| Thing | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | The New Yorker cartoon, (1938) |
| Created by | Charles Addams |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | American |
Thing T. Thing, referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in the The Addams Family. Thing was originally portrayed as a whole person (always seen in the background watching the family, but never getting noticed or shown fully), but was changed to a disembodied hand for the television series. In Spanish-speaking countries, he was named "Dedos" ("Fingers").
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Thing was the creation of Charles Addams, who drew the Addams Family cartoons in The New Yorker magazine, beginning in the 1930s. He first appeared in Addams's 1954 book Homebodies. One of Addams's cartoons shows the Addams mansion with a sign at the front saying "Beware of the Thing." Additionally, Thing has been in the original television series (1964-66), the revived series The New Addams Family (1998), in the related movies The Addams Family (1991), Addams Family Values (1993) and Addams Family Reunion (1998), and the 1992 animated series.
In the 1960s television series, Thing—strictly speaking, a disembodied forearm, since he occasionally emerged from his box at near-elbow length—was usually played by Ted Cassidy, who also played the lugubrious butler Lurch, although the two characters occasionally appeared in the same scene (in which case Thing would be played by a crew member, notably assistant director Jack Voglin). Thing customarily emerged from a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams' mansion, and the mailbox outside. He occasionally emerged from behind a curtain, within a plant pot, or elsewhere. In the films, thanks to advances in special effects, Thing (played by Christopher Hart) is able to emerge and run on his fingertips, much like a spider. This is also true for the 1998 revived series, The New Addams Family, where Thing was played by Canadian magician/actor Steven Fox. His classic box only appears in one episode of the series (the remake of "Thing's Romance"); in others, it is revealed that he lives in a closet that has been modified as his own little "house-within-a-house."
Since Cassidy was 6' 9" (2,06 m) tall, using him to depict Thing caused great technical difficulties on the set of The Addams Family. In many scenes he lay on his back on a wheeled trolley, below the line of sight of the cameras, and inserted his arm through the bottom of the box. Thing was usually a right hand, but Cassidy sometimes played him as left, simply to see if anyone would notice. Thing is credited as "itself" at the end of each episode.
In the 24th minute of Season 1, Episode 1 of the television series, "The Addams Family Goes To School," Thing emerges from a flower arrangement on a table to lift the earpiece of the ringing phone from its hook and hand it to Morticia. The camera then pulls back in an unbroken shot to reveal open space below the table, with no space for anyone to hide beneath the flowers. However, at 24:18, a crew member is momentarily visible crawling away, the sole of his shoe disappearing behind a couch.[1]
Among Thing's many useful roles are fetching the mail, handing cigars to Gomez Addams and then lighting them, changing the channel on the Addams TV set, holding Morticia Addams's wool while she knits, turning grapes into wine in under a single minute, and turning over records on the phonograph (particularly when Gomez and Morticia dance the tango). He accompanies the family on drives by riding in the glove compartment, and in one episode, where Gomez appears in court, he emerged from Gomez's briefcase. Thing and Grandmama are fond of arm-wrestling. In a flashback episode on how Gomez and Morticia met, it is revealed that Thing has been with the Addams family since Gomez himself was a child, suggesting Thing is the son of an earlier generation of hand-servants (see below).
Morticia is always very appreciative of Thing's services, and her frequent "Thank you, Thing" is one of the best known lines of the series. Thing cannot talk, but he does sometimes snap his fingers to attract attention, and is also able to communicate by signaling in Morse code, writing, or with the help of the manual alphabet. This can be very disconcerting to visitors to the Addams' mansion; in a running gag in some episodes, a visitor to the Addams home, profusely grateful for some kindness of the Addamses', enthusiastically shakes hands with everyone present---"Thank you, Mr. Addams! Thank you, Mrs. Addams!"---and is then offered a handshake by Thing. "And thank you---" begins the visitor, before realizing who and what he has been confronted with, recoiling in inarticulate shock, and fleeing the premises.
In one episode, Morticia gets goosed, and initially suspects Thing, who had been nearby moments earlier. However, Gomez immediately appears and admits responsibility, explaining: "Thing just likes to hold hands."
On the 1960s TV series, two similar hands were introduced in the episode "Morticia Meets Royalty":
In the episode "Thing Is Missing," Gomez and Morticia find a portrait of Thing's parents, a male hand and a female hand. The 1990s revived series implied the existence of other hands as well.
Thing's influence on popular culture is expressed by his being referred to on several TV shows.
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