Winifred Greenwood: Early Oz Witch

No (apparent) relation to Charlotte Greenwood, Winifred Greenwood (1885-1961) was also a veteran of vaudeville and stock companies. Originally from the greater Rochester area, she made her silent screen debut as Momba in L. Frank Baum’s original 1910 film of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Selig. Nearly 250 films followed through the end of the silent era. Roles included Cinderella’s mother in the 1912 version of Cinderella with Mabel Taliaferro, M’Liss (1918) with Mary Pickford,The Goat (1918) with Fred Stone, and Leap Year (1924) with Roscoe Arbuckle. Her last substantial supporting role was in The Flame of the Yukon (1926). From 1913 to 1918 she was married to fellow silent screen actor George Field (1877-1925), himself a veteran of the stage and nearly 250 films, including Blood and Sand (1922) with Valentino.

For more on vaudeville, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous,and for more on silent film read  Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.