Margaret Hamilton was born on December 9, 1902 in Cleveland,
Ohio. Hamilton passed away on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut
from a heart attack.
Margaret Hamilton's nickname was Maggie.
She was also known for Often signed her autographs with the
notation of WWW (Wicked Witch of the West). It is ironic that
Margaret's performance as the Wicked Witch of the West in
THE WIZARD OF OZ was so scary to children, because her first
job was as a kindergarten teacher. She loved and doted upon
children all her life. Hamilton Gave her most noted recollection
of her role in The Wizard OF OZ by writing the Preface to
the book The Making of The Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz.
Margaret's legendary role as the Wicked Witch of the West
was ranked #4 on the American Film Institute's villains list
of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.
In 1974 Hamilton also provided the voice of Aunt Em in the
animated JOURNEY BACK TO OZ. Margaret enjoyed a lengthy show-business
career that included Broadway, summer stock, community theater,
radio, and TV in addition to her dozens of movie appearances.
In later years Margaret was a familiar face on TV as "Cora,"
promoting Maxwell House coffee in a long-running series of
commercials. Hamilton nearly quit THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
after a December 1938 accident in which she was severely burned
during the appearing/disappearing scene in Munchkinland. She
was off the film for more than a month.
Margaret Hamilton's other notable credits include...
JOURNEY BACK TO OZ (1974)
THE ANDERSON TAPES (1971)
ANGEL IN MY POCKET (1969)
13 GHOSTS (1960)
PEOPLE WILL TALK (1951)
DRIFTWOOD (1947)
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937)
THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW (1934)
