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A photo of Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton 1902 - 1985

Margaret Hamilton of Millbrook, Dutchess County, NY was born on December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio United States. She was married to Paul Boynton Meserve on June 13, 1931 and they later divorced on May 20, 1938. She had a child Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve. Margaret Hamilton died at age 82 years old on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Litchfield County, CT, and was buried on April 19, 1985 at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery 342 South Ave, in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, NY.
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Brainard (Hamilton)
Millbrook, Dutchess County, NY 12545
December 9, 1902
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States
May 16, 1985
Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States
Female
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Margaret Hamilton's History: 1902 - 1985

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  • Introduction

    Margaret Hamilton Margaret Brainard Hamilton December 9, 1902 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Died May 16, 1985 (aged 82) Salisbury, Connecticut, U.S. Was an American film character actress best known for her portrayal of Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's classic film The Wizard of Oz (1939). A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She was born to Walter J. Hamilton, and his wife, Mary Jane (née Adams; known by her nickname, Jennie), in Cleveland, Ohio, and was the youngest of four children. Drawn to the theater at an early age, Hamilton made her stage debut in 1923. Hamilton also practiced her craft doing children's theater while she was a Junior League of Cleveland member. Before she turned to acting exclusively, her parents insisted that she attend Wheelock College in Boston. Hamilton's looks helped to bring steady work as a character actor. She made her screen debut in 1933 in Another Language. She went on to appear in These Three (1936), Saratoga, You Only Live Once, When's Your Birthday?, Nothing Sacred (all 1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), My Little Chickadee (with W. C. Fields, 1940), and The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (with Harold Lloyd, (1947). She strove to work as much as possible to support herself and her son; she never put herself under contract to any one studio and priced her services at $1,000 ($17,100 with inflation a week Hamilton costarred opposite Buster Keaton and Richard Cromwell in a 1940s spoof of the long-running local melodrama The Drunkard, titled The Villain Still Pursued Her. Later in the decade, she was in a little-known film noir, titled Bungalow 13 (1948), in which she again costarred opposite Cromwell. 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. Opposite Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, she played a heavily made-up witch in Comin' Round the Mountain, where her character and Costello go toe-to-toe with voodoo dolls made of each other. She appeared, uncredited, in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's People Will Talk (1951) as Sarah Pickett. In 1960, producer/director William Castle cast Hamilton as a housekeeper in his 13 Ghosts horror film, in which 12-year-old lead Charles Herbert taunts her about being a witch, including one scene in which she is holding a broom in her hand. The Wizard of Oz Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West with Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939) In 1939, Hamilton played the role of the Wicked Witch, opposite Judy Garland's Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, creating not only her most famous role, but also one of the screen's most memorable villains. Hamilton was cast after Gale Sondergaard, who was first considered for the role, albeit as a more glamorous witch with a musical scene, declined the role when the decision was made that the witch should appear ugly. She suffered a second-degree burn on her face and a third-degree burn on her hand during a second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland, in which the trap door's drop was delayed to eliminate the brief glimpse of it seen in the final edit. 