The Addams Family is an American television sitcom based on the Charles Addams cartoons of the same name, about a family of eccentrics and monsters.
The Addams Family aired from 1964 to 1966 on the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The family features the vampiric Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) as the lady of a most strange household.
Other members are Gomez Addams, her husband (John Astin); Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan); Pugsley Addams, their son (Ken Weatherwax); Wednesday Addams, their daughter (Lisa Loring); Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock); Lurch, their butler (Ted Cassidy); and the hairy Cousin Itt (Felix Silla, with Roger Arroyo playing the role in two episodes). In addition, there is Thing, an animated hand (played by Ted Cassidy) that lives in a box.
Three different addresses are used for the family residence: 001 Cemetery Lane in Greenbriar, 001 Cemetery Lane in Woodlawn, and 001 North Cemetery Drive in Greenbrier. Their telephone number is Cemetery 13. Plots concern the family’s strange habits in the modern world. The series ran for 64 episodes.
In 1977 ABC attempted to revive the series with a made-for-television movie, Halloween with the New Addams Family, which reunited Astin, Jones, Coogan, Cassidy, Loring, and Weatherwax. The characters appeared in two films, The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993).
Both films were directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and starred Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston in the lead roles. The work of Charles Addams (1912–1988) first appeared in The New Yorker in 1932. His macabre style and humor were popular throughout his career. The last of his cartoons was published in the magazine in 1989.
See also THE MUNSTERS.
FURTHER READING:
Glut, Donald. The Dracula Book. Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, 1975.
[author title=”Copyright © 2005 by Visionary Living, Inc.” image=”https://occult-world.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/roseMary-ellen-guiley.jpg”]From: The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters
