by Barry Goodrich
The wicked & wonderful legacy of
MARGARET HAMILTON he irony was never lost on Margaret Hamilton, a former kindergarten teacher who became the biggest female villain in the history of the movies. The woman who adored children ended up creating a character that scared them nearly to death. On August 25, 1939, MGM released The Wizard of Oz, the screen adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s cherished story. Today, the film that made little impact 75 years ago is now an American classic, in great part because of the role played by the Cleveland-born Hamilton. A member of the 1921 class of Hathaway Brown, Hamilton had prepared herself for a career as a teacher but her love of the stage took her in a different direction, one that would lead to appearances in more than 70 films during a 50-year-career. But it would be one iconic role that guaranteed her legendary status. A character seared into the consciousness of anyone who has ever heard that distinctive cackle that could only belong to the Wicked Witch of the West. “It’s a great character role and she played it to the hilt,” said Hamilton’s son, Hamilton Meserve, calling from his home in Maine. “It scares the bejesus out of you and it’s embedded in your mind.” Meserve, a retired banker who is now a county commissioner, remembers his mother worrying that her portrayal of the witch would frighten youngsters. “She was very concerned about the effect it had on small children,” he says. “She was very aware of Above: Photo courtesy of Hamilton Meserve; Below: The Wizard of Oz, courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
say `I’m a nice lady’ and that the witch was `all make-believe.’”
While filming a second take of the scene in which the witch disappears in flames and smoke, Hamilton’s face was badly burned and she would not return to the set for six weeks. “I was led into her bedroom by my nanny and I said, `Mommy has a funny costume on.’ She was wrapped up like a mummy with only one eye showing,” Meserve recalls. Hamilton was born in Cleveland and lived in a Victorian home on Euclid Avenue. Her father was a successful lawyer and her grandfather a judge. “She came from a socially prominent family, a family where young ladies did not go on the stage,” says Meserve. “She had one foot in the entertainment world and one foot in the social world. I love to tell the story of her going to Hollywood for the first time with two letters of introduction – one from her agent and one from the Junior League.”
That break came in 1932 when she appeared in the Broadway show Another Language. She recreated her role for the film version of the play, embarking on a career that would see her work for directors such as Busby Berkeley, Frank Capra, and Robert Altman and alongside actors such as W.C. Fields, Mae West, and, of course, Judy Garland. Unlike most other actors, Hamilton never signed with a studio, choosing instead to work for $1,000 per week. For her Wizard of Oz roles of Almira Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West, Hamilton earned approximately $23,000 for four months of work. “Beverly Hills was an absolute paradise for a child in those days,” remembers Meserve. “I was one happy kid. My mother was multifaceted; she was a member of the PTA, a Den Mother, a member of the Beverly Hills Board of Education and a union leader. Within the business, she was very respected, continued on page 12.
No Place Like Home The 1921 Hathaway Brown Specularia offers a snapshot of the early life of an iconic American actress
Margaret Hamilton, or “Ham” as she was affectionately called by her Hathaway Brown classmates, served as the fourthquarter school vice president in her graduation year of 1921. The quote next to her senior class picture in the Specularia describes her thusly: “She’s quiet enough except when she’s making a noise.” Other yearbook references to Hamilton give glimpses into the type of actress she would become. In one section of the book, it’s noted that she was clever young woman with a unique voice whose favorite expression was “Golly!” During her senior year, she acted in a production of Pomander Walk, a play by Englishman Louis N. Parker set in the days of George III. According to an account by two of her classmates, “the part of Sir Peter Antrobus was admirably played by Margaret Hamilton; she entirely forgot herself and for two hours lived the part of the old admiral. … One of the most remarkable features of the play was the evident enjoyment all the players derived from their make-believes. Clearly some guiding genius had told them how to live their parts – not just act them.”
HB
His mother did not want him to see the movie until he was 9, but Meserve was 6 when he “snuck in to see the melting scene” at a friend’s birthday party. “I just wanted to know what she was doing with all those soldiers,” he says.
Hamilton attended Hathaway Brown when the school was located at 1945 East 93rd Street. She went on to spend several years at the Cleveland Play House, where she would return years later to perform. “That’s where she “She was very aware of learned all of her the impact it had on kids. dramatic skills,” Time and again she would says Meserve. “Then literally get down on she pounded the pavement until she her knees and have kids touch her face. She would got her break.”
Photo: 1921 Specularia
the impact it had on kids. Time and again she would literally get down on her knees and have kids touch her face. She would say `I’m a nice lady’ and that the witch was `all make-believe.’”
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Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Off To See The Wizard This fall, Upper School students will be performing The Wizard of Oz in The Ahuja Auditorium at Hathaway Brown, the alma mater of Margaret Hamilton ’21, who immortalized the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939.
what they call an actor’s actor. I would come home and literally trip over the bodies on the floor of all the actors she had taken in.”
You can catch the classic musical on the HB stage on Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, November 16, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults; $6 for students and seniors. Contact Theatre Director Molly Cornwell at mcornwell@hb.edu or 216.320.8796 ext. 7125 for more info, or visit www.hb.edu/tickets to reserve your seats.
Hamilton would go on to appear in a multitude of films and on television shows such as Patty Duke and The Addams Family in addition to playing the role of Cora, a spokesperson for Maxwell House coffee. But her greatest fame came as the witch whose evil laughter once blew out the sound equipment circuits on the set of The Wizard of Oz. “When it was shown on TV in the 1960s is when the legend starts,” says Meserve. “It didn’t really become popular until the kids could handle it and the parents began to see the virtue of the film. Then it was handed down from generation to generation. When Andy Warhol included Wicked Witch screen prints in his work, that sort of cemented the character.” Hamilton passed away in 1985 at the age of 82. “She was very gracious with fans and was always dressed to the nines,” says Meserve. “She signed stacks of photos right up until she died. She would always sign WWW for Wicked Witch of the West.” During an appearance on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Hamilton said of the witch “She does enjoy everything that she does. Whether it’s good or bad, she enjoys it.” And generations of fans continue to enjoy the work of Margaret Hamilton. The 75th anniversary Blu-ray edition of The Wizard of Oz is available from Warner Home Video on October 1, 2014.
Margaret Hamilton ’21 with her son, Hamilton Meserve, and grandson, Chris, in Seoul, Korea in 1967.