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 film, and refused to have anything further to do with fire for the rest of the filming. After she recuperated, she said, "I won't sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition — no more fireworks!" Garland visited Hamilton while the latter recuperated at home looking after her son. Studio executives cut some of Hamilton's more frightening scenes, worrying that they would frighten children too much. Later on in life, she would comment on the role of the witch in a light-hearted fashion. For an interview, she joked: I was in need of money at the time, I had done about six pictures for MGM at the time and my agent called. I said, 'Yes?' and he said 'Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.' I said to myself, 'Oh, boy, The Wizard of Oz! That has been my favorite book since I was four.' And I asked him what part, and he said, 'The Witch,' and I said, 'The Witch?!' and he said, 'What else?' When asked about her experiences on the set of The Wizard of Oz, Hamilton said that her biggest fear was that her monstrous film role would give children the wrong idea of who she really was. In reality, she cared deeply about children, frequently giving to charitable organizations. She often remarked about children coming up to her and asking her why she had been so mean to Dorothy. She appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1975, where she explained to children that she was only playing a role and showed how putting on a costume "transformed" her into the witch. Only co-star Frank Morgan played more roles in the film (five roles). Hamilton and Morgan never share any scenes in Oz. However, in By Your Leave (1934), she plays his housekeeper, and in Saratoga (1937), she has a colloquy with Morgan regarding a cosmetic product he invented (with side glances and eye rolls by Morgan as to its effect on her "beauty"). Hamilton's line from The Wizard of Oz — "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" — was ranked 99th in the 2005 American Film Institute survey of the most memorable movie quotes. Her son, interviewed for the 2005 DVD edition of the film, commented that Hamilton enjoyed the line so much, she sometimes used it in her real life. A few months after filming Oz, she appeared in Babes in Arms (1939) as Jeff Steele's mother, Martha, a society do-gooder who made it her goal to send the gang of child actors, led by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, to a work farm. In 1945, she played the domineering sister of Oz co-star Jack Haley in George White's Scandals, comically trying to prevent him from marrying actress Joan Davis, even going so far as to throw a hatchet at her. Hamilton and Ray Bolger were cast members in the 1966 fantasy film The Daydreamer, a collection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen. A few years later, they were reunited on Broadway for the short-lived musical Come Summer. Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger, and Jack Haley reunited in 1970, a year after the death of co-star Judy Garland. Hamilton with Oscar the Grouch on episode #0847 of Sesame Street, 1976 In the 1940s and 1950s, Hamilton had a long-running role on the radio series Ethel and Albert (or The Couple Next Door) in which she played the lovable, scattered Aunt Eva (name later changed to Aunt Effie). During the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton appeared regularly on television. She did a stint as a What's My Line? mystery guest on the popular Sunday night CBS-TV program. She played Morticia Addams' mother, Hester Frump, in three episodes of The Addams Family. (1965–66; Hamilton had been offered the role of Grandmama, but turned it down.) She appeared as herself in three episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, between 1975 and 1976, because Fred Rogers wanted his viewers to recognize that the Wicked Witch was just a character and not something for them to be afraid of. Hamilton continued acting regularly until 1982, her last roles were two guest appearances as veteran journalist Thea Taft (in 1979 and 1982) on Lou Grant. Hamilton as Madame Armfeldt in the national tour of A Little Night Music (1974) Hamilton produced the stage productions An Evening with the Bourgeoisie, The Three Sisters, and House Party.[where?][when?][14] Hamilton remained a lifelong friend of The Wizard of Oz cast mate Ray Bolger. She married Paul Boynton Meserve on June 13, 1931, and made her debut on the New York City stage the following year. While her acting career developed, her marriage began to fail; the couple divorced in 1938. They had one son, Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve (born 1936), whom she raised on her own. She had three grandchildren, Christopher, Scott, and Margaret. She lived in Manhattan for most of her adult life. She later moved to Millbrook, New York. She died in her sleep following a heart attack on May 16, 1985, in Salisbury, Connecticut. She was 82 years old. Her body was cremated at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, and her ashes were scattered at Amenia, New York.
  • 12/9
    1902

