ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The most successful film music opening of all time continues to soar.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “DEFYING GRAVITY”)

CYNTHIA ERIVO: (As Elphaba, singing) I think I’ll try to defy gravity.

SHAPIRO: Long before the new film “Wicked” created a sympathetic character of the Wicked Witch of the West, she was played by actress Margaret Hamilton in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.” As NPR’s Neda Ulaby reports, being environmentally friendly hasn’t been easy.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: In the original book, author L. Frank Baum didn’t even imagine his witch with green skin, says author Ailea Merriam-Pigg.

AILEA MERRIAM-PIGG: She has a working eye that’s as good as a telescope.

ULABY: Pretty cool. But not cool enough for the MGM filmmakers who made “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. They wanted to show off the glorious new Technicolor.

MERRIAM-PIGG: They made them green because they wanted contrasting colors to make a big impact.

ULABY: And they cast an actress who was apparently one of the nicest people off screen to play the Wicked Witch of the West. Margaret Hamilton was a former kindergarten teacher and newly divorced single mother when she signed on to play the character that made her famous in film history. The role almost killed her.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, “THE WIZARD OF OZ”)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (Screaming).

ULABY: Do you remember when the Wicked Witch first appeared in Oz? Dorothy’s house fell on her sister, leveling her. She vows revenge for the murder.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, “THE WIZARD OF OZ”)

MARGARET HAMILTON: (As the Wicked Witch of the West) I’m coming for you, my pretty one. And your little dog too (laughter).

ULABY: The witch disappears in a puff of orange smoke, but the fire was all too real.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, “THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC MOVIE”)

HAMILTON: I got out and there was smoke and I fell to the ground.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

HAMILTON: I just felt something – warmth on my face.

ULABY: That’s Margaret Hamilton in a 1990 documentary about the making of “The Wizard of Oz.” She remembered the makeup blending into her skin.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, “THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: THE MAKING OF A CLASSIC MOVIE”)

HAMILTON: I had a second degree on my face and a third on my hand.

ULABY: The green makeup contained high concentrations of copper. In the documentary “The Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Classic Film,” Hamilton described burns so severe that they kept her out of work for weeks. She returned from the injury with nerves on one hand and refused to film another dangerous scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, “THE WIZARD OF OZ”)

BERT LAHR: (As the Cowardly Lion) Surrender, Dorothy.

ULABY: To create the moment where the Wicked Witch uses skywriting to make a demand, stuntwoman Betty Danko pretended to be flying on a broomstick with a hidden pipe and emitting smoke.

(Sound of a broom hissing)

ULABY: But the stunt went wrong, the pipe exploded and poor Betty Danko spent almost two weeks in the hospital.

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)

ULABY: Many of the actors suffered during the filming of this popular film. Judy Garland became addicted to the amphetamines she was prescribed to lose weight. The Cowardly Lion costume weighed almost 90 pounds. The first actor cast as the Tin Man had to decline after inhaling aluminum dust that was part of his makeup. And the actor who played the Scarecrow was literally scarred for life by the mask that was glued to his face every day.

Ray Bolger went on NPR in 1985 to remember his dear friend Margaret Hamilton, who had recently passed away.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

RAY BOLGER: Margaret Hamilton was a warm person who was interested in so many things. She was very interested in ecology and environmental protection.

ULABY: Ecology and environmentalism – it turns out that for Margaret Hamilton, being green was more than just skin deep. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

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