Margaret Hamilton

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Margaret Hamilton (born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland , Ohio , † May 16, 1985 in Salisbury , Connecticut ) was an American actress . She gained worldwide fame for her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the classic film The Wizard of Oz from 1939.

life and career

Margaret Hamilton was born in the US state of Connecticut, the youngest of Walter and Jennie Hamilton's four children. She attended Hathaway Brown School in Ohio . In 1923 she made her acting debut and worked as a director of children's drama groups, although during this time she was still working full-time as an educator in a kindergarten. In this job she also looked after the two future film actors William Windom and Jim Backus . Hamilton remained committed to working with children and also worked as a teacher in a Sunday school in the 1950s. When she finally turned full-time to acting, she made her film debut in 1933 on the side of Robert Montgomery in the drama Another Language . In the following years she often took on the role of the honest maiden with her distinctive appearance and developed into a popular supporting actress. She had better- known appearances in Those is Nothing Sacred Than Bored Pharmacist and in Saratoga , where her rather ugly figure recommends a beauty product to Frank Morgan . Margaret Hamilton rejected the usual studio contracts at the time and instead worked as a freelance actress.

By far her most famous film role, she embodied in the classic film The Wizard of Oz , where she played three roles: Miss Gulch, Dorothy's nasty neighbor in Kansas; the wicked witch of the east, who flies briefly past the window of Dorothy's house and is then killed by the latter; as well as her sister, the wicked witch of the west, who wants to avenge her sister's death on Dorothy. Originally, Gale Sondergaard wanted to play the witch, but she was dissatisfied with the unglamorous design of the role, so Hamilton got her chance. Margaret Hamilton suffered second-degree burns from a failed special effect while shooting the film and was only able to continue shooting after a six-week break. In the role of the wicked witch, Hamilton became a nightmare for many children, which the former educator, who actually liked children very much, always regretted. The American Film Institute ranked the Wicked Witch of the West 4th in their greatest villain, the highest position for a female villain. Margaret Hamilton often signed her autographs with the addition of WWW ("Wicked Witch of the West").

The Wizard of Oz gave Hamilton no major career boost, she continued to play only supporting roles. She was often used as an advertising figure for various purposes because of her popularity. In the 1950s and 1960s she appeared increasingly in television productions and radio broadcasts, but remained loyal to the cinema. She appeared as Granny Frump in three episodes of the series The Addams Family . She voiced Auntie Em in the animated film Journey Back to Oz . In 1976 she played the role of the Wicked Witch again in the American version of Sesame Street . Since there were complaints from parents, the episode was never repeated. Her last role was in the series Lou Grant .

She lived in New York near Gramercy Park for many years , and later moved to Millbrook , near New York. In 1931 she married Paul Meserve. The marriage ended in divorce in 1938. The couple had a son, Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve (* 1936). After their divorce, she did not remarry. She died of a heart attack in 1985.

Filmography (selection)

Awards
"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" ("I'll get you, my love. And your little dog too!")

Web links

Commons : Margaret Hamilton  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Hamilton, Margaret
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland , Ohio, United States
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1985
Place of death Salisbury , Connecticut, United States