WATCH: Lost Episode of Sesame Street with Wicked Witch Scared Kids So Much it was Pulled
The Wicked Witch of the West is forever ingrained in my head as one of the most iconic villains ever... and NO, it's not just because I'm from Kansas. She's plain terrifying. The American Film Institute even has her as the No. 4 best villain of all time.
So something that terrifying, it's no surprise that she's from Ohio (actress Margaret Hamilton was born and raised in Cleveland), AND, she continued terrifying people well into the 1970s, including an episode of Sesame Street that got shelved, and was never shown again... until now. (Watch Below)
Hamilton reprised her role as the Wicked Witch only a handful of times after "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939, and one of those was Episode 847, of Season 7 of Sesame Street. The plot was, she had to recover her broom from Big Bird and David after she fell out of the sky.
Naturally, Margaret did an impeccable job reprising the role, but maybe it was TOO good of a job. Parents began to write in to Public Television and Sesame Street, saying their kids were terrified of the witch. So... she was deemed too scary, and the episode was pulled and never aired again.
Typical, that a person from Ohio was cancelled from SESAME STREET for scaring children.
Well, that footage - thought lost forever - has recently resurfaced, and you can actually watch the full 15-minute episode of The Wicked Witch, scheming with Oscar the Grouch, on how to get her broom back.
It's actually kind of fun, and by today's standards, VERY tame. There's scenes in Marvel movies scarier than this. But it is pretty cool to peer back into the past and see what used to be deemed "too scary" for TV.
Coincidentally, she ALSO appeared on an episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood in 1975 where she explained to children that she was only playing a role, and shows how putting on a costume "transformed" her into the witch. She was actually an elementary teacher before she started acting, and loved children very deeply.
Fun Fact: Margaret Hamilton was actually BADLY hurt while filming "The Wizard of Oz," when a practical fire effect went off in her face. She only returned to the set to finish the film if they promised to no longer use fire in the rest of the movie. Ironically, when she died... Margaret was cremated.
Side Note: Michigan actually has direct ties to Sesame Street's beginnings. One of the original cast members, "Susan," is played by Paw Paw's own Loretta Long. So at least we have that to counter the Wicked Witch of Ohio.