The Addams Family

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For the TV series, see The Addams Family (TV series).
For the film, see The Addams Family (film).
For other, similarly-named families, see Adams family.
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From right to left, Morticia, Fester, Aristotle (Pugsley's octopus), Gomez, Wednesday, and Pugsley.
From right to left, Morticia, Fester, Aristotle (Pugsley's octopus), Gomez, Wednesday, and Pugsley.

The Addams Family is a creation of American cartoonist Charles Addams that appears in print cartoons, television shows, movies, and video games. A satirical inversion of the ideal American nuclear family, the Addamses are an eccentric, wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or frightening.

Addams's cartoons in The New Yorker magazine originally gained popularity in the 1930s. He was noted for his morbid sense of humor, and over the years various bizarre people and creatures who lived in a huge decaying Second Empire house became recurring characters.

Contents

[edit] Premise

Addams' original cartoons were one-panel gags and he never developed any of the characters or even gave them names until the sitcom was being developed. All information below is derived from the various media versions.

The family that the cartoons, movies, and television shows are based on is apparently only one surviving branch of the Addams clan. Many other "Addams families" exist all over the world. According to the film version, the family credo is, Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc (pseudo-Latin: "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us").

They reside next to a cemetery and a swamp at 0001 Cemetery Lane, in a gloomy mansion (In The New Addams Family, the address was changed to 1313 Cemetery Lane, in a reference to rival show The Munsters). (Charles Addams was first inspired by his home town of Westfield, New Jersey, an area full of ornate Victorian mansions and archaic graveyards.)[1]

Although they all share macabre interests, the Addamses cannot be considered evil people. They are a close-knit extended family. Morticia is an exemplary mother, and she and Gomez remain passionate towards one another. She calls him "Bubbele", to which he responds by kissing her arms—behaviour Morticia can also evoke by speaking a few words in French. The parents are very supportive of their children, cheering even their smallest accomplishments. The family is unfailingly friendly and hospitable to visitors, in some cases willing to donate large sums of money to causes, despite the visitors' horror at the Addams' particular lifestyle.

[edit] Addams Family characters

[edit] Names

Originally none of the members of the Addams family had names, but when the TV show was in development, Charles Addams was asked to provide names for each of the characters. For the father he suggested Gomez or Repelli, for the mother Morticia, for the uncle Fester, for the butler Lurch, for the daughter Wednesday (for being "full of woe"), and for the son Pubert (which he later changed to Pugsley).

[edit] Family members and servants

The Addams family consists of Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Grandmama, and Cousin Itt. The family is tended to by their butler, Lurch, and Thing, a disembodied hand (sometimes in a box) who is a childhood friend of Gomez.

[edit] Gomez

Gomez Alonzo Addams is the Addams patriarch. He is the husband of Morticia and the father of Wednesday and Pugsley. Originally Grandmama's son, this was retconned later on to make him Grandmama's son-in-law. His brother (originally uncle-in-law) is Uncle Fester.

Gomez is portrayed as a charming, handsome, and successful man, although he has a child-like, eccentric enthusiasm for everything he does. For instance, his personal portrait depicts him as standing gleefully on his head. Though a peaceful man, he is known to be well-versed in many types of combat. He and Morticia fence with foils sometimes.

Gomez has an endless love for Morticia. He studied to be a lawyer, but rarely practices, while taking great pride in losing his cases. Gomez is also quite pleased with the fact that his law class voted him "Least Likely to Pass the Bar".

Gomez is extremely wealthy from inheritance and extensive investments, but he seems to have little regard for money. Although he invests in the stock market, to the point where there is a ticker tape machine in their living area, he seems to play the market primarily to lose.

Gomez is of Castilian origin and loves to smoke cigars and play destructively with his model trains. Despite his macabre sense of humor, he is extremely generous and known for going out of his way to help those he considers friends.

[edit] Morticia

Morticia A. Addams (née Frump) is the matriarch of the Addams Family. She is a woman with pale skin and a Gothic appearance, clad in a Vampira-esque, skin-tight black gown with octopus-like tendrils at the bottom.

Morticia's original mother was Hester Frump (played in two episodes by Margaret Hamilton), but her origins were later retconned and she became Grandmama's daughter. (Grandmama subsequently became known as Esmerelda Frump.) Morticia has an older sister named Ophelia. In the sitcom, her marriage brought her uncle Fester into the family.

Morticia is portrayed as elegant, artistic, and musically inclined (opera singing, tango dancing, and playing numerous instruments). She also knits strange items of clothing for various members of the family.

