Margaret Hamilton

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Margaret Hamilton could also refer to a local politician in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz
Born	December 9, 1902 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	May 16, 1985 Salisbury, Connecticut
Notable roles	Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz

Margaret Hamilton (born December 9, 1902, Cleveland, Ohio - died May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut) was an American film actress best known for her portrayal of The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Trivia 3 Filmography 4 Television work 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Hamilton was a schoolteacher who turned to acting, making her screen debut in 1933 in Another Language. She appeared in such films as These Three (1936), Nothing Sacred (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), My Little Chickadee (1940), and State of the Union (1948). Prior to acting, Hamilton taught kindergarten at Rye Country Day School, in Rye, NY. Hamilton was married briefly in the 1930s and had one son, whom she raised on her own.

In 1939, she played the role of the Wicked Witch of the West opposite Judy Garland's Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and created not only her most famous role, but one of the screen's most memorable villains. Hamilton was chosen when the more traditionally attractive Gale Sondergaard refused to wear makeup designed to make her appear ugly. Hamilton suffered severe burns when the trapdoor elevator she was riding on the soundstage malfunctioned during the filming of her fiery exit from Munchkinland. Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident before returning to the set to complete her work on the now-classic film, and refused to have anything to do with fire for the rest of the filming. Whatever ill will she may have felt toward the role quickly disintegrated; later on in life she would comment on the role of the witch in a light-hearted fashion.

Hamilton's plain looks, in contrast to the stereotypical Hollywood glamour girl, helped to bring steady work as a character actress. Her general image was that of a New England spinster, extremely pragmatic and impatient with all manner of "tomfoolery". Her crisp voice with rapid but clear enunciation was another trademark. She appeared regularly in supporting roles in films until the early-1950s, and sporadically thereafter. She co-starred opposite Buster Keaton and Richard Cromwell, in 1940's forgettable spoof of the long-running local melodrama, The Drunkard, entitled The Villain Still Pursued Her. Later in the decade, she was in a now-forgotten film noir from one of the "poverty row" studios, entitled Bungalow 13 (1948), in which she again co-starred opposite Cromwell, though that film did nothing for either of their careers.

In 1960, producer/director William Castle cast her as the maid in his 13 Ghosts spookfest. Throughout the film she plays straight face to 12-year-old lead Charles Herbert's barbs about her being a witch, including one scene with broom in hand.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton appeared regularly on television. For example, she did a stint as one of the What's My Line? Mystery Guests on the popular Sunday Night CBS-TV program. She reprised the image of Almira Gulch from The Wizard of Oz for her role as Morticia Addams' mother Hester in The Addams Family. Years later, she had a small role in the made-for-TV film The Night Strangler (1973). She continued acting regularly until 1982. Her last role was a guest appearance as a veteran journalist on an episode of Lou Grant.

Hamilton was often asked about her experiences on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Hamilton said she sometimes worried about the effect that her monstrous film role had on children. In real life Hamilton dearly loved children and gave to charitable organizations benefitting them. She often remarked about children coming up to her and asking her why she had been so mean to poor Dorothy. She appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where she explained to children that she was only playing a role and showed how make-up transformed her into the witch.

Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud, a film about flying, pays homage to her wicked witch character: in the film, Hamilton plays a wealthy woman who is crushed by a large birdhouse. Suitably, her legs are all that remain, sticking out from the house.

Throughout the 1970s, Hamilton lived in New York City's Gramercy Park neighborhood and appeared on local (and some national) public service announcements for organizations promoting the welfare of companion animals. Her most visible appearances during this period were as general store owner Cora, in a national series of television commercials for Maxwell House coffee.

She eventually moved to Salisbury, Connecticut, and died there in 1985 from a heart attack at the age of 82.

[edit] Trivia

• Hamilton appeared at The Muny Theater in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, in several roles including reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West and also appearing in productions of Oklahoma! (as Aunt Eller) and Show Boat (as Parthy Ann Hawks).

