Ted Cassidy

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Theodore Crawford "Ted" Cassidy (born July 31, 1932 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - January 16, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor and voice actor who performed in television and films.

1 Early life and career
2 The move to television
- 2.1 The Addams Family
- 2.2 Star Trek
3 Voice acting and film work
4 Death
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Although born in Pittsburgh, Cassidy was raised in Philippi, West Virginia two hours south of Pittsburgh.

Early in his academic career, Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, in nearby Buckhannon, WV where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. He later attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida as a Speech Major. Active in student government, he also played basketball for the Hatters. Early in his show business career he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA-AM in Dallas, Texas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8, playing "Creech," an outer space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars" segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. An accomplished musician, Cassidy moonlighted at Luby's Cafeteria in the Lochwood Shopping Center in Dallas, playing the organ to entertain patrons.

[edit] The move to television

[edit] The Addams Family

Cassidy's unusual height (Cassidy was 6 feet 9 inches tall, or 206 cm) gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles. He is probably best known for playing the tall butler, Lurch (in which role he was able to demonstrate his genuine skill on the harpsichord) and the "helpful hand in a box" character named Thing on the 1960s American television series The Addams Family.

[edit] Star Trek

He portrayed the voice of the more aggressive version of Balok in the Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and played the android Ruk in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?." He also voiced the Gorn in the Star Trek episode "Arena".

Cassidy did more work with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s, playing Isiah in the pilots "Genesis II" and "Planet Earth."

[edit] Voice acting and film work

After The Addams Family, Cassidy began to add the desire for more voice-over work to his résumé; in that acting field, most notably, he narrated the opening of the TV series The Incredible Hulk. Cassidy also provided the Hulk's growls and roars. He detested being compared or confused with acromegalic actor Richard Kiel, who played "Jaws," the mute assassin with stainless steel teeth, in two James Bond films.

Other film work included his appearance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He also co-wrote the screenplay of 1973's "The Harrad Experiment," in which he made a brief appearance.

[edit] Death

Cassidy died in 1979 at age 46 from complications following open-heart surgery. Fellow actor Sandra Martinez assisted and took care of Ted during his final years. Cassidy's remains were cremated, and buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home.