The original drawing of Morticia in The New Yorker was said to be the inspiration for Maila Nurmi's "Vampira" character, the forerunner of Elvira.

[edit] Pugsley and Wednesday

Gomez and Morticia have two children, Pugsley and Wednesday. Wednesday, whose middle name is Friday, was originally—as her name suggests—a quiet, somewhat pathetic child, full of woe. In the TV show she is a sweet-natured, innocent, happy child, largely concerned with her pet spiders. A favorite toy is her Marie Antoinette doll, which she had guillotined. The movies gave Wednesday a much more serious and mature personality with a deadpan wit and a morbid fascination with trying to physically harm or possibly murder her brother (she was seen strapping him into an electric chair, for example, and preparing to pull the switch); she is apparently often successful, but Pugsley never dies. Like most members of the family he seems to be stronger than most humans, requiring a lot more punishment to be killed. For his part, Pugsley is largely either oblivious of the harm his sister tries to inflict on him, or an enthusiastic supporter of it. In his first incarnation, Pugsley (originally to be called Pubert, a name that would be given to the Addams baby in the live action movies) was depicted as a diabolical, malevolent child next door. In the TV series, he is a devoted older brother and an inventive and mechanical genius. In the films, he loses his intelligence and independence, and becomes Wednesday's sidekick, cheerfully helping her in her evil deeds.

In the most recent animated series, Pugsley's and Wednesday's personalities seem to be a mix of their previous ones, with Wednesday a happy and somewhat optimistic child, while retaining her sophisticated manner from the movies and Pugsley having regained some of his genius when it comes to chemistry and machines, but his intelligence still seems to be rather underdeveloped at times.

The children appear to be home-schooled, receiving all the education they require from Grandmama and Uncle Fester. An attempt was made to enroll them in the local elementary school, but it did not work out.

In the first movie, the children do attend an elementary school. And in the second movie they are on summer vacation from school.

[edit] Pubert

In the 1993 film Addams Family Values, Gomez and Morticia have a third child, a son named Pubert (voiced by Cheryl Chase), a mustachioed and seemingly indestructible baby with the ability to shoot flaming arrows. Originally conceived by Charles Addams for the character eventually named Pugsley in the '60s TV series, the name was rejected due to fears that network censors would disallow it.

Pubert is referred to in the unrelated 1998 straight-to-video film Addams Family Reunion and the short-lived follow-up series that aired on Fox Family Channel, in which Wednesday states that there used to be a third sibling, but that they ate it.

[edit] Uncle Fester and Grandmama

Other members of the family who live with Gomez and Morticia include Uncle Fester and Grandmama.

Fester is a bald, barrel-shaped man with dark, sunken eyes and a devilish grin. He seems to carry an electrical charge and can illuminate a light bulb by sticking it in his mouth. In the original television series, Fester was Morticia's uncle, and therefore technically not an Addams, although at times he claims the family name as his own. In all other animated and filmed content, Fester became Gomez's older brother.

Grandmama is Gomez's mother in the 1960s live-action TV series, where she is given the name "Eudora Addams". In both the movies and the animated TV series, she is Morticia's mother and her name is mentioned as "Esmerelda Frump", her first name being revealed in Addams Family Reunion. Grandmama is a witch who deals in potions, spells and hexes of all kinds. She even dabbles in fortune-telling. Her trademarks are her shawl and frizzy hair. In the original TV series, Mother Frump exists as a separate character from Grandmama. In the animated series, Grandmama is only referred to as "Granny". In the remake of the series (in which Pancho Addams does not appear), she is both Gomez and Fester's mother.

[edit] Thing, Lurch, and Cousin Itt

Another member of the family is seen in the form of a disembodied hand named "Thing". Thing has been Gomez's friend since childhood. He (it is implied that he is male) often performs common, everyday tasks such as retrieving the mail, writing a letter or just giving a friendly pat on shoulder, appearing out of ubiquitous boxes or other convenient containers throughout the house. He communicates with Addamses with a Morse-like alphabet, sign language, writing, and knocking on wood. In the movies and in The New Addams Family, Thing is an entirely mobile hand severed at the wrist.

