Classic Film Club

MARGARET HAMILTON

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton (1939)

Biography

BIO

Margaret Hamilton was born Margaret Brainard Hamilton in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1902, the youngest of four children.

Hamilton began her career as a school teacher and supported herself part-time while looking for acting work.   She made her Broadway debut in 1932, at the age of 30, and appeared in 11 productions through 1969, including a starring role in the short-lived Fancy Meeting You Again (1952).

She made her film debut reprising a role she originated on Broadway for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933.

Hamilton, who played the Witch in The Wizard Of Oz (1939), was seriously injured with second and third-degree burns during filming and spent six weeks recuperating before she could return to the set.

Although she took mostly television roles beginning in the 1950s, she appeared in more than 65 feature films during her career.   Her last picture was released in 1971.

Hamilton married Paul Meserve in 1931.   The couple had one child and divorced in 1938.

Hamilton died of a heart attack in Salisbury, Connecticut, in 1985.  She was 82 years old.


Other Pictures

Margaret Hamilton
  • (Margaret Hamilton)

Films

NOTED FILMS

A Slight Case of Murder

A Slight Case of Murder
  • A Slight Case of Murder
  • 1938
  • It’s the end of Prohibition and a gang leader decides to become legitimate and open a brewery.   Edward G. Robinson stars.

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • 1939
  • A girl from Kansas is konked on the head and comes to in a strange land. She then begins an adventure to find the great wizard and ask him to help her return home.

Babes in Arms

Babes in Arms
  • Babes in Arms
  • 1939
  • Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland star as children of vaudeville entertainers who strive to put on their own show.

The Ox-Box Incident

The Ox-Box Incident
  • The Ox-Box Incident
  • 1943
  • A half-cocked posse heads off to find a murderer and cattle-rustler. Henry Fonda stars as one of the reluctant posse members.

People Will Talk

People Will Talk
  • People Will Talk
  • 1951
  • A professor of anatomy comes under academic scrutiny as having once been a known as a “healer”.   In the meantime, he treats a student who becomes despondent after finding out she’s both pregnant and in love with her doctor.   Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain star.
Complete filmography at: