Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton could also refer to a local politician in the United Kingdom.
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Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz (1939) |
Margaret Hamilton (
December 9,
1902 –
May 16,
1985) was an
American film actress.
Born in
Cleveland, Ohio, Hamilton was a
schoolteacher who turned to acting, making her screen debut in
1933 in
Zoo in Budapest. She appeared in such films as
These Three (
1936),
Saratoga,
You Only Live Once and
Nothing Sacred (all
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.
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 during the remaining 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.
Robert Altman's
Brewster McCloud, a film about flying, pays homage to her wicked witch character: in the film, Margaret Hamilton plays a wealthy woman who is crushed by a large birdhouse. Suitably, her legs are all that remain, sticking out from the house.
Hamilton was married briefly in the
1930s and had one son, whom she raised on her own.
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.
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 (novel), 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.
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A Tribute to My Favorite Oz Character*
Margaret Hamilton at Classic TV Clips from her later television work, and some Wizard of Oz bloopers.
