Original Glinda actress Billie Burke reportedly had relationship with out lesbian director Dorothy Arzner

As if the Wicked and The Wizard of Oz lore couldn’t get any queerer, fans of the films have just learnt that the original Glinda The Good Witch actress Billie Burke reportedly had a relationship with lesbian director, Dorothy Arzner.

Long-time fans of the Wicked stage show are well aware of the story’s queer undertones, particularly when it comes to the idea of a Elphaba and Glinda romance. The chemistry between the frenemies is so abundant that they even have their own ship name: Gelphie.

But with Jon M Chu’s mega musical adaptation still dominating box offices, the queer mythology in Wicked – and in turn, The Wizard of Oz – has found a whole new audience.

Now, Wicked fans have just discovered that American actress Billie Burke, who played Glinda the Good Witch of the North alongside Judy Garland’s Dorothy in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, reportedly had a queer romance.

Though Burke was married to theatre impresario and producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. for almost 20 years, he died of pleurisy in 1932 at the age of 65.

Burke continued her acting career, starring on Broadway, in radio shows and in a string of silent films, before eventually starring in romantic drama Christopher Strong in 1933. 

Christopher Strong, led by Hollywood heavyweight Katharine Hepburn in her second movie role, was directed by filmmaker Dorothy Arzner who, despite same-sex activity being illegal in the US at the time, was an out lesbian.

Arzner was in a relationship with famous choreographer and screenwriter Marion Morgan for almost 50 years, up until Morgan’s death in 1971.

During that time though, Arzner is rumoured to have had a lesbian romance with Billie Burke and, by 1936, the pair were living together.

Though never confirmed, Arzner was also rumoured to have relationships with her Christopher Strong lead Hepburn, and acting legend Joan Crawford.

Wicked fans began digging around for more information about OG Glinda Billie Burke after Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in Chu’s new adaptation, was gifted with Glinda’s original wand from the 1939 Wizard of Oz film during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Grande herself has previously hinted that Glinda “might be a little” queer, while Glinda of Oz – one of the original Oz books written by The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum – seems to suggest that Glinda could well be a sapphic sorceress. 

A line from the novel, which was published in 1920, the year after Baum died, reads: “Glinda, the good sorceress of Oz, sat in the grand court of her palace, surrounded by her maids of honour, a hundred of the most beautiful girls of the fairyland of Oz.”

Away from the original text, Chu’s Wicked is led by a very queer cast indeed, with Elphaba actress Cynthia Erivo, Fiyero actor Jonathan Bailey, and Nessarose star Marissa Bode all being part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James, who play Glinda’s besties Pfannee and ShenShen, also identify as queer.

Wicked was recently banned in Kuwait, with local media suggesting that the reason behind the ban was the film’s LGBTQ+ cast members.

Wicked is in cinemas now.

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