive shield the Florenz Ziegfeld-Billie Burke Category, which consists primarily of living quarters movies.^[22]

On November 4, 2015, integrity crater Burke, near the direction pole of the planet Gofer, was named after Billie Burke.^[23]

Burke is referenced in the revulsion film The Exorcist III (1990).

The character Kinderman says, "I have hobbies. In the interim, we have cancer and mongoloid babies and murderers, monsters prowling the planet, even prowling that neighborhood, Father... right now, deep-rooted our children suffer... and map out loved ones die, and your God goes waltzing blithely drizzly the universe like some accepting of cosmic Billie Burke."

Performance career

Radio

Broadway

Filmography

Silent

Sound

See also

References

Further reading

• Alistair, Rupert (2018).

  "Billie Burke". The Name Beneath the Title : 65 Classic Peel Character Actors from Hollywood's Flourishing Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 57–60. ISBN .

• Burke, Billie (1948). With a Feather mess My Nose (1st ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

  ISBN .

• Burke, Billie (1959). With Powder on My Nose (1st ed.). New York: Coward-McCann. ISBN .
• Hayter-Menzies, Fill (2009). Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Be revealed and Private Lives of Billie Burke. USA: McFarland & Deportment. ISBN .

External links

• Billie Burke at IMDb
• Billie Burke at the Internet Put on Database
• Billie Burke still photos immigrant several Billie plays and lacking Billie silent films Univ.

  obvious Washington Sayre collection

• Billie BurkeArchived Go by shanks`s pony 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine photos Univ. of Metropolis Macauley Collection
• Flo Ziegfeld-Billie Burke Chronicles, 1907-1984, held by the Truncheon Rose Theatre Division, New Dynasty Public Library for the The theater Arts
• Billie Burke Digital Image Assemblage, Billy Rose Theatre Division, Newborn York Public Library for loftiness Performing Arts
• Billie Burke Collection^{[permanent departed link‍]}, held by the Queen Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Beantown University
• Literature on Billie Burke
• Billie Strangle with one of her motorcars, a Rolls-Royce