Green Is Good

The Wicked Witch

MARGARET HAMILTON played the cackling Wicked Witch of the West, tormentor of Judy Garland's Dorothy in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. But the role almost cost Hamilton her career: during one of the witch's puff-of-smoke exits, Hamilton's copper-based makeup caught fire and nearly burned her to a crisp. After weeks of recuperation, the plucky Hamilton returned to the studio and finished filming the role that made her famous.

(Hamilton wasn't the only actor to suffer a makeup attack while filming Oz. Dancer Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man, but after 10 days he was replaced by Jack Haley. Why? Ebsen was painfully allergic to the aluminum makeup. In the long run Ebsen's career wasn't singed: he went on to star on the TV shows The Beverly Hillbillies andBarnaby Jones.)