Finding love on an adult film set. Enlisting in the Army to escape the
past. And becoming the namesake of an entire theater. After The Addams Family,
life stayed mysterious and spooky for the original cast.
John Astin was a familiar face to many viewers before he played Gomez Addams.
He made memorable appearances on The Twilight Zone and The Donna Reed Show before being cast
in his own series I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, which ran for 32 episodes from 1962 to 1963.
The Addams Family opened many doors for Astin, as he went on to appear
in the likes of The Phyllis Diller Show, Night Gallery, and Night Court. He also
reprised the role of Gomez in the 1977 TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family.
In 2002, Astin began teaching acting and directing at his alma mater of Johns Hopkins,
as he became the Director of the Theater Arts and Studies Department and the Homewood Professor of
the Arts. He's credited with revitalizing the university's theater department,
and the campus theater is even named in his honor.
Before playing Morticia Addams, Carolyn Jones had numerous roles in 1950s westerns
and suspense films, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 classic The Man Who
Knew Too Much. She also earned an Oscar nomination for 1958's The Bachelor Party.
Following The Addams Family, Jones regularly appeared on popular TV shows, like Batman, Mod
Squad, and Fantasy Island. She also rejoined her former castmates for the 1977 TV movie Halloween
with the New Addams Family. Her final screen credit was a starring role in the 1980s soap
opera Capitol, on which she played the matriarch of the politically powerful Clegg family.
Tragically, Jones died from colon cancer in 1983 at the age of 53.
She was diagnosed the year before, but she was determined to play her part in Capitol,
and she was able to do so in a wheelchair.
"Maybe we shouldn't have taken his ax away when he
was a baby. He seemed so happy chopping up things. And it was good exercise."
Jackie Coogan's story is one of triumph over tragedy. Widely considered the first child star,
this son of famous vaudeville performers began his film career when he was just a baby. Born in 1914,
he was coming of age when the silent era ended. But his fame petered out when he was just 16.
From 1930 to 1939, Coogan had only eight screen appearances. He then enlisted for
service in World War II and decided to give up acting entirely in 1950 and begin
working as a salesman. His retirement was short-lived, though. Between 1951
and the premiere of The Addams Family, he had roles in over 70 films and TV shows.
And Coogan's portrayal of the zany Uncle Fester was hardly the end of
his screen career. He was a regular on The Red Skelton Hour, and he worked steadily on
various other shows and films, including a memorable, somewhat unrecognizable turn
on The Brady Bunch. He died in 1984 from heart failure at the age of 69.
As the Addams' butler Lurch, Ted Cassidy was more seen than heard, with his mere presence
dominating his scenes more than his dialogue ever could. His deep delivery of "You rang?"
became one of the most memorable lines from the show,
and his popularity even spawned a dance craze called "The Lurch."
"You're more than an employee to us."
"You're like one of the family."
"Ughhhh."
Cassidy's size and distinctive look made him the subject of typecasting throughout
his career. He'd been diagnosed with a condition called acromegaly, a pituitary
disorder that causes excessive growth. Not only did this lead to him being nearly 7 feet tall,
it was also responsible for his deep and booming voice. So where there was a need
for a towering actor, you could probably find Cassidy. His later roles included parts
on such TV shows as Ironside and Star Trek. He also voiced numerous cartoon characters,
and it was his voice that spoke the opening introduction to The Incredible Hulk TV series.
"The creature is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter."
Cassidy died young, just 46 years old. Doctors had discovered a large,
non-malignant mass on his heart. Complications from the surgery to
remove it were too much for him to handle, as he passed away in 1979.
Also known by her stage name Blossom Rock, Marie Blake played Grandmama on
The Addams Family. Outside of The Addams Family, she was probably best known for
her role as Sally the switchboard operator in the popular Dr. Kildare movie series.
Sadly, Grandmama would be Blake's last role. She suffered a stroke soon after the second season of
the show was in the can, which effectively ended her acting career. It also severely impacted her
speech, making her unable to reunite with her former castmates for the TV movie Halloween
with the New Addams Family. In her retirement, Blake resided at the Motion Picture & Television
Country House and Hospital. It was reported that she watched the TV movie from there,
which aired months before she died in January 1978 at the age of 82.
Ken Weatherwax had but one role on screen outside of The Addams Family. His screen debut was the
classic TV western Wagon Train, and then he was cast as Pugsley Addams shortly afterward.
After 64 episodes, Weatherwax didn't have another role until he lent his voice to
a 1973 episode of the animated Addams Family series. He again played Pugsley in the 1977 TV
movie Halloween with the New Addams Family. From that point on, he was the victim of typecasting,
as well as bullying and teasing from his schoolmates. As he put it in a 2008 interview,
"Frankly, I didn't deal with it very well. I was kicked out of like, six or seven schools,
and went into the service at the age of 17."
"I didn't have a problem with the recognition while I was in the service."
Weatherwax eventually began to work behind the scenes, as he landed gigs as a grip and
set builder for various productions. Then in 2014, he died of a heart attack at the
age of 59. There were two funerals held, one for family and an additional one for fans.
Though you never saw more than a giant head of hair that covered his entire body, Cousin Itt was
easily one of the most memorable characters on The Addams Family. Played by Felix Silla, Itt's
dialogue never amounted to more than gibberish, totally obscuring Silla's identity in every way
possible. As a little person working in Hollywood, this was par for the course for the actor.
Like many little people, Silla struggled to find work in the industry beyond the most
stereotypical ones. For example, he played both a troll and a goblin on episodes of the sitcom
Bewitched and a circus performer on The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. He often found himself obscured behind
bulky costumes and heavy makeup, thereby making him essentially unrecognizable to many viewers.
Silla's size also allowed him to find work as a stunt double or stand-in. This led to gigs
on films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, E.T., and Howard the Duck. In April 2021,
he died at the age of 84 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Parley Baer played Mayor Arthur Henson on The Addams Family. That
was one of many authority figures he portrayed throughout his career,
as he was often cast as a judge, elected official, or police officer.
Baer also played plenty of kind grandfatherly types and elderly curmudgeons. This included Doc
Appleby on The Dukes of Hazzard, Judge Parker on L.A. Law, and, in one of his final roles,
Miles Dugan in the daytime soap The Young and the Restless. He also had some memorable film
roles as well, including Grandpa Anderson in 1988's License to Drive, in which he was
the overprotective owner of the vintage Cadillac that was left in the care of Corey Haim's father.
Despite the typecasting in his later years,
Baer felt that actors his age still played a vital role in the industry.
When asked about his part in The Young and the Restless, he told the Los Angeles Times,
"I hope it will bring to light the fact that people who have
reached the zenith of 65 or more are not through."
"No, no, no. No more Addamses. We already have too much!"
Eddie Quillan arrived on the set of The Addams Family with decades
of acting experience under his belt. From starring roles in various film
shorts from the 1920s to supporting roles in dozens of western films from the 1930s on,
he had quite the resume. He then leapt into TV in the late 50s on a variety of shows, eventually
making his way to five episodes of The Addams Family, where he played multiple characters.
After his time on The Addams Family, Quillan made memorable appearances on the likes of
Police Woman and Little House on the Prairie. His comedic talent was recognized by Hal Kanter,
creator of the sitcom Julia, on which Quillan played the role of postman Eddie
Edson. In a 1981 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Quillan revealed,
"The first thing I'd do when I got on the set was to see where the doors are,
where the props are, and figure out what I might do in the way of [funny] business."
Quillan died from cancer at the age of 83 in 1990.
Another familiar face on The Addams Family was legendary character actor Vito Scotti.
Before he played Sam Picasso and a couple of other characters,
he was what the Los Angeles Times referred to as a "modern man with
a thousand faces." His family came from Naples, Italy, and his southern Italian
heritage led him to roles that were frequently of Latino, Italian, or Middle Eastern origin.
"Ah, Mr. Picasso, my husband's been telling me about you."
"That's a lie. I run an honest gallery."
Scotti played a Romani man in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show,
a Japanese submarine captain on Gilligan's Island, and various Native American roles
in the western Gunsmoke. On the big screen, he showed up in The Godfather as Nazorine.
He continued to work steadily until he retired in 1995, appearing on scores of TV shows like
Who's the Boss and Columbo. His last film role was the 1995 mob comedy Get Shorty.
Off-screen, one of Scotti's passions included raising money for the Carmen Fund,
which was named after his daughter. The charity was part of a high school's fund
to assist handicapped students with financial help. Scotti's daughter was one of the first
patients to undergo spinal implant surgery. He died in June 1995 at the age of 78.
Rolfe Sedan played suspicious postman Mr. Briggs on a few episodes of The Addams Family. He was
a veteran actor with a long and storied career that began in the silent film era. With nearly
300 screen credits to his name before Addams Family, he made a name for himself as a bit
player before gaining fame as a regular on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.
Sedan's experience in radio, theater, and film kept him steadily working until
the late 1970s. He appeared on popular TV shows like Maude and Kung Fu and in bit
parts in films like the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein. He retired in 1977,
a few years before his death on September 15, 1982 at the age of 86.
Child stars often have tragic stories, and sadly, Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday Addams,
is no different, as she became a mother at the young age of 15. She sporadically acted
in small roles in the 70s and early 80s, and then she became a makeup artist for an adult
film studio. It was on the set of one such adult film that she met her third husband,
actor Jerry Butler. The marriage didn't last, though, and Loring began to use heroin to cope.
Compounding the stress in her life was the suicide of her friend, adult film star Kelly Van Dyke.
But ultimately, Loring was determined not to be beaten. In 1992, she entered
and completed rehab and got herself clean. She then worked in an interior design firm
and has since racked up a few screen credits, the most recent being 2015's Doctor Spine. She
now reportedly focuses mostly on her family and tours various conventions every year.