MARGARET HAMILTON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
 
Margaret Hamilton was born on December 9th, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio with the birth name Margaret Brainard Hamilton to parents Walter J. Hamilton and his wife, Jennie Adams.  She attended Wheelock College in Boston, MA. A school that specializes in working with children and families. She acted in some of the Wheelock Family Theater productions.
 
After completing her education she first found employment as a kindergarten teacher but realized her true interest in acting.  It was her plain and ordinary look that helped her find work as a character actor.  Her film debut was in 1933 on, "Another Language" which followed by a number of other film roles such as, "These Three" (1936), "Saratoga", "You Only Live Once", "When's Your Birthday?", "Nothing Sacred" (all 1937), "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938), and "My Little Chickadee" (1940).  Throughout her career she remained employed and had no issues supporting her son as a working single mother.
 
She is most well known for her role in 1939 in the film, "The Wizard of Oz" opposite Judy Garland as the role of the wicked witch of the west.  Many of her more frightening scenes were actually cut from the original version of the film as producers feared they might be to scary for children viewers.  She was actually credited for playing three different roles in the film, the wicked witch of the West and East and also Almira Gulch. 
 
As her career progressed to the early 50's she appeared regularly as a supporting character on a variety of films.  In 1960 she was cast in , "13 Ghosts" a film where she actually portrays a character claiming to be a witch.  In 1968 she guest starred in the television show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" so she could explain to children that her character from the film, "Wizard of Oz" was just that, a 'character', and not who she really is as a person.
 
Her legendary role as the Wicked Witch of the West was ranked #4 on the American Film Institute's villains list of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.  Along with being a successful actress and a very good mother, she also was highly involved in as a strong promoter of animal rights and the welfare of companion animals.

Hamilton also worked as a commercial actor, specifically in a number of Maxwell House Coffee commercials.  She also portrayed Grandma Frump in, "The Addams Family" (1964-1965).  When she retired from acting she chose to spend the majority of her adult years living in New York City.   
 
Margaret Hamilton married only once to Paul Meserve on June 13th, 1931 and they had one son, Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve before they divorced in 1938.  She did not re marry and on May 16th, 1985 she passed away in her sleep in Salisbury, Connecticut after suffering from a heart attack.  Her remains were cremated and her ashes were spread on her Dutchess County, New York estate.    

 
Filmogrphy

1979-1982 Lou Grant 
1981 Nurse
1979 Letters from Frank 
1975-1976 Mister Rogers' Neighborhood 
1974 Journey Back to Oz
1973 Sigmund and the Sea Monsters 
1973 The Partridge Family 
1973 Gunsmoke 
1973 The Night Strangler 
1971 The Anderson Tapes 
1971 Is There a Doctor in the House 
1970 As the World Turns 
1970 Brewster McCloud 
1969 Angel in My Pocket 
1967 Rosie!
1967 Off to See the Wizard 
1967 Ghostbreakers
1966 The Daydreamer 
1965-1966 The Addams Family 
1964-1967 The Secret Storm 
1963-1964 The Patty Duke Show
1963 Car 54, Where Are You? 
1962 The Danny Thomas Show
1962 Laramie 
1962 The Comedy Spot 
1962 Paradise Alley 
1962 The Good Years
1961 Ichabod and Me
1960 13 Ghosts 
1960 The Secret World of Eddie Hodges 
1960 Dow Hour of Great Mysteries
1959 Playhouse 90
1959 Once Upon a Christmas Tree 
1955-1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame
1958 Rendezvous 
1958 The Gale Storm Show
1954-1957 The United States Steel Hour
1957 The Phil Silvers Show 
1953-1957 Studio One in Hollywood 
1956 The Alcoa Hour
1953 Valiant Lady 
1955 Goodyear Playhouse
1954-1955 The Best of Broadway
1955 The Way of the World
1954 The Elgin Hour
1954 Kraft Theatre
1954 Center Stage 
1954 Campbell Summer Soundstage
1953 Man Against Crime 
1953 Lux Video Theatre
1953 A String of Blue Beads 
1952 The Gulf Playhouse 
1951 People Will Talk 
1951 Comin' Round the Mountain 
1950 The Stu Erwin Show 
1950 Riding High 
1950 Wabash Avenue 
1950 The Great Plane Robbery
1950 The Silver Theatre 
1949 The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend 
1949 The Red Pony 
1949 The Sun Comes Up 
1948 Bungalow 13 
1948 Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven
1948 State of the Union
1948 Reaching from Heaven
1947 Driftwood 
1947 Pet Peeves
1947 Dishonored Lady 
1947 The Sin of Harold Diddlebock 
1946 Faithful in My Fashion 
1946 Janie Gets Married 
1945 George White's Scandals
1944 Guest in the House 
1943 Johnny Come Lately 
1943 The Ox-Bow Incident 
1943 City Without Men 
1942 The Affairs of Martha 
1942 Meet the Stewarts 
1942 Twin Beds 
1941 The Gay Vagabond 
1941 Play Girl 
1940 The Invisible Woman
1940 I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now
1940 The Villain Still Pursued Her
1940 My Little Chickadee 
1939 Main Street Lawyer 
1939 Babes in Arms
1939 The Angels Wash Their Faces
1939 The Wizard of Oz 
1938 Stablemates
1938 Breaking the Ice 
1938 Four's a Crowd 
1938 Mother Carey's Chickens 
1938 A Slight Case of Murder 
1938 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 
1937 Nothing Sacred 
1937 I'll Take Romance 
1937 Saratoga 
1937 Mountain Justice
1937 The Good Old Soak
1937 When's Your Birthday? 
1937 You Only Live Once 
1936 Laughing at Trouble 
1936 The Witness Chair 
1936 The Moon's Our Home
1936 These Three
1936 Chatterbox 
1935 Way Down East
1935 The Farmer Takes a Wife
1934 Broadway Bill
1934 By Your Leave 
1934 There's Always Tomorrow
1934 Hat, Coat, and Glove
1933 Another Language