In addition to Thing, the Addams family also have a tall, ghoulish manservant named Lurch. Lurch serves as a shambling, gravelly-voiced, Frankenstein's Monster-esque butler though he is a considerable 'Jack of all trades'. He tries to help around the house, although occasionally he botches tasks due to his great size and strength, but is otherwise considered quite a catch by the Addamses for his skill at more personal tasks (I.E, waxing Fester's head, amusing the children and etc). Surprisingly, he is often seen playing the harpsichord and organ with a great degree of skill and somewhat uncharacteristic enthusiasm. In Addams Family Reunion, Gomez states that Lurch is not really an Addams, and Morticia replies that Lurch has parts of many families, and that he has the heart of an Addams. Lurch also seems to have a certain level of imperviousness; in Addams Family Values, a 20-pound cannonball is dropped from the top of the Addams' mansion, landing directly on his head, seemingly with no ill effect. In the sitcom, he was capable of speech; beckoned by the pull of a noose-shaped rope which rang a loud thunderous gong he would answer with a signature monotone, brusque and baritone voiced, "You rang?". In the theatrical movies Lurch never spoke, using only grunts, sighs or simple gesticulations.

Gomez also has a cousin, known as Cousin Itt (spelled as "Cousin It" in the movies and the pinball game), who often visits the family. He is short-statured and has long hair which covers his entire body from scalp to floor. Cousin Itt drives a 3-wheeled car: a Messerschmitt KR175.[2] Although in the series he is shown wearing opera gloves, it is unclear what, if anything, is beneath the hair. He is known to speak in a high-pitched nonsensical gibberish that only the family seems to understand. In the second animated series, Itt is a super-spy for the U.S. Government. In the movies he falls in love with a human woman, Margaret, and marries her after her first husband, Tully the lawyer, is disposed of by the Addams children. He and Margaret go on to have a child in Addams Family Values named "What"(from the obstreican's reaction). In Addams Family Values, Cousin Itt performs the wedding of Fester, demonstrating he has some sort of title and legal power that is not explained in the movie.

[edit] Pets

In the sitcom, references are made to an innumerable collection of bizarre and unconventional creatures such as hawks, bats and alligators although there were a handful with some consistency throughout the various mediums the family appeared in.

Kitty Kat is the family lion, and can be seen in several episodes roaming around the house. The family in entirety regard Kitty Cat as they would an average housecat, and seem flummoxed at the notion that Kitty Cat is in any way, dangerous. Pugsley has an octopus called Aristotle, and Wednesday a large collection of spiders with only one she mentions in particular by name, Homer.

Cleopatra is an African Strangler belonging to Morticia, a man-eating plant. She eats meatballs made of Yak and other tasty meats specially prepared and more often than not, spoon-fed to her. Morticia had Cleopatra before she and Gomez married, having grown her from a seedling.

[edit] Houseguests

Guests include Morticia's older sister Ophelia (also played by Carolyn Jones in the sitcom), Morticia's cousin Melancholia and Morticia's mother (and Fester's sister), Hester Frump (played in the sitcom by Margaret Hamilton, wearing her Almira Gulch dress from The Wizard of Oz)[citation needed]. The Addamses have many other eccentric relatives who, in the sitcom, are described but never shown—unless they appear in one of the bizarre family portraits seen hanging on the walls.

[edit] Neighbors

Most of the Addamses' neighbors are less than understanding of the family's eccentricities. Within the larger community, the Addamses are viewed as eccentric, dangerous, or worse. Both the TV shows and movies deal with outsiders attempting to understand and "correct" the behavior of the family, and remain frustrated and horrified by the things that the Addamses find amusing. The Addamses, for their part, are just the opposite, and are often shocked and horrified at the actions of conventional society.

The second animated series introduced three new regular characters: the Normanmeyers (Norman, Normina, and N.J.), a family of "normal" people living across the street from the Addamses. While Norman and Normina are constantly appalled and shocked at the Addams' macabre behavior, their son N.J. counts Wednesday and Pugsley as his best friends. Norman owns and works at an underwear factory and is utterly obsessed with underwear, decorating the entire Normanmeyer house with an underwear motif, which arguably makes him less "normal" than the Addamses themselves. Norman was played by Rob Paulsen, Normina was voiced by Edie McClurg, and N.J. was performed by Dick Beals.

[edit] The paranormal nature of the Addamses

Unlike The Munsters, which explicitly stated its characters' supernatural identities, the exact nature of the Addamses is never established. They all seem to share a bond with the occult and supernatural. Uncle Fester is often portrayed as something of a mad scientist, and Grandmama as a fortune-teller, but these activities don't really explain the Addamses' seemingly immortal state. The food they live on is inedible or outright deadly for normal humans to eat, and they take an interest in painful activities like walking across minefields or having a sharp pendulum cut them in half.

