"Wicked Witch of the West" Margaret Hamilton Interview (July 20, 1980)
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- Опубликовано: 1 фев 2023
- Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz.
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 appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education.
Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio and practiced her craft doing children's theater while she was a Junior League of Cleveland member. Hamilton made her debut as a "professional entertainer" on December 9, 1929, in a "program of 'heart rending songs'" in the Charles S. Brooks Theater at the Cleveland Play House.[2] Before she turned to acting exclusively, her parents insisted she attend Wheelock College in Boston, which she did, later becoming a kindergarten teacher.[3]
Film career[edit source]
Hamilton made her screen debut in the MGM film Another Language (1933) starring Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery. 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 ($18,800 with inflation[4]) a week.[5]
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's character taunts her about being a witch, including the final scene, in which she is holding a broom in her hand.
The Wizard of Oz[edit source]
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 of the West, 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.[6]
Hamilton's early experience as a teacher fueled a lifelong interest in educational issues. She served on the Beverly Hills Board of Education from 1948 to 1951 and was a Sunday school teacher during the 1950s. She lived in Manhattan for most of her adult life, and summered in a cottage on Cape Island, Southport, Maine.[18] In 1979, she was a guest speaker at a University of Connecticut children's literature class.[19] She later moved to Millbrook, New York. She subsequently developed Alzheimer's disease and died in her sleep following a heart attack on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut at the age of 82.[1] Her remains were cremated at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, and her ashes were scattered in Amenia, New York.[20]
Margaret Hamilton playing the Wicked Witch was just pure perfection. She will be missed
Such an iconic role. The image stays with you forever.
She's been missed since 1985.
I’m told she was a truly lovely human being. Loved kids too, and she was in fact a teacher once in her life. Apparently she deeply regretted playing the witch as many children reported being scared of her.
I met her. When I was a kid living in NYC. She was a sweetheart
I was scared but I learned to face that fear by watching the movie every year it came on TV .
A role that will live in fame forever.
She definitely played the #1 Wicked Witch ever. She’s unforgettable in that role, she did her job and scared the crap out of me as a kid. There’s never been a better witch to date on screen. It’s amazing that that film was shot in 1939 and it still holds up in 2023. My favourite movie and I still watch it every year. Thank-you Margaret Hamilton for this perfect portrayal.
#TheWizardOfOz
#MargaretHamilton
She sounds like a sweetheart
From the people who know her and the cast of the movies she was on, she was always a sweetheart and very nice to everyone
By all accounts Margaret was the exact polar opposite of her most famous character, a truly gentle woman.
She was also "Cora" from the Maxwell House Coffee(A.D.C.) commercials, I didn't make the connection until I saw an interview.
RIP Ms. Hamilton. Your gigantic performance is movie immortality.
NO-ONE delivers that part like her.
She’s so right about character acting. It really is the far more fun style. When I was in high school, I was in every single play each year and I NEVER WANTED the leading roles. I wanted the side-characters that got to scare the audience or make them laugh. I got to play Nick Bottom, The Cheshire Cat, Banquo, etc. They were always an absolute blast to play.
There was a lady who came to our elementary school during Halloween as the wicked witch in the 70's. I would see her years later right after graduating high school, she rented this old movie theater built during WWII and showed movies for cheap. She must have liked kids. She was super nice. I think her idol was the wicked witch.
No one else could have played that part except for her.
Her thing at the end! Too Funny and cute! :)
I love her!!! Especially that she was a teacher previously and she promoted literacy. 💚💚💚
One of the greatest lead villains ever in cinema.
From what I have read And heard over the years, Billie Burke Who played the good witch was actually very difficult to work with whereas Margaret Hamilton Who played the wicked witch was evidently very well liked on the set of the movie
She was great. I loved her. RIP
I love her role as the witch 💚
She was amazing on MR. Rogers
Im old now. She still scares me.
She needs to come back there's so many people who is in need of her autograph!
LOL She's been dead since 1985.
@@NYRNGR1Maybe she could be reanimated?
Umm 😳😳
Nobody could play a Witch like the great Margaret Hamilton!
No one has ever come close to her performance.
The witch melting absolutely terrified me as a child
I met Meinhardt Rabbe (the actor who played the Coroner Munchkin) in 2004 at a festival at the old Land of Oz Theme Park in NC. Dressed in his blue munchkin costume at the age of 89, he was kind enough to sing his famous line at my request.
🎶
As coroner, I must aver
I’ve thoroughly examined her,
and she’s not only merely dead,
She’s really most sincerely dead!”
🎶
Which is interesting since we don't hear his voice in the movie; you were blessed! I also got to meet Mr. Raabe when I basically lucked into an Oz convention; he was very frail by then, but he was kind and glad to be there.
She was also Granmama Frump in the "Addams Family"
Beautiful woman, they dont make them like this anymore1
RIP Margaret Hamilton [1902 - 1985]😭
Volume?
She played one hell of a Granny Frump.
She had initially been offered the role of Grandmama, but had to turn it down because she was doing so many other things. She was more than happy to turn up as Granny Frump more than once.
Fun Fact: She played Both wicked witches 💚🤢👠🧙♀️🖤
The West & The East 🤢🌪🧙♀️ C00L Huh?
Correct! The Witch who Dorothy sees in the cyclone was the WWE.
She was good 4 the part
Does the twelve minutes count the time she was the mean neighbor?
Almira Gulch. And I think it does.
You should be nice before somebody drops a house on you!