    Birthday

    December 9, 1902
    Birthdate
    Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio United States
    Birthplace
  • Religious Beliefs

    Zoo in Budapest (1933) as Assistant Matron for orphans (uncredited) Another Language (1933) as Helen Hallam Hat, Coat, and Glove (1934) as Madame Du Barry There's Always Tomorrow (1934) as Ella By Your Leave (1934) as Whiffen Broadway Bill (1934) as Edna The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) as Lucy Gurget Way Down East (1935) as Martha Perkins Chatterbox (1936) as Emily 'Tippie' Tipton These Three (1936) as Agatha The Moon's Our Home (1936) as Mitty Simpson The Witness Chair (1936) as Grace Franklin Laughing at Trouble (1936) as Lizzie Beadle You Only Live Once (1937) as Hester When's Your Birthday? (1937) as Mossy The Good Old Soak (1937) as Minnie Mountain Justice (1937) as Phoebe Lamb Saratoga (1937) as Maizie (uncredited) I'll Take Romance (1937) as Margot Nothing Sacred (1937) as Vermont Drugstore Lady The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) as Mrs. Harper A Slight Case of Murder (1938) as Mrs. Cagle Mother Carey's Chickens (1938) as Mrs. Pauline Fuller Four's a Crowd (1938) as Amy Breaking the Ice (1938) as Mrs. Small Stablemates (1938) as Beulah Flanders The Wizard of Oz (1939) as Miss Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) as Miss Hannaberry Babes in Arms (1939) as Martha Steele Main Street Lawyer (1939) as Lucy, Boggs' Housekeeper My Little Chickadee (1940) as Mrs. Gideon The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940) as Mrs. Wilson I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940) as Mrs. Thriffie The Invisible Woman (1940) as Mrs. Jackson Play Girl (1941) as Josie The Gay Vagabond (1941) as Agatha Badger Twin Beds (1942) as Norah Meet the Stewarts (1942) as Willametta The Affairs of Martha (1942) as Guinevere City Without Men (1943) as Dora The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Mrs. Larch (uncredited) Johnny Come Lately (1943) as Myrtle Ferguson Guest in the House (1944) as Hilda - the Maid George White's Scandals (1945) as Clarabelle Evans Janie Gets Married (1946) as Mrs. Angles Faithful in My Fashion (1946) as Miss Applegate The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) as Flora Dishonored Lady (1947) as Mrs. Geiger Pet Peeves (1947 short) as Haughty Woman (uncredited) Driftwood (1947) as Essie Keenan Reaching from Heaven (1948) as Sophie Manley State of the Union (1948) as Norah Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948) as Ruby Cheever Bungalow 13 (1948) as Mrs. Theresa Appleby The Sun Comes Up (1949) as Mrs. Golightly The Red Pony (1949) as Teacher The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949) as Mrs. Elvira O'Toole (uncredited) The Great Plane Robbery (1950) as Mrs. Judd Wabash Avenue (1950) as Tillie Hutch Riding High (1950) as Edna Comin' Round the Mountain (1951) as Aunt Huddy People Will Talk (1951) as Miss Sarah Pickett - Housekeeper (uncredited) A String of Blue Beads (1953 TV movie) as Mrs. Loomis The Devil's Disciple (1955 TV movie) as Mrs. Dudgeon On Borrowed Time (1957 TV movie) as Demetria Riffle The Christmas Tree (1958 TV movie) as Miss Finch Once Upon a Christmas Time (1959 TV movie) as Miss Scugg The Secret World of Eddie Hodges (1960 TV movie) as Mrs. Grundy 13 Ghosts (1960) as Elaine Zacharides The Good Years (1962) as Narrator Paradise Alley (1962) as Mrs. Nicholson The Daydreamer (1966) as Mrs. Klopplebobbler Ghostbreakers (1967 TV movie) as Ivy Rumson Rosie! (1967) as Mae Angel in My Pocket (1969) as Rhoda Brewster McCloud (1970) as Daphne Heap Is There a Doctor in the House (1971 TV movie) as Emma Proctor The Anderson Tapes (1971) as Miss Kaler Journey Back to Oz (1972) as Aunt Em (voice) The Night Strangler (1973 TV movie) as Prof. Crabwell Letters from Frank (1979 TV movie) as Grandma Miller Pardon Me For Living (1982 TV movie) as Miss Holderness
  • Professional Career

    Partial television appearances The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (cast member, 1953–54) Valiant Lady (cast member, 1955) Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960) as Lizzie Allen in The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart Laramie (Beyond Justice, November 27, 1962) Car 54, Where Are You? (1963), as Miss Pownthleroy The Patty Duke Show (1963), as The Lane Family housekeeper The Addams Family (1965–66), as Hester Frump The Secret Storm (cast member, 1964–67) As the World Turns (cast member, 1971) Sesame Street (1970s) Gunsmoke (1973), as Edsel Pry in "A Quiet Day in Dodge" The Night Strangler (TV movie - 1973), as Prof. Crabwell Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973) The Partridge Family (1974), as Clara Kincaid Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (4 episodes, 1975–76) The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976) Lou Grant (2 guest appearances in 1979 and 1982), as Thea Taft References
  • Personal Life & Family

    Celebrity, Famous, Actress Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939) said that whenever she saw the scene in the film where 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 got teary-eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous".
  • 05/16
    1985

    Death

    May 16, 1985
    Death date
    Unknown
    Cause of death
    Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut United States
    Death location
  • 04/19
    1985

