Billie Bird at 94
Tregembo
From the "Famous Deaths" website...
Actress and comedienne who appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows since
the 1950's, usually playing old ladies, including memorable roles in "Home
Alone", "Jury Duty" and several "Police Academy" movies, and who was a
semi-regular on the TV show "Dear John", died Nov. 27 at age 94.
From IMDb...
1.. Jury Duty (1995) .... Rose
2.. Dennis the Menace (1993) .... Mitty Butterwell
... aka Dennis (1993) (UK)
3.. Home Alone (1990) .... Irene
4.. End of Innocence, The (1990) .... Mrs. Yabledablov
5.. Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989) .... Mrs. Stanwyck
6.. Save the Dog! (1988) (TV)
7.. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) .... Mary Morrissey
8.. "Dear John" (1988) TV Series .... Mrs. Philbert
... aka "Dear John USA" (1988) (UK)
9.. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) .... Mrs. Lois Feldman
C.O.P. Member
10.. Ratboy (1986) .... Psychic
11.. One Crazy Summer (1986) .... Grandma
12.. Help Wanted: Kids (1986) (TV) .... Bea
13.. "Benson" (1979) TV Series .... Mrs. Cassidy (1984-1986)
14.. Sixteen Candles (1984) .... Dorothy Baker
15.. Max Dugan Returns (1983) .... Older Woman
16.. "It Takes Two" (1982/I) TV Series .... Mama
17.. Young Doctors in Love (1982) .... Mrs. Greschler the Flower Lady
18.. Getting Straight (1970) .... Landlady
19.. Odd Couple, The (1968)(uncredited) .... Smoking Neighbor
20.. Barefoot in the Park (1967)(uncredited) .... Drunken neighbor
21.. Las Vegas Hillbillys, The (1966)
... aka Country Music (1966)
... aka Country Music, U.S.A. (1966) (USA: video title)
22.. Cat Burglar, The (1961) .... Mrs. Prattle
23.. Secret of Deep Harbor (1961) .... Mama Miller
24.. Too Soon to Love (1960) .... Mrs. Jefferson
... aka Teenage Lovers (1960) (UK)
25.. Born to Be Loved (1959) .... Drunk's Wife
26.. Blue Denim (1959) .... Woman
... aka Blue Jeans (1959) (UK)
27.. Unwed Mother (1958) .... Gertie
28.. Joker Is Wild, The (1957)(uncredited)
... aka All the Way (1966) (USA: reissue title)
... aka Joker, The (1957) (USA)
29.. Panama Sal (1957) .... Woman Manager
30.. Woman's World (1954/I) .... Woman in Bargain Basement
... aka Woman's World, A (1954/III) (USA)
31.. Half a Hero (1953) .... Ernestine
32.. Just Across the Street (1952) .... Pearl
33.. My Wife's Best Friend (1952) .... Katie
34.. Somebody Loves Me (1952) .... Essie
35.. Journey Into Light (1951) .... Gertie
... aka Skid Road (1951)
36.. Darling, How Could You (1951) .... Rosie
... aka Rendezvous (1951) (UK)
37.. Mating Season, The (1951) .... Mugsy
38.. Dallas (1950)(uncredited) .... School Teacher
39.. Grass Widowers (1921)
Plus two dozen TV guest shots.
Ray Arthur
Ed Varner
>From the "Famous Deaths" website...
>
>Actress and comedienne who appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows since
>the 1950's, usually playing old ladies, including memorable roles in "Home
>Alone", "Jury Duty" and several "Police Academy" movies, and who was a
>semi-regular on the TV show "Dear John", died Nov. 27 at age 94.
>
I remember her best for her role on "Benson" and a guest appearance on
"Cheers". That is four great character actors that have passed on this month.
(Peg Phillips, Eddie Bracken, and Parley Baer being the others).
ED V
James L. Neibaur
go.
RIP
JN
Please visit the most poorly designed web pages online:
my Favorite Movies web page:
http://hometown.aol.com/jimneibr/myhomepage/movies.html
and my Favorite Performers web page:
http://hometown.aol.com/jimneibr/myhomepage/rant.html
Surfer
about Billie Bird yet.
If someone comes across one, please post...thanks.
Mwest
"Surfer" <sur...@wateris.wet> wrote in message
news:surfer-52857B....@news.newsguy.com...
> Searched several news sites and can't seem to locate AP/Reuters obit
> about Billie Bird yet.
>
> If someone comes across one, please post...thanks.
Not an obit but I found a great fan site
http://www.dapperdans.com/dapperdans/quartets/billiebird/billiebird.ht
m
Every couple of years I sit down and watch "Sixteen Candles", a movie
that just works so well......
What a life Ms. Bird enjoyed.
Kevin King
Russ
> about Billie Bird yet.
>
> If someone comes across one, please post...thanks.
Hi. An obituary for Ms. Bird appeared in the Kansas City Star on Nov.
29 reporting her death in Granada Hills, California. She had lived in
Kansas City off and on and was a staple at dinner theatres for years.
Her fan club Lunch Bunch is located here and the family apparently
contacted them with the news of her passing.
Russ
Russ
source for the info about Ms. Bird's death. It still isn't in the
national press (or online with the K.C. Star). I've scanned it in for
those interested and you can view it here:
LandonEx
Vaudeville Comedienne and Actress Billie Bird Dies at 94
The Associated Press
GRANADA HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Vaudeville comedienne Billie Bird, who began
performing as a child and became a TV and movie character actress in her later
years, has died at age 94, her son said Monday.
Bird, whose full name was Billie Bird Sellen, had been struggling with
Alzheimer's disease for nearly five years when she died November 27 at her
Granada Hills home, Bill Sellen said.
The funeral was held Saturday at Forest Lawn in Glendale.
Sellen worked as recently as 1995, when she had a small role in the Pauly Shore
comedy "Jury Duty." Other recent performances include 1993's "Dennis the
Menace" and 1990's "Home Alone."
Her last screen appearance was a 1997 cameo on the short-lived Judd Hirsch-Bob
Newhart sitcom "George & Leo."
Bird played sassy, cheerful old ladies in such comedies as 1988's "Ernest Saves
Christmas" and 1987's "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol."
She was also a regular on the 1988-1992 sitcom "Dear John" and made 12 trips to
Vietnam with the USO to entertain American troops during the 1960s and early
1970s.
Her son said she was discovered at an orphanage at age 8 and hired to tour
theater circuits with a Vaudeville group. As an adult, she performed in dinner
theater and burlesque comedy clubs in acts that were ribald at the time but
tame by today's standards, Bill Sellen said.
She had small roles in the 1950 Western "Dallas," the 1952 drama "Somebody
Loves Me" and 1968's feature-film version of "The Odd Couple."
Among her favorite jobs was a 1982 sitcom called "It Takes Two," which starred
Richard Crenna, Patty Duke and then-unknowns Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards.
"She loved that show and she loved the cast," her son said. "She keyed on
people. She didn't have favorite shows or parts so much."
Last modified: December 02. 2002 7:08PM
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