Broadway actress Billie Burke was one of the most sought after young stage beauties of her time, stealing the hearts of Enrico Caruso, Mark Twain, and, most importantly, famed Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld, who became her husband. Following Ziegfeld's death, the threats of financial ruin and encroaching age forced Burke to recreate herself as a Hollywood character actress. This biography benefits from the cooperation of the daughter and grandchildren of Burke and Ziegfeld, as well as from anecdotes provided by actors who performed with Burke on the stage and screen. In addition to studying the character and significance of Burke's greatest screen role in Glinda the Good Witch of the North, this richly illustrated book also provides a complete history of Burke's stage, screen, and radio work.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Enjoyable biography...an eye-opening look at the actress millions know only as Glinda the Good Witch...highly recommended." --Library Journal
"Extensive research...valuable...an excellent job." --theglobeandmail.com
"Extensive research...valuable...an excellent job." --theglobeandmail.com
About the Author
Biographer Grant Hayter-Menzies lives in Sidney, British Columbia. His works include biographies of Charlotte Greenwood, Princess Der Ling, and Billie Burke Ziegfeld.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Written with great skill - and much love,
By
This review is from: Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke (Hardcover)
Grant Hayter-Menzies, author of a fine biography of actress Charlotte Greenwood, surpasses himself with this masterful account of the life of Billie Burke, known to most of us from "The Wizard of Oz." After being widowed in the 1930s, Burke became a highly respected character actress appearing in a number of classic films. This book, however, concentrates primarily on two aspects of her life -- her early, substantial stage career, and her up-and-down marriage to impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. It's rare to read a biography written with both rigorous scholarship and intense empathy for its subject. The cooperation of Burke's family members only adds to the richness of this impressive achievement.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!,
By Old Movie Lover (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke (Hardcover)
As a long-time fan of The Wizard of Oz (1939), growing up, to me, Billie Burke WAS Glinda the Good Witch because that's about the only film I ever saw her in. As I began researching my own book on Olive Thomas, Billie Burke became an integral part of my research because of her marriage to Ziegfeld (Olive's boss in the Frolic and Follies), hence the title of this book - "Mrs. Ziegfeld." I learned a lot more about her as I delved into the life of Ziegfeld for my own project and then the road detoured away from her again. Now, this book fills in all the gaps! What a wonderful life and how beautifully it's told here in this book. One of the best books I've read this year, by far. You will not be disappointed if you buy this book. If you think you know everything about Billie Burke, think again. This is the definitive reference guide to her life and career. Fantastic!
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only bad witches are ugly!,
This review is from: Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke (Hardcover)
A wonderful bio of actress Billie Burke, known mostly as Glinda the Good Witch in Mervyn LeRoy's "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), it is astonishing that no one has given Billie this much personal detail before now. An interesting view into the early years of stage and screen, the bio really finds itself in the tumultuous marriage between Billie and Flo Ziegfeld; his raging infidelities and bank-breaking spending somehow became part of the glue that kept them together, that and an absolute adoration of each other.
After Flo's death in 1932, Billie was left with enormous debts that had to be paid off - hence her film career. Never really trusting or liking the film medium, she nonetheless went to Hollywood where the money was. A little sad towards the end, when Billie seemed to feel she was disappearing (welcome to Hollywood), the bio is still a triumph and I wonder why her life with Ziegfeld has never received real cinematic treatment. I can see Kate Winslett playing Billie now. Again, a wonderful bio. In it's closing pages, one feels as if Burke has left the house after a long, fascinating, humorous and poignant visit.
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