*WIZARD OF OZ: BILLIE BURKE GOOD WITCH MAGNIFICENT EARLY PHOTOGRAPH*

Description

An extraordinary original photograph circa early 1900s of future Wizard of Oz co-star Billie Burke, who was married to Florenz Ziegfeld. Dimensions five by three and a quarter inches. The signature is probably stamped. Light wear otherwise fine. See Billie Burke's extraordinary biography below.
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From Wikipedia:
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke
(August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970), better known as
Billie Burke
, was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as
Glinda the Good Witch of the North
in the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
movie musical
The Wizard of Oz
(1939).
Burke was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in
Merrily We Live
(1938). She is also remembered for her appearances in the
Topper
film series. Her trademark high, wavering, aristocratic speaking voice made her a frequent choice to play dimwitted, spoiled society types.
She was married to Broadway producer and impresario
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
from 1914 until his death in 1932.
Burke was born in
Washington, D.C
., the daughter of Blanche (
née
Beatty; 1844–1921) and William "Billy" Burke. She toured the United States and Europe with her father, a singer and clown who worked for the
Barnum & Bailey Circus
. Her family settled in London where she attended plays in the
West End
. She began acting on stage in 1903, making her debut in London in
The School Girl
.
[1]
Her 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
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
,
[2]
Suzanne
,
[3]
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 met producer
Florenz Ziegfeld
, marrying him in 1914. Two years later they had a daughter, author
Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson
(1916–2008).
[4]
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 of any film actress up to that time.
[5]
She followed her first feature with the 15-part serial
Gloria's Romance
(1916), another popular and critically acclaimed vehicle. By 1917, she was a favorite with silent-movie fans, rivaling
Mary Pickford
,
Lillian Gish
,
Clara Kimball Young
and
Irene Castle
. She starred primarily in provocative society dramas and comedies, similar in theme to
The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl
, her most successful American play. Her girlish charm rivaled her acting ability, and as she dressed to the hilt in fashionable gowns, furs and jewelry, her clothes sense also won her 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).
Burke's beauty and taste made her a major trendsetter throughout the 1910s and 20s. As early as 1909, following her Broadway performance in
My Wife
(1909), department stores began carrying the "Billie Burke Dress" with a signature flat collar and lace trim."
[6]
During this time, much of Burke's on- and off-screen wardrobe was provided by the leading European couturier
Lucile
(in private life, Lady Duff Gordon), whose New York branch was the fashion Mecca of socialites and entertainment celebrities.
[7]
Burke reflected on her reputation as "a new kind of actress, carefree, and red-headed, and I had beautiful clothes."
[8]
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 Street 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.
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 revitalized her career and 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 Ziegfeld and
Myrna Loy
played Burke; this infuriated Burke, who was under contract to the studio and believed she could have played herself. However, MGM considered her too old to cast in the part of her younger self, despite otherwise perfectly commanding the look and mannerisms.
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
, starring
Judy Garland
. She had previously worked with Garland in the 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".
[9]
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 also portrayed Mrs. Ernest (Daisy) Stanley in the 1942 film
The Man Who Came to Dinner
.
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.
[10]
[11]
[12]
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 also appeared in several plays in
California
, 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 wasn'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
Among Burke's early suitors was the celebrated operatic tenor
Enrico Caruso
. Burke was married to producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. and resided in
Beverly Hills, California
.
[13]
She died in
Los Angeles
of
natural causes
on May 14, 1970,
[14]
at the age of 85, and was interred at
Kensico Cemetery
, Valhalla,
Westchester County, New York
.
Billie Burke is often reported to have been in a lesbian relationship with film director
Dorothy Arzner
.
Legacy
For many years, Burke's framed photo was displayed above the exit staircase at
New York
's
Ziegfeld Theatre
, but it disappeared after renovations. An opening-night program bearing a picture of her from her 1912 triumph
The Mind The Paint Girl
(Sir
Arthur Wing Pinero
) is displayed in the lobby of the
Lyceum Theatre
in Manhattan.
For her contributions to the
film industry
, Burke was inducted into the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
in 1960 with a
motion pictures star
at 6617
Hollywood Boulevard
.
[15]
The
Academy Film Archive
houses the Florenz Ziegfeld-Billie Burke Collection, which consists primarily of home movies.
[16]
On November 4, 2015, the
crater Burke
, near the north pole of the planet
Mercury
, was named after Billie Burke.