With a Feather on My Nose

By: Billie Burke

Narrated by: Karen Commins

While perhaps best remembered today as the beloved, iconic character Glinda the Good Witch in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz", Billie Burke enjoyed a long theatrical and film career in the early 20th century.

Popular, red-haired comedienne Burke was the daughter of a woman possessing an indomitable spirit and a well-known circus clown from whom she took her name. As a stage actress in both England and America, Burke met and often worked opposite the glittering celebrities of the day: John Drew, the Barrymores, W. Somerset Maugham, Maxine Elliott, Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and more. She describes in charming detail about her career and her married life with extravagant and innovative theatre impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. Their marriage caused a sensation, with her producer Charles Frohman adamantly opposing it. She wrote candidly about her tough decision whether to pursue her own career or support her husband in his, as well as her violent reactions to Ziegfeld's infidelities.

Though she said Oz was her favorite movie role, she included surprisingly few comments about it.

Written with warmth, humor, and a touch as light as a feather, Burke's fascinating memoir pulls back the curtain on an earlier time.

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