She is credited 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 often was cast by director
John Hughes and appeared in many of his 1980 and 1990s films, such as
Sixteen Candles (1984),
Home Alone (1990), and
Dennis the Menace (1993), 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 (1987) and Mrs. Stanwyck in
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989). 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
The Waltons,
Eight Is Enough,
Happy Days,
Silver Spoons,
Ironside,
The Facts of Life, ''
Who's the Boss?, Knots Landing, and The Wonder Years. She was also a regular cast member on the sitcoms It Takes Two in 1982, Benson from 1984 to 1986, and in 1988 Dear John starring Judd Hirsch. Her last acting role was a brief appearance in 1997 on an episode of the sitcom George and Leo'', which starred
Bob Newhart and Bird's former co-star, Hirsch. Bird entertained troops in Vietnam with her own variety act, "Flying High With Billie Bird." For her efforts, she was one of the few women to ever be made an honorary member of the Green Berets. ==Death==