In the 1960s television series, virtually every member of the family demonstrates some uniquely "non-human" trait:

  • Morticia is able to light candles with the touch of a fingertip, and relaxes by literally "smoking" (emitting curls of smoke from her body).
  • Gomez is remarkably athletic, his cigar lights the instant he draws it out of his breast pocket and extinguishes when replaced, and he can perform complicated calculations in his head (making a mechanical sound as he does so).
  • Fester can generate both electricity and magnetism, in The New Addams Family he can also explode at will without harm. Additionally, he suffers from a severe migraine that can be cured with a press, and apparently causes no harm upon him.
  • Grandmama, in addition to being able to whip up potions of varying effects, can fly on a broom.
  • Pugsley is able to hang from tree branches by his teeth, although this trait is only referred to and not seen.
  • Six-year-old Wednesday is strong enough to bring her father down with a judo hold.
  • Lurch is superhumanly strong.
  • Thing, whose paranormal nature speaks for itself, can apparently teleport from box to box almost instantaneously.

None of these traits are considered unusual by any others in the family, but treated simply as individual talents that anyone might possess. All take pleasure in enduring such experiences as lying on a bed of nails, being stretched on a rack, and so on.

Occasionally, the 1960s series features guest characters who share the Addamses' tastes, which—along with the fact that the family obviously purchases its yak meat, explosives, etc. from somewhere—implies an entire subculture of people who share the family's tastes (as seen in several Charles Addams cartoons). In contrast, the Addamses themselves consider such things as daisies, chocolate fudge, the Boy Scouts, and other such traditionally "wholesome" things—as well as any distaste for such things as swamps, octopoda, and hanging upside-down from the ceiling—to be odd, if not outright disturbing. Fester once cited a neighbor family's meticulous petunia patches as evidence that they were "nothing but riff-raff". Although the Addamses usually greet "normal" visitors with enthusiasm, these attitudes establish the family as more of an eccentric, old money family that looks down upon the nouveaux riche or bourgeois habits of the outside world.

[edit] Television, film, games and musical

[edit] Live-action

In 1964, the ABC-TV network created a television series based on Addams' cartoon characters. The series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 half-hour episodes (September 18, 1964 – September 2, 1966). During the original television run of The Addams Family television series, The New Yorker editor William Shawn refused to publish any Addams Family cartoons, though he continued to publish other Charles Addams cartoons. Shawn regarded his magazine as targeting a more refined readership, and did not want it associated with characters who could be seen on television by just anybody. After the television series was canceled, Shawn ended his boycott and The Addams Family was welcomed back.

In late 1972, ABC produced a pilot for a musical variety show titled The Addams Family Fun-House. The cast included Jack Riley and Liz Torres as Gomez and Morticia (the pair also co-wrote the special), Stubby Kaye as Uncle Fester, Pat Riley as Lurch and Butch Patrick as Pugsley. The pilot aired in 1973, but was not picked up for a series.

A TV reunion movie, Halloween With The New Addams Family, aired on NBC Sunday October 30, 1977. It featured most of the original cast, except Blossom Rock, who had played Grandmama but was very ill at the time; she was replaced by Jane Rose. Gomez's brother, Pancho, is staying with the Family while Gomez goes to a lodge meeting in Tombstone, Arizona. Gomez is jealous of his brother, who once courted Morticia. Halloween is nigh, and Pancho tells the legend of Cousin Shy, who distributes gifts and carves pumpkins. Actually, Gomez has been lured off by crooks, who've bugged the house in order to steal the Family fortune. Lafferty, the boss, sends Mikey to investigate. Wednesday Senior is home from music academy, where she studied the piccolo (she breaks glass with it). Pugsley Senior is home from Nairobi medical school, where he's training to be a witch doctor. Mikey panics and flees after treading on Kitty Kat's tail. The crooks have a fake Gomez and Morticia to help in their plans, along with two strong-arm goons, Hercules and Atlas. Gomez returns home for the Halloween party and trimming of the scarecrow.

Lafferty poses as Quincy Addams (from Boston) to get in. He has his men tie up Gomez and Morticia and his doubles take their places, confusing Pancho, who's still got the hots for Morticia. Lurch scares off the thugs and terrifies the assistant crook. Fester, trying to be nice, puts Lafferty on the rack. Lafferty tries to escape through the secret passage and steps on Kitty Kat's tail. When the police arrive, they surrender. The Addamses are then free to celebrate Halloween happily.

