15 Actors who almost lost their lives on set (With Pictures)

4. Margaret Hamilton

The Wicked Witch of the West was played by actress Margaret Hamilton back in 1939. While filming a certain scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz, Hamilton’s usual maniacal shrieks of laughter quickly turned to ones of terror.

Hamilton’s character had the trademark of disappearing in a cloud of smoke whenever she damn well pleased, but this stunt was not as easy as it seemed. Back then, effects were not the strongest points of a movie, and so they had to work with what they had — and what they had was petroleum. Hamilton used this substance as an essential base to her makeup, but what they didn’t know was that it was flammable when it came into contact with the sparks from the cloud of smoke. The Wicked Witch of the West went up in flames and suffered from third degree burns on her hands and face.