Thing (The Addams Family)

Thing T. Thing, referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in the The Addams Family. Thing takes the form of a disembodied hand who performs various useful functions for the family.

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), and in the related movies The Addams Family (1991), Addams Family Values (1993) and Addams Family Reunion (1998) .

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. Thing customarily emerges from a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams' mansion, although he occasionally emerged from behind a curtain, within a plant pot, or elsewhere. It is unclear if he moved from box to box through a labyrinth of tunnels or just simply teleported. 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.

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.

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, 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.

Morticia is always very appreciative of Thing's services, and her frequent "Why thank you, Thing" is one of the best known lines of the series. Thing cannot talk, of course, 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 Addam's mansion.

Other hands

On the 1960s TV series, two similar hands were introduced in the episode "Morticia Meets Royalty":

• Lady Fingers: a female "handmaiden" who was the servant of Cousin Millie, also known as Princess Millicent von Schlepp. When Millicent came to visit, Thing and Lady Fingers fell in love. Lady Fingers later returned in the 1977 Addams Family Halloween special and the 1998 series revival.
• Esmerelda: another female hand hired by Millicent after firing Lady Fingers. Esmerelda turned out to be dishonest, and Millicent rehired Lady Fingers.

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 in other TV series

Thing's influence on popular culture is expressed by his being referred to on several TV shows.

• On The Prisoner episode, The General, accessing the Village broadcast studios required a token to be inserted into a Thing money box. This was a toy bank in which a "Thing" hand deposited coins that were placed in it. This item was reportedly included at the request of Patrick McGoohan.

• On Good Eats, Alton Brown is often provided with ingredients and equipment by an unseen assistant's hand, to which he often replies, "Thank you, Thing." During the behind-the-scenes episode, Brown reveals that the hand is apparently the original Thing's son, Thing Jr. He also has his very own bachelor pad in the prop storage room.

Trivia

• On the first Hanna-Barbera Addams Family animated series in 1973, Thing sported a coat of white fur. On the family's appearance in Scooby-Doo, Thing's skin was colored green. No explanation was given as to either of these depictions, although some fans speculate that these changes were made to tone down the "human" appearance of Thing, to avoid the uncanny valley.
• In a 2007 commercial, a hand inside a box, very similar to Thing on The Addams Family TV series, became an advertising mascot for Office Depot.

External links

• Article at TV ACRES
• Unofficial episode guide to the 1960s series
• Unofficial episode gude to the revived series