• She reprised the role of Parthy Ann in Show Boat in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of the musical.

• Hamilton attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

• While Hamilton was a teacher in Cleveland, two of her students were William Windom and Jim Backus. Hamilton also taught Sunday School in the 1950s in addition to teaching Kindergarten at Rye Country Day School.

• Her most famous line from The Wizard of Oz, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" was voted as Number 99 in the 2005 AFI survey of the "100 Most Memorable Movie Quotes from 100 Years at the Movies."

• As revealed by her son on the 2005 DVD edition of the film, "Maggie" enjoyed that line so much that she used it often afterwards, in real life, when situations warranted.

• In Gregory Maguire's revisionist novel Wicked, the Witch is portrayed as being deeply concerned about the exploitation of animals in Oz. This is seen by some fans as a tribute to Hamilton, who was a member of Friends of Animals and did a series of PSAs for the Humane Society in the 1970s.

• Great aunt of Omaha Royals centerfielder Zack Vank.

• Her Grammercy Park apartment building also claimed James Cagney as one of its tenants.

[edit] Filmography

• Another Language (1933)
• Hat, Coat, and Glove (1934)
• There's Always Tomorrow (1934)
• By Your Leave (1934)
• Broadway Bill (1934)
• The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
• Way Down East (1935)
• Chatterbox (1936)
• These Three (1936)
• The Moon's Our Home (1936)
• The Witness Chair (1936)
• Laughing at Trouble (1936)
• You Only Live Once (1937)
• When's Your Birthday? (1937)
• The Good Old Soak (1937)
• Mountain Justice (1937)
• Saratoga (1937)
• I'll Take Romance (1937)
• Nothing Sacred (1937)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
• A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
• Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
• Four's a Crowd (1938)
• Breaking the Ice (1938)
• Stablemates (1938)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)
• Babes in Arms (1939)
• Main Street Lawyer (1939)
• My Little Chickadee (1940)
• The Villain Stil Persued Her (1940)
• I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940)
• The Invisible Woman (1940)
• Play Girl (1941)
• The Gay Vagabond (1941)
• Twin Beds (1942)
• Meet the Stewarts (1942)
• The Affairs of Martha (1942)
• Journey for Margaret (1942)
• City Without Men (1943)
• The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
• Johnny Come Lately (1943)
• Guest in the House (1944)
• George White's Scandals (1945)
• Janie Gets Married (1946)
• Faithful in My Fashion (1946)
• The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)
• Dishonored Lady (1947)
• Pet Peeves (1947) (short subject)
• Driftwood (1947)
• Reaching from Heaven (1948)
• State of the Union (1948)
• Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)
• Bungalow 13 (1948)
• The Sun Comes Up (1949)
• The Red Pony (1949)
• The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
• The Great Plane Robbery (1950)
• Wabash Avenue (1950)
• Riding High (1950)
• Comin' Round the Mountain (1951)
• People Will Talk (1951)
• 13 Ghosts (1960)
• Paradise Alley (1962)
• The Daydreamer (1966)
• Rosie! (1967)
• Angel in my Pocket (1969)
• Brewster McCloud (1970)
• The Anderson Tapes (1971)
• Journey Back to Oz (1974) (voice)

[edit] Television work

• The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (cast member from 1953-1954)
• The Way of the World (1955) (canceled after a few episodes)
• Valiant Lady (cast member in 1955)
• The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960)
• The Secret Storm (cast member from 1964-1967)
• Ghostbreakers (1967) (unsold pilot)
• As the World Turns (cast member in 1970)
• Is There a Doctor in the House (1971) (unsold pilot)
• The Night Strangler (1973)
• The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)(Guest Star as herself then the Wicked Witch of the West)
• Letters from Frank (1979)

[edit] External links

• Margaret Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
• A Tribute to My Favorite Oz Character
• Margaret Hamilton at Classic TV Clips from her later television work, and some Wizard of Oz bloopers.