VIDEO: Did WIZARD OF OZ's Margaret Hamilton Predict the Concept for WICKED?

In a 1975 appearance on the classic children's show MR. ROGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD, actress Margaret Hamilton, best known for her role as The Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 movie musical THE WIZARD OF OZ, spoke to Fred Rogers about her personal take on her iconic character, one that freakishly sounds a lot like the concept for the hit Broadway musical Wicked.

Suggesting that children consider "her point of view", Hamilton offers, "Sometimes the children feel that she's a very mean witch and I suppose she does seem that way but I also think there are two things about her. She enjoyed everything she did, whether its good or bad, she enjoys it, but she's also what we sometimes refer to as frustrated."

She continues, "She had lots of power, but she wanted more power, and I just think that sometimes we think she's just mean and a very bad person, but actually you have to think about her point of view. It wasn't as happy of a time as she wanted it to be because she just never got what she wanted."

The actress, who passed away in 1985, never had the opportunity to see her vision come to life on stage in Wicked, which has now been performed in over 100 cities in 13 countries around the world and has thus far been translated into five languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Korean. The show is the winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards.

Hamilton's many film credits included These Threethe, 1936 film version of the stage play The Children's Hour. Thoughout the 1960's and 70's she was a fixture on TV, including guest appearances in The Partridge Family, Rhoda, The Patty Duke show, The Addams family and Paul Lynde's 1976 Halloween special.