Billie Burke The Real Glinda Trivia Quiz

Answer: August 7th, 1885 in Washington, DC

Billie's father was a famous circus clown. Her family traveled all over the United States and Europe with the circus until eventually settling in London, England. Her name is quite a mouthful isn't it? William is her father's name, and the rest are family names.

Answer: He was a famous clown in the Barnum Bailey Circus.

Billie's father, Billy Burke, was a very famous singing clown in the Barnum Bailey circus. By all accounts, Billie's childhood memories of travelling with the circus were very happy ones.

Answer: 18 years old

After her family settled in London, Billie loved to attend plays on London's west end. In 1903, Billie made her professional debut on the London stage. Her beauty, bubbly personality, and warmth shone through in her performances, and the audience loved her. Billie was very successful in London, but she knew her real chance to be a star was in making it big on Broadway.

Answer: Florenz Ziegfeld

Billie first hit the Broadway stage in 1907 playing opposite John Drew in 'My Wife'. As in London, her warmth and ability to reach her audience made Billie the toast of Broadway. It is no surprise that Billie's beauty caught the attention of Flo Ziegfeld of the famous Ziegfeld Follies, but it was her charm and warmth that won his heart.

They were married in April, 1914, and lived together until his death in 1932. Her first film role was in 1916 in the silent movie 'Peggy'. Billie went into semiretirement in 1922.

She only returned to acting fulltime after they lost most of their money in the stock market crash of 1929.

Answer: Merrily We Live

Billie's only Academy Award nomination was in 1938, for her performance as Emily Kelbourne in 'Merrily We Live'. One of her best performances was in David O. Selznick's 'Dinner At Eight' in 1933, which featured such notable Hollywood stars as Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, and John Barrymore.

But the role that Billie will be forever remembered by 'the young and the young at heart', is that of the lovely Glinda, Good Witch of the North, in the 1939 MGM classic 'The Wizard of Oz'. The success of her movie 'Topper' in 1937, lead to two sequels, one in 1937, the other, in 1941.

Answer: False

Billie Burke was actually 54 years old when she played Glinda. Personally, I would have thought that Billie was around 35, but subtract 1885 (her birth year) from 1939 (the year she played Glinda) and we get 54. And what a lovely 54 she was, too. Billie's height (she was 5 ft. 10 in.) also added to Glinda's regal appearance.

Answer: Her beloved husband died.

Flo Ziegfeld, her beloved husband died. Of all the events given, only this one would be an event that would change a woman's life forever. It was also the year that Billie made her breakthrough into 'talkies' with her success playing of Margaret Fairfield in the movie 'A Bill Of Divorcement'.

Answer: With Powder On My Nose

Billie's first autobiography, 'With A Feather On My Nose', was written in 1949. Her second, 'With Powder On My Nose' was written in 1959.

Answer: True

Yes, she was 75 when she appeared in her last film, 'Sergeant Rutledge' in 1960.

Answer: Doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.

This was one of Billie's witty and wise quotes. It really suits this lovely lady who is as much remembered for her grace and charm as for the roles she created. Billie died in Los Angeles, California, on May 14th, 1970, of natural causes. She was a lovely 84 years young. Thank you for taking my quiz on the life of Billie Burke, Oz's Good Witch.