In the 1990s, Orion Pictures (which by then had inherited the rights to the series) developed a film version, The Addams Family. Due to the studio's financial troubles at the time, Orion sold the US rights to the film to Paramount Pictures. Upon the film's initial success, a sequel followed: Addams Family Values (1993, with worldwide distribution by Paramount). Loosened content restrictions allowed the films to use far more grotesque humor that strove to keep the original spirit of the Addams cartoons. The two movies used the same cast, except for Grandmama, played by Judith Malina in the first film and Carol Kane in the second. A script for a third film was prepared in 1994, but was abandoned after the sudden death of actor Raul Julia.

A third film, 1998's Addams Family Reunion, was released direct-to-video, this time by Warner Bros. through its video division. It has no relation to the Paramount movies, being in fact a full-length pilot for a second live-action television version, The New Addams Family, produced and shot in Canada. The third movie's Gomez, played by Tim Curry, follows the style of Raul Julia, while the new sitcom's Gomez is played in John Astin's style. The only actor in this Warner Brother's production to have played in the previous Paramount films was Carel Struycken, playing Lurch.

The series ran during the 1998–1999 season on Fox Family. The New Addams Family TV show is an updated version of the well-known 1960s The Addams Family show. The new show is very familiar as it stars parents Morticia and Gomez and their children Pugsley and Wednesday. Also making a return are the characters Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Lurch, Cousin Itt and Thing. The New Addams Family was produced and shot in Vancouver, Canada, and ran during the 1998–1999 season on ABC Family. There are 65 episodes produced that originally aired over the course of one season. Some of the episodes are actually remakes of episodes that aired in the original The Addams Family series. John Astin returned to the franchise in some episodes of this series, albeit as Grandpa Addams (Gomez's grandfather, a character introduced in Addams Family Reunion). Pubert's absence in the new series was explained in an early episode when Wednesday mentioned that "There were three of us, but Pugsley ate the little one." The cast included Glenn Taranto as Gomez Addams, Ellie Harvie as Morticia, Michael Roberds as Fester, Brody Smith as Pugsley, Nicole Fugere as Wednesday, John DeSantis as Lurch, Betty Phillips as Grandmama and Steven Fox as Thing.

[edit] Animation

Two animated television spin-offs and an animated guest appearance have also been produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

The Addams Family's first animated appearance was on the third episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family" (a.k.a. "Wednesday is Missing"), which first aired on CBS Saturday morning September 23, 1972. Four of the original cast (John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy) returned for the special which involved the Addamses in a mystery with the Scooby-Doo gang. The Addams Family characters were drawn to the specifications of the original Charles Addams comics. After the episode aired, fans wanted more animated adventures featuring the Addamses, and Hanna-Barbera responded in kind.

The first animated series ran on Saturday mornings from 1973–1975 on NBC. In a departure from the original series, this series took the Addamses on the road in a Victorian-style RV. This series also marked the point where the relations between characters were retconned so that Fester was now Gomez' brother, and Grandmama was now Morticia's mother (though the old relations would be revisited in the 1977 TV movie, to keep continuity with the original sitcom). Although Coogan and Cassidy reprised their roles, Astin and Jones did not, their parts being recast with Hanna-Barbera voice talents Lennie Weinrib as Gomez and Janet Waldo as Morticia, while none other than an eight-year-old Jodie Foster provided the voice of Pugsley. Again, the characters were drawn to the specifications of the original Charles Addams comics. One season was produced, and the second season consisted of reruns. A complementary comic book series was produced in connection with the show, but it lasted only three issues.

The second animated series ran on Saturday mornings from 1992–1995 on ABC after producers realized the success of the 1991 Addams Family movie. This series returned to the familiar format of the original series, with the Addams Family facing their sitcom situations at home. John Astin returned to the role of Gomez, and celebrities Rip Taylor and Carol Channing took over the roles of Fester and Grandmama, respectively, while veteran voice actors Jim Cummings, Debi Derryberry, Jeannie Elias and Pat Fraley did the voices of Lurch, Wednesday, Pugsley and Cousin Itt. New artistic models of the characters were used for this series, though still having a passing resemblance to the original comics. Two seasons were produced, with the third year containing reruns. Oddly in this series, Wednesday maintained her macabre, brooding attitude from the Addams Family movies, but her facial expressions and body language conveyed the happy-go-lucky, fun attitude of her portrayal in the original television show.

