The Addams Family (1964 TV series)

The Addams Family
File:Addams gomez5.jpg Title card from the series
Created by	Charles Addams
Developed by	David Levy
Starring	Carolyn Jones John Astin Jackie Coogan Ted Cassidy Blossom Rock Ken Weatherwax Lisa Loring
Opening theme	Vic Mizzy
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	64 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	David Levy
Producer	Nat Perrin
Running time	25 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 18, 1964 – April 8, 1966

The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30 minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964 to April 8, 1966. It is often compared to its working-class rival, The Munsters, which ran for the same two seasons and achieved somewhat higher Nielsen Ratings. For a short time in 1996 reruns of it aired on Nickelodeon.

It was originally produced by Filmways, Inc. at General Service Studios in Hollywood, California. Successor company MGM Television (via The Program Exchange for broadcast syndication, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for home video/DVD) owns the rights to the show.

Premise

The Addamses are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests. They all have supernatural abilities, although no rationale for their powers is ever explicitly given.

The very wealthy, endlessly enthusiastic Gomez Addams is madly in love with his refined wife Morticia. Along with their two children, Wednesday and Pugsley, Uncle Fester and Grandmama, they reside in an ornate, gloomy mansion, attended by their servants, Lurch, the towering butler, and Thing, a hand that usually appears out of a small wooden box. Occasionally, episodes would feature relatives or other members of their weird subculture, such as Cousin Itt or Morticia's older sister Ophelia.

Much of the humor derives from their "culture clash" with the rest of the world. They invariably treat normal visitors with great warmth and courtesy, even though their guests often have evil intentions. They are puzzled by the horrified reactions to their good-natured, if extremely bizarre behavior. Contrarily, they view the tastes of the normal world with generally tolerant suspicion. For example, Fester once cites a neighboring family's meticulously maintained petunia patches as evidence that they are "nothing but riff-raff."

The tone was set by series producer Nat Perrin, close friend of Groucho Marx and writer of several Marx Brothers films. Perrin created story ideas, directed one episode, and rewrote every script. Much of the dialog is his (albeit uncredited). As a result, Gomez, with his sardonic remarks, backwards logic, and ever-present cigar (pulled from his breast pocket already lit), has been frequently compared to Groucho Marx. In addition, the series often employed the same type of zany satire and screwball humor seen in the Marx Brothers films. It lampooned politics ("Gomez, The Politician" and "Gomez, The People's Choice"), the legal system ("The Addams Family in Court"), Beatlemania ("Lurch, The Teenage Idol"), and Hollywood ("My Fair Cousin Itt").

Characters

Main characters

• Gomez Addams (John Astin). Gomez is passionately in love with his wife. His ardor is greatly intensified when she speaks French (a quirk that first appears in the eleventh episode, "The Addams Family Meet the V.I.P.s") - before then it was "Bube(r)le". An (German-Bavarian, & Yiddish ) expression referring to someone as something like "my little boy", "little girl", "grandmother", "darling", "honey", "sweetie". He is very wealthy, due to owning numerous companies, as well as stocks in yet others (although mostly not knowing that it is so) and mostly charming, but doesn't seem to have money itself as "a priority" in life; indeed, he tends to squander his huge fortune quite cavalierly, yet somehow still manages to remain wealthy after all. He does however spend a great deal of time with his family. His own family background is referenced as "Castilian" and he occasionally uses Spanish words and phrases.

• Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones). A Cultivated and most beautiful, but strange, woman, Morticia dabbles in art, raises flesh-eating plants (often recalled as hamburgers), and trims her roses by clipping off the buds (or just turning them upside-down on occasion) and saving the stems in a vase ("Oh, the thorns are lovely this year"). With her aristocratic detachment, she remains the cool, calm center in the middle of the chaotic events that continually swirl around the family. She is the one most readily offended when outsiders are taken aback by their lifestyle.
• Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan), Morticia's kind and kind of "electric" uncle. His standard gag is to place a lightbulb in his mouth, where it lights up. When angered or disgusted by outsiders, he may grab for a blunderbuss and announce that he will shoot the offender in the back.

• Lurch (Ted Cassidy) is the household butler. Morticia and Gomez summon him by means of a bell pull in the form of a hangman's noose, which produces a crashing gong that shakes the entire house. When Lurch appears (usually immediately seconds thereafter), he responds with a deep-voiced "You rang?" According to IMDb, Lurch was intended to be a nonspeaking part, as the Charles Addams cartoon character was silent; however, Cassidy improvised the line during his audition, and it was so well-received that it became a feature of the character. When questions are posed to him, Lurch's primary response is a deep throaty rumbling and tremendously annoyed sound. Lurch very often plays the harpsichord (the music is actually played by The Addams Family composer Vic Mizzy). Lurch is very high-minded about visitors; when a plainclothes policeman (played by George Neise) visited the family, Lurch patted him down and groaned angrily when he found his gun. Neise showed Lurch his badge, whereupon Lurch returned the gun.
• Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock), Gomez's mother. She is a witch who conjures up potions, spells and hexes. She also dabbles in fortune-telling, though it is obvious she is a charlatan.

