Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke was born 7 August 1884, in Washington, DC. Nicknamed "Billie," after her father, the internationally famous clown, Billy Burke, she spent most of her early years touring Europe before the family settled in London.

She married theatrical producer Florenz Ziegfeld in 1915, and got her first movie role as the lead in Peggy (1916). She made 15 more films, and then went into semi-retirement in 1921, until the stock market crash wiped out the Ziegfelds' fortune.

Billie returned to films to support herself and her husband, who died in 1932. It was in the 1933 comedy, Dinner at Eight, that Billie would find the character that she would play the rest of her career. She created the hapless, feather-brained lady with the unmistakably high voice, who would be more interested in little details than the matter at hand.

She became well known as Mrs. Topper in the popular film series, before being cast, at age 54, in the role she would always be remembered for--Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, in The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Of her role as Glinda, she wrote: "It's a divine part. There's child enough in all of us to be thrilled with the settings and the feeling of this picture. It has terrified me a little to think of living up to the children's idea of what a Good Fairy must be. But I can only hope with all my heart that I won't disappoint them."

She continued to act in films, appearing in more than 80, in her long Hollywood career.

Billie even got into television with the series "Doc Corkle" in 1952. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after only three weeks because of poor writing.

Her last film was John Ford's Sergeant Rutledge (1960).

Performing in films and live theater, from age 19 to 76, she surely made good on her famous quote: "Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese."

Her cheerful demeanor and sweetness were no act, and her devotion to Ziegfeld's memory was sincere. She died 14 May 1970, in Los Angeles, and is buried in Valhalla, New York, next to her husband.

In our era of instant superstars, over-hyped flashes in the pan, and irresponsible celebrities, it is well to look back on a real trouper, whose talent and energy worked their own special magic.