Billie Bird

Billie Sellen "nee Bird" (February 28, 1908 – November 27, 2002) better known professionally as Billie Bird was an American actress and comedian.

Born	Berniece Bird Stowell February 28, 1908 Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.
Died	November 27, 2002 (aged 94) Granada Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Occupation	Actress, comedian
Years active	1951–1997
Spouse(s)	Edwin Sellen (?–1966) (his death) 3 children

Early life

Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was discovered at the age of eight while living at an orphanage. As a child, she worked in vaudeville, and later in theater/cabaret before moving on to television and films.

Career

She is credited on the Internet Movie Database with an appearance in a 1921 film Grass Widowers, but it is not clear if this is accurate. Otherwise, she broke into films in 1950, later making a brief uncredited appearance in The Odd Couple as a chambermaid. Her only line was "Goodnight", which was said to Felix Ungar, who responded, "Goodbye." Bird was often cast by director John Hughes and appeared in many of his 1980 and 1990s films, such as Sixteen Candles, Home Alone, and Dennis the Menace, the latter two of which both paired her with veteran Hughes actor Bill Erwin playing her husband. She also starred as Mrs. Lois Feldman in Police Academy 4. Her last film appearance was in 1995's Jury Duty, with Pauly Shore.

In addition to films, Bird made numerous appearances on various television series including roles on Silver Spoons, Ironside, Eight Is Enough, The Facts of Life, Who's the Boss?, and Knots Landing. She was also a regular cast member on the sitcoms It Takes Two in 1982 and Benson from 1984 to 1986. In 1988, she joined the cast of Dear John starring Judd Hirsch. Her last acting role was a brief appearance in 1997 on an episode of the CBS sitcom George & Leo, which starred Bob Newhart and Bird's former co-star, Hirsch.

Personal life

Bird was married to Edwin Sellen until his death in 1966; they had three children.

Death

Bird died on November 27, 2002 in Granada Hills, California at the age of 94 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	The Mating Season	Mugsy	1953 "Somebody Loves Me"
1954	Woman's World	Woman in Bargain Basement	Uncredited Alternative title: A Woman's World
1959	Born to Be Loved	Drunk's wife
1960	Too Soon to Love	Mrs. Jefferson	Alternative title: Teenage Lovers
1967	Barefoot in the Park	Drunken neighbor	Uncredited
1968	The Odd Couple	Chambermaid	Uncredited
1970	Getting Straight	Landlady
1982	Young Doctors in Love	Mrs. Greschler the Flower Lady
1983	Max Dugan Returns	Older Woman
1984	Sixteen Candles	Dorothy Baker (Grandmother)
1986	One Crazy Summer	Grandma
1987	Police Academy 4	Mrs. Lois Feldman
1988	Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach	Mrs. Lois Feldman
1988	Ernest Saves Christmas	Mary Morrissey
1989	That's Adequate	Old Lillian Darling
1990	Home Alone	Irene (woman in airport)
1990	The End of Innocence	Mrs. Yabledablov
1993	Dennis the Menace	Edith Butterwell
1995	Jury Duty	Rose

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1958	Letter to Loretta	Mrs. Shubb	1 episode
1971	Adam-12	Winnie Goodrich	1 episode
1973	Gunsmoke	Old Woman	1 episode
1974	Apple's Way	Lillian	1 episode
1976– 1977	The Waltons	Mrs. Cox Shirley	2 episodes
1982	House Calls		1 episode
1982	It Takes Two	Mama	22 episodes
1983	Goodnight, Beantown		1 episode
1984– 1986	Benson	Mrs. Rose Cassidy	Series Regular: Season 7
1984	Newhart	Ella	1 episode
1984	Happy Days	Mother Kelp (Marion Cunningham's Mother)	2 episodes??
1984	Three's A Crowd	Aunt Mae (Jack Tripper's Aunt)	1 episode
1985	Remington Steele	Anna Dix	1 episode
1986	Hardcastle and McCormick	Mimi LeGrand	1 episode
1986– 1987	Silver Spoons	Mildred	2 episodes
1987	Max Headroom	Florence	1 episode
1987	Cheers	Lillian Miller	1 episode
1988– 1992	Dear John	Margie Philbert	90 episodes
1988	Hunter	Marie Watson	1 episode
1992	Murphy Brown	Ruthie	1 episode
1993	The Wonder Years	Woman	2 episodes
1997	George & Leo		1 episode