As charming as viewers find the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, filming it was hazardous to the actors. Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered second degree and third degree burns during the second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland as her billowing cape trailed behind her broomstick. After recuperating at home for six weeks (during which the star Judy Garland visited her), she insisted a stand-in do all of the fire scenes. Buddy Ebsen, who originally played the Tin Woodsman, had an allergic reaction to the silver paint and was hospitalized with lung problems. He was replaced by Jack Haley and the composition of the paint was changed. Read more about the making of the movie in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
Injuries plagued the actors on the set of The Wizard of Oz
