<P> Hamilton's career as a film actress was driven by the very qualities that placed her in stark contrast to the stereotypical Hollywood glamour girl . Her image was that of a New England spinster, extremely pragmatic and impatient with all manner of "tomfoolery". Hamilton's looks helped to bring steady work as a character actor . She made her screen debut in 1933 in Another Language . 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 (1947 film) with Harold Lloyd . 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 ($16,700 with inflation) a week . </P> <P> 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 maid in his 13 Ghosts horror film, in which 12 - year - old lead Charles Herbert taunts her about being a witch, including one scene in which she is holding a broom in her hand . </P> <P> In 1939, Hamilton played the role of the Wicked Witch, 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 . </P> <P> She suffered a second - degree burn on her face and a third - degree burn on her hand during a second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland, in which the trap door's drop was delayed to eliminate the brief glimpse of it seen in the final edit . Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident before returning to the set to complete her work on the film, and refused to have anything further to do with fire for the rest of the filming . After she recuperated, she said, "I won't sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again . I will return to work on one condition--no more fireworks!" Garland visited Hamilton while the latter recuperated at home looking after her son . Studio executives cut some of Hamilton's more frightening scenes, worrying that they would frighten children too much . Later on in life, she would comment on the role of the witch in a light - hearted fashion . For an interview, she joked: </P>

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