What You Didn't Know About the Wicked Witch of the West

Photo courtesy of the Bucks County Playhouse website.

Oh, that nose, that green skin, that voice, that cackle. No matter how many times I’ve seen The Wizard of Oz, I still get a chuckle and a chill over one of the most famous screen villainesses of all time – The Wicked Witch of the West, as played by Margaret Hamilton. But as someone who champions underrated actors, I couldn’t help but wonder – particularly as Halloween approaches – what Ms. Hamilton was like in real life. My guess was that off screen she was anything but a witch. And so I offer up a tribute full of unknown tidbits about one of Hollywood’s most recognized but perhaps underappreciated character actors.

Hamilton was born in 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio. She was drawn to acting as a child and made her theater debut in 1923. Her personal life, remarkably, had much in common with many women today: in 1931 she married only to divorce her husband seven years later – a time when ending a marriage was not encouraged or very common – and raise their only child, a son, as a single mother. Hamilton was soon offered the role of the Witch when the original actress (a rather vain Gale Sondergaard) refused to wear makeup that would make her ugly. Hamilton commanded $1,000 a week for the part - big moolah for pre-WWII Hollywood standards. Her most celebrated film role couldn’t have been more ironic. She was a kindergarten teacher before she got into acting, and loved children her whole life, often donating to charitable causes on their behalf. While filming The Wizard of Oz, she became very concerned about the effect the role would have on children, and even appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as herself in 1968 to explain to young viewers that she was simply playing a part in makeup and not herself. The movie also proved to be her most dangerous role when Hamilton was badly burned during one of the “special effects” sequences when the witch disappears in Munchkinland. Hamilton had to take six weeks off to recover and refused to have anything to do with fire when she returned to the set.

In creating one of movie history’s most memorable villains, she was stereotyped by playing spinsters and nosy neighbors in later TV roles with unsavory character names such as Mrs. Klopplebobber, Miss Pownthleroy, and Hester Frump. During the 70s, she appeared in several commercials for Folger’s Coffee as the feisty storekeeper Cora who declares, "It's the only brand I sell!"

And your little dog, too? She also adored animals and, according to the Internet Movie Database, appeared in public announcement commercials with her cat, educating viewers on the importance of spaying and neutering her pets.

She passed away in 1985 from a heart attack and up until her dying day, children recognized her. She also welcomed visiting fans into her New York City apartment.

All of which adds up to rather un-witch-like behavior in my book. So here's to you, Margaret Hamilton. To quote Frank Sinatra, there's no nicer witch than you.