    Gravesite & Burial

    April 19, 1985
    Funeral date
    Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery 342 South Ave, in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York 12601, United States
    Burial location
  • Obituary

    Margaret Hamilton, the actress whose role as the cackling Wicked Witch of the West in ''The Wizard of Oz'' unnerved generations of children, died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack, at a nursing home in Salisbury, Conn. She was 82 years old. Miss Hamilton was a gentle, lively woman who taught kindergarten for years before she began a career of 50 years in the theater, movies, radio, and television. But she seared a fearsome image on the public consciousness in 1939 when, at the age of 36, she played the Wicked Witch, the terror of Judy Garland's long dream in the classic film of L. Frank Baum's story. With a saber-like nose, arrowhead chin, and a withering scowl, Miss Hamilton persuaded the young that Dorothy would never return home to Kansas by uttering lines like: ''Now you beauties. Something with poison in it. Heh! Heh! Heh!'' Her screeching laugh sent shivers up the spines of the children who filled the movie theaters and those of later generations who saw the movie replayed almost annually as a television holiday special. ''She was always afraid of the impact it had on kids,'' her son, Hamilton Meserve, the publisher of a chain of newspapers in Dutchess County, said yesterday. ''She was constantly trying to reassure children that this was make-believe.'' Taught Kindergarten Miss Hamilton was born in Cleveland in 1902, the daughter of a prominent lawyer. She wanted to be an actress, but her parents insisted she learn a profession by which she could support herself. She was teaching kindergarten at the Rye (N.Y.) Country Day School when she helped a friend audition for a part in the 1932 Broadway play ''Another Language'' and won for herself the part of Helen Hallam, a waspish wife. A surprise hit, the play was made into a movie and became Miss Hamilton's ticket to Hollywood. In character roles in more than 70 films, she found herself playing a succession of stern spinsters, prim Yankee aunts or other unpleasant women. She played, among other movie roles, a prudish busybody who detested Mae West in ''My Little Chickadee'' (1940); a reproving spinster in ''George White's Scandals'' (1945); a political boss's maid in Frank Capra's ''State of the Union'' (1948) and an ill-tempered dowager in ''Brewster McCloud'' (1970). She frequently interrupted her film career to take roles in repertory and regional theater and played in the Lincoln Center productions of ''Showboat'' and ''Oklahoma.'' For 51 weeks during the mid-1970s, she played Mme. Armfeldt in the touring company of ''A Little Night Music.'' She also had running parts in television series such as The Egg and I, Ethel and Albert, and two soap operas. And she was known to viewers of television commercials as Cora, the New England storekeeper who sells only Maxwell House coffee. Miss Hamilton remained active with children, founding a kindergarten in a Beverly Hills church and serving as president of that community's board of education. In addition to her son, she is survived by three grandchildren. Services will be private, and a memorial service will be held later.
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21 Memories, Stories & Photos about Margaret

Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Nice portrait.
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Margaret Hamilton and Beulah Bondi
Margaret Hamilton and Beulah Bondi
Two movie stars.
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This was posted.
Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, said that whenever she saw the scene where 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 got teary-eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous."
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Margaret Hamilton with her son Hamilton and his wife Helen.
Margaret Hamilton with her son Hamilton and his wife Helen.
Family get together by the sea.
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Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton.
Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton.
A photo of Ray Bolger with Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton.
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I got on the Long Island railroad on the way to do a gig as a Handwriting Analyst and sitting directly across from Margaret Hamilton who loved having HER handwriting analyzed and we had a very enjoyable train trip!
I met Ray Bolger several times and he was just a wonderful man.
Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan
Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan
Not the Wizard of Oz: Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939) said that whenever she saw the scene in the film where 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 got teary-eyed, because "Frank Morgan was just like that in real life - very generous".
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Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
A photo of Margaret Hamilton
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Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
A photo of Margaret Hamilton
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Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
A photo of Margaret Hamilton
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Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
A photo of Margaret Hamilton
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Margaret Hamilton's Family Tree & Friends

Margaret Hamilton's Family Tree

Parent
Parent
Partner
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Sibling
Marriage

Paul Boynton Meserve

&

Margaret Hamilton

June 13, 1931
Marriage date
May 20, 1938
Divorce date
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Friendships

Margaret's Friends

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