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Job Actress * Schoolteacher
Years active 1933-1982
Top Roles Miss Hannaberry, Mrs. Small, Maizie, Miss Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West, Hilda, the Maid
Top Genres Drama, Comedy, Romance, Family, Musical, Crime
Top Topics Romance (Comic), Based on Play, Book-Based, Politics, Horses
Top Collaborators Irving Bacon, Frank Capra (Director), Charles Lane, Franklyn Farnum, Al Hill, Ann Doran, Walter Brennan, Clara Blandick
Also Born on December 9
Also Born in 1902
Also Born in Ohio
Also a Sagittarius

Margaret Hamilton Overview:

Legendary character actress, Margaret Hamilton, was born Margaret Brainard Hamilton on Dec 9, 1902 in Cleveland, OH. Hamilton appeared in over 120 film and television roles. Her best known films include The Wizard of Oz, in which she played the role for which she will always be remembered -- The Wicked Witch of the West -- one of the greatest screen villains of all time! Other notable roles include Granny Hester Frump on TV's The Addams Family, Margaret H. Witch on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood -- and Cora, The Maxwell House Lady!. Hamilton died at the age of 82 on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, CT and was cremated and her ashes scattered over her property in Amenia NY.

MINI BIO:

Beaky-nosed, beady-eyed Margaret Hamilton was unforgettable as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She remained very much a working actress into her late seventies, and in private life was an avid worker for charity. Died from a heart attack.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Illustrated Dictionary of Film Character Actors).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Hamilton was never nominated for an Academy Award.

Margaret Hamilton BlogHub Articles:

COUNTDOWN TO HITCHCOCK HALLOWEEN: Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West

Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West. By Lara Gabrielle Fowler In the days leading up to Halloween and to Backlots’ Hitchcock Halloween Blogathon, I will be profiling several spooky characters from classic film to get my readers in the mood for Halloween! The profiles will culmina... Read full article


Mini Tribute: Margaret Hamilton

Born December 9, 1902 Character Actress, Margaret Hamilton! Character Actress, Margaret Hamilton appeared in over 115 film/TV roles — and is most famously known for her iconic role as The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz!  I must confess, however, that I also remember her fondly a... Read full article


Classic Movie Legend Tribute: Margaret Hamilton

Happy Birthday to Classic Movie Legend Margaret Hamilton, born on December 9, 1902. ….. When you think Margaret Hamiliton it’s easy to picture a crotchety old woman with an icy stare and menacing disposition. I mean, she is the woman who portrayed The Wicked Witch of The West, one of the mos... Read full article


See More Margaret Hamilton Articles

Margaret Hamilton Quotes:

Buck Zorba: Elaine?
Elaine Zacharides: Yes Buck?
Buck Zorba: You really are a witch, aren't you?
Elaine Zacharides: Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies.
— From: 13 Ghosts

The Wicked Witch of the West: How about a little fire, Scarecrow?

The Wicked Witch of the West: All in good time, my little pretty, all in good time.

Miss Gulch: [stopping bicycle and getting off] Gale?
Uncle Henry Gale: Well, howdy, Miss Gulch.
Miss Gulch: [comes into the Gales' yard] I want to see you and your wife right away about Dorothy!
Uncle Henry Gale: Dorothy? Well, what has Dorothy done?
Miss Gulch: What she's done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!
Uncle Henry Gale: Oh! You mean she bit you?
Miss Gulch: No, her dog!
Uncle Henry Gale: Oh, she bit her dog, eh?
[Uncle Henry tries to shut the gate, but it hits her on the backside]
Miss Gulch: [exasperated] No!

The Wicked Witch of the West: I'll get you, my pretty... and your little dog, too!
See more quotes from Margaret Hamilton...
Margaret Hamilton Facts
She knew and accepted that she was not "conventionally glamorous". She often told the story that when her agent first called and told her MGM was interested in talking to her about a role in The Wizard of Oz (1939), she responded, "Oh, I loved reading those books to my kindergarten children. Which role?" Her agent replied: "The witch." Hamilton said: "The witch?" and the agent responded: "Yes, what else?".

Had one son, Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve, on June 12, 1936.

Under her married name of Margaret Meserve, she served on the Beverly Hills Board of Education from 1948 to 1951.

She was the kindergarten teacher of five-year-old William Windom, until she threw him out for rambunctious behavior. Another of her students was Jim Backus.

She said that when sees the scene in The Wizard of Oz (1939) when Frank Morgan as the Wizard is giving Dorothy's friends gifts from his "black bag" (a diploma for the Scarecrow, a ticking heart for the Tin Man, and a medal for the Cowardly Lion), she gets teary eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous".

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