Are You A Good Witch, Or A Bad Witch?

One of my favorite films from the early 1970s is Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud, which I saw in the theatre multiple times. Brewster McCloud is a film about flying, & it pays homage to Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West. In the film, Hamilton plays a wealthy woman who is crushed by a large birdhouse. As the camera pans down her body, you see that on her feet are the ruby slippers.

Today is the birthday of Margaret Hamilton, an exceptional character actor who never asked for more than $1000 for her work, for fear she would price herself out of a role. She had a career that lasted 5 decades & more than 70 films, but we all remember her best for her iconic Hamilton Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz, in my top 10 films of all time. The Wizard of Oz did not bring Ms. Hamilton fortune, & did it really bring her fame. Nothing much happened for her career after the excitement over the film’s initial release died down. It wasn't until the 1970's that her career blossomed as she was rediscovered by a new generation.

As Maxwell House Coffee's spokesperson, Cora, an old shop keeper with that no nonsense New England charm. Hamilton was once again in the spotlight that she deserved. Cora was so popular that she even had a cookbook, with Hamilton 's image on the cover.

I've always had a special place for hamilton. As Almira Gulch, the busybody who stuffed Toto into the picnic basket, or the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, brought it to life.

Hamilton's line from The Wizard of Oz - "I'll get you, my pretty . . . & 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 would use it in real life.

Believe it or not, she appeared inThe Wizard of Oz for only 12 minutes, but what an impact she made.

Hamilton was a former teacher, & she also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals, & retained a lifelong commitment to public education, serving on the Beverly Hills School Board. Hamilton lived in NYC for most of her adult life. She had an apartment in my most very favorite NYC neighborhood- Gramercy Park, in a building where she had James Cagney as a neighbor. She died in her sleep in 1985. She was 82 years old. Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West scared a lot of children through the decades.