[edit] Games

Six video games released from 1989 to 1994 were based on The Addams Family. Fester's Quest (1989) was a top-down shooter that featured Uncle Fester. The Addams Family platformer was released for Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, with later ports for Sega Genesis (based on the Super NES version), Master System and Game Gear (both based on the NES version but with different graphics), TurboGrafx-CD (developed separately) and ZX Spectrum; these games, released by Ocean Software (Flying Edge in the case of the Sega consoles ports) (ICOM Simulations for the TurboGrafx-CD version), these were based on the first movie rather than the TV series or cartoons. The games' sequel, The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (1993), also by Ocean Software was based on the ABC animated series, and was released for Super NES, NES and Game Boy (although the latter two were just 8-bit remakes of the first SNES game, swapping Pugsley and Gomez's roles). Addams Family Values (1994) by Ocean was based on the movie's sequel and returned to the style of gameplay seen in the original Fester's Quest.

A Game Boy Color game was released in the 1990s for promotion of "The New Addams Family". The game was simply titled "The New Addams Family Series".

A pinball game by Midway (under the Bally label) was released in 1992 shortly after the movie. It broke previous sales records by selling over 20,000 units.

Further information: The Addams Family (pinball)

[edit] Musical

In May, 2007 it was announced that a musical was being produced for the Broadway stage featuring an adaptation of the Addams Family. Broadway veterans Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice are writing the book while Andrew Lippa was writing the score. Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott have been hired to direct the production.[3]

[edit] Cast

Gomez Addams is portrayed by
Morticia Addams is portrayed by
Pugsley Addams is portrayed by
Wednesday Addams is portrayed by
Uncle Fester is portrayed by
Grandmama is portrayed by
Lurch is portrayed by
Thing is portrayed by
  • Ted Cassidy (Live-action TV 1964–1966, 1977)
  • Jack Voglin (Live-action TV 1964–1966, 1977) (when Thing and Lurch had to both appear)
  • Christopher Hart (actor) (Live-action movies 1991, 1993, 1998)
  • Steven Fox (Live-action TV 1998–1999)
Cousin Itt is portrayed by
  • Felix Silla (Live-action TV 1964–1966, 1977) (on screen)
  • Roger Arroyo (Live-action TV 1965, 2 episodes) (on screen)
  • Tony Magro (Live-action TV 1964–1966, 1977) (voice)
  • John Stephenson (Animated TV 1972–1974)
  • John Franklin (Live-action movie 1991, 1993)
  • Pat Fraley (Animated TV 1992–1994)
  • Phil Fondacaro (Live-action movie 1998)
  • David Mylrea (Live-action TV 1998–1999) (on screen)
  • Paul Dobson (Live-action TV 1998–1999) (voice)

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)
  • The Histeria! episode "The Know-It-Alls" opens with a parody of the introduction to the 1964 live-action Addams Family series. Also, at the beginning of the episode "The American Civil War", Pepper Mills mistakes Abraham Lincoln for Lurch.
  • Of the names Addams suggested for the family members, "Gomez" was the only one that was not "ghoulish" (in the manner of Morticia or Fester). When asked why he suggested the name Gomez for the character, Addams replied that he "thought he [the character] had a bit of Spanish blood in him." However, Addams had trouble deciding whether the father character was Spanish or Italian. He decided that if he were Spanish, he would be called "Gomez", if Italian, he would be "Repelli". The final choice of first name was left up to actor John Astin.[4]
  • In the original TV series, Thing was generally played by Ted Cassidy (the actor who played Lurch). He was usually a right hand, but Cassidy occasionally used his left, "just to see if anyone noticed".[5]
  • The name of the show was parodied in the pornographic film "The Maddams Family" starring Ron Jeremy as Uncle Pester.
  • The Addams Family "mansion" was inspired by College Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Charles Addams attended the University of Pennsylvania.
  • In April 18, 2007, Mars aired an M&M's commercial parody of the old Addams Family show to promote the new dark chocolate variety of the candy. The M&M's mascots were even designed like the Addams members for the commercial, which is a (nearly) shot-for-shot remake of the original opening sequence, complete with the original theme.[6]
  • MC Hammer wrote and performed rap song(s) for The Addams Family movie, with a video and single.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Charles Addams (1912-1988)
  2. ^ 3-Wheelers on TV and at the Movies
  3. ^ Go, Go, Go Gomez! Addams Family Musical, by Lippa, Brickman and Elice, In Development
  4. ^ Chas Addams: A Cartoonist's Life, Linda H. Davis, Random House, 2006
  5. ^ Sitcoms Online - The Addams Family
  6. ^ M&Ms® Dark

[edit] External links