• Wednesday Addams (Lisa Loring), Gomez and Morticia's daughter - who has the middle name of Friday. She is the youngest member (six years old) of the family, she is a strange yet sweet-natured little girl who pursues such hobbies as raising spiders, beheading dolls (called "Marie Antoinette", "Mary Queen of Scots", and "Little Red Riding Hood"), and practising ballet in a black tutu
• Pugsley Addams (Ken Weatherwax), Gomez and Morticia' son and Wednesday's older brother. Kind-hearted but smart, very often trying to be somewhat normal contrary to his family, he still shares nevertheless a close bond with his parents and sister, the latter whom he often plays with. He also enjoys engineering various machines (sometimes with Gomez), playing with blasting caps, and his pet octopus, "Aristotle". And he switches his electric trains onto the same track; when they collide he says things like, "Swell wreck!"

• Thing (Ted Cassidy, except in scenes where both Thing and Lurch appear (therefore Carolyn Jones), a disembodied hand that appears out of boxes and other conveniently placed containers.

Recurring characters

• Cousin Itt (Felix Silla), a "midget" human being completely hidden by his hair (according to Felix Silla's commentary on the DVD release, the voice for Cousin Itt was recorded by a member of the crew in post-production). Gomez once asks him what is under it all; Itt answers, "Roots."
• Ophelia, Morticia's sister. Gomez was originally engaged to her in an arranged marriage, but when he saw Morticia (dressed in a grown-up version of Wednesday's clothing), he fell in love with her. Played by Carolyn Jones in a blonde wig (a staple of 1960's sitcom twins). One quirk of Ophelia's is that the flower growing in her hair had roots that travelled down into her foot.

Reunions

A reunion film, Halloween with the New Addams Family, aired on CBS in October of 1977 and starred most of the original cast, except for Blossom Rock (Grandmama), who was very ill at the time and was replaced by Phyllis actress Jane Rose. The picture also featured extended family members who were created specifically for the production and never appeared in the television series, such as Gomez's brother, Pancho (played by Henry Darrow) and two additional children, Wednesday Junior and Pugsley Junior.

The interior set of the Addams mansion had previously been used for the 1972 film Ben.

Addams Family vs. Munsters

The two shows might seem similar on the surface, but actually have different premises. The Addams Family is about a family of wealthy recluses, who only meet strangers on their own terms. The Munsters are a working-class clan, odd in their own right, but generally friendly and open to outsiders.

In the television series, the Addamses rarely leave their mansion, although both children attend school. They actively discourage their kids from interacting with other children, deeming "normal" kids a bad influence (In the movies, however, it indicates from the school performance that Gomez and Morticia look upon "normal" children with pity rather than disdain). Gomez works from home, where he has a ticker tape machine and seemingly keeps track of his various stocks and other investments via telephone. They eat strange foods that Morticia admits have to be obtained from "specialty shops." Regular people come to their world, and are generally scared by it. Given that most visitors are greeted by Lurch, their hulking butler, or Thing, a disembodied hand, doesn't help matters. The Addamses do not understand that the rest of society doesn't live like them.

The Munsters, on the other hand, consider themselves to be well-integrated members of the broader society. Their son, Eddie, attends public school and has a few friends. Herman has an hourly-wage job at a funeral parlor, but thinks of himself as a regular working stiff. Lily shops at regular grocery stores, and assumes the stares she receives from the locals are due to her great beauty and taste in fashion. Their home life is different than other people, but they don't believe it to necessarily be superior.

DVD releases

MGM Home Entertainment has released The Addams Family on DVD in Region 1 for the first time in three volume sets.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
Volume 1	22	August 10 2006	Audio commentary for "The Addams Family Goes to School" by director Arthur Hiller You Rang, Mr. Addams featurette Snap, Snap featurette Theme Song Karaoke
Volume 2	21	March 27 2007	Mad About the Addams featurette: Experts discuss the history and impact of the show Thing and Cousin Itt commentaries Guest Star Séance interactive featurette: A magical crystal ball conjures guest star clips and trivia Tombstone Trivia on "Morticia's Romance, Part 1" Episode Audio commentary with The Addams Chronicles author Stephen Cox
Volume 3	21	September 11, 2007	Thing and Cousin Itt commentaries. Audio commentary with Stephen Cox, author of "The Addams Chronicles". Tombstone Trivia on "Cat Addams" Episode.
The Complete Series	64	November 13, 2007	Special "velvet-touch" package.