50 Fun Facts About Addams Family

The Addams Family began as single-panel cartoons in which magazine?

Charles Addams drew about 1,300 cartoons for the magazine between 1932 and his death in 1988; the first family gag ran in 1938.

Which cartoonist created the family?

He was born in Westfield, New Jersey, in 1912, and as a boy liked to wander the local Presbyterian cemetery wondering what it was like to be dead.

For how long were the family members nameless in the cartoons?

The daughters got their names with a 1962 doll line; the father and son were named when the TV series debuted in 1964.

Which two family members were named for a 1962 doll collection?

Gomez and Pugsley had to wait until the 1964 television series to be christened.

On which network did the original black-and-white sitcom premiere in September 1964?

It ran only two seasons and 64 episodes, debuting the same week as The Munsters.

How many episodes did the 1964 series run?

It aired Friday nights at 8:30 for both of its seasons.

Who composed and sang the finger-snapping theme song?

ABC wanted cheap library music; producer David Levy insisted on Mizzy, and Ted Cassidy punctuated the lyrics with "neat," "sweet" and "petite."

The theme's sound is dominated by which instrument?

A bass clarinet supplies the low end under the harpsichord.

What is the family's address in the 1964 series?

1313 Mockingbird Lane belongs to the Munsters, the other macabre sitcom family that debuted the same week.

Who played Gomez in the 1964 series?

He returned to voice Gomez in the 1992 animated series, nearly thirty years later.

Which former child star of Chaplin's The Kid played Uncle Fester on TV?

He and Ted Cassidy were the only original cast members to return for the 1973 animated series.

Ted Cassidy played the towering butler Lurch and also provided which other character?

Thing grew out of a shadowy figure in a 1954 cartoon; showrunner David Levy expanded it into a hand that pops out of boxes.

Which two characters were invented by the TV showrunner rather than by the original cartoons?

David Levy later sued over the 1991 film's use of them and settled after a sequel was greenlit.

What is the name of Morticia's carnivorous plant?

Aristotle is Pugsley's pet octopus and Kitty Kat is the family lion; all three arrived in 1964.

Why did the magazine cartoons stop in 1964?

Shawn reportedly felt the TV show cheapened them; the cartoons resumed after his tenure.

Which future Oscar winner voiced Pugsley in the 1973 Hanna-Barbera animated series, aged around ten?

Astin and Jones did not return; Lennie Weinrib and Janet Waldo voiced Gomez and Morticia.

The Addamses first crossed over into animation in 1972 with which cartoon gang?

Four original cast members returned for the mystery, which led to the family's own 1973 animated series.

Who debuted as director on the 1991 film after the first choice left for Batman Returns?

It was Sonnenfeld's directorial debut; he blacked out on set during the troubled shoot.

Who played Gomez in the 1991 film?

He loved that "even his depressions are wonderful"; his death in 1994 ended plans for a third film.

Anjelica Huston based aspects of her Morticia on which friend, to give the character warmth?

She called the shoot "long and arduous" in her memoir Watch Me.

Who played Wednesday in the 1991 film and its 1993 sequel?

Three decades later she joined the Netflix series Wednesday as botany teacher Marilyn Thornhill.

Which studio started the 1991 film but sold it to Paramount during production?

Costs rose from $25 million to $30 million; the filmmakers learned of the sale from a journalist.

Which rapper's 'Addams Groove' was the 1991 film's theme song and won a Razzie for Worst Original Song?

Carel Struycken, who played Lurch, showed up to accept the award on behalf of the cast.

Roughly how much did the 1991 film gross worldwide?

It opened at number one with $24 million, Paramount's biggest non-holiday opening at the time.

Which baby was introduced in the 1993 sequel Addams Family Values?

The sequel was written by Paul Rudnick, one of many hands who rewrote the first film.

What kept the 1991 film's script from getting a third installment in 1994?

A script had already been prepared when the actor died that year.

Who stars as Wednesday in the streaming series that premiered in November 2022?

She choreographed her own dance to the Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck" and shot it while awaiting a COVID test result.

Which school does Wednesday attend in the 2022 series?

It is her parents' alma mater, in Jericho, Vermont, a school for outcasts and monsters.

Which director helmed four episodes of each season of Wednesday, his first TV directing work?

He had been considered to direct the 1991 film and had a stop-motion Addams project at Illumination in 2010 that never materialised.

Wednesday set an English-language streaming record with how many hours viewed in week one?

That beat Stranger Things 4's 335 million and reached more than 50 million households.

Which 1981 song by the Cramps saw a surge in popularity thanks to Wednesday's dance scene?

Ortega drew on Siouxsie Sioux, Bob Fosse and 1980s goth-club footage for the choreography.

Who plays Uncle Fester in the 2022 series Wednesday?

Steve Buscemi joined season two as Nevermore's new principal, and Lady Gaga appeared as Rosaline Rotwood.

Who play Wednesday's parents in the 2022 series?

The second season expanded Wednesday's fraught relationship with her mother.

How many Primetime Emmys did Wednesday's first season win?

It was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series and earned Ortega a lead-actress nod.

A 2010 Broadway musical of The Addams Family starred which pair as Gomez and Morticia?

Reviews were tepid, but it earned two Tony nominations and toured internationally until 2021.

Where did the family's creator marry his third wife, Tee, in 1981?

His ashes were later interred in the pet cemetery of their Sagaponack estate, which they had named The Swamp.

Which science-fiction author collaborated with Addams in 1946 on a book about a supernatural family, the Elliotts?

Addams had illustrated Bradbury's story "Homecoming" for Mademoiselle; the Elliotts were Illinois vampires.

What was the subject of the cartoonist's first published magazine drawing, in February 1932?

He became a regular contributor and drew about 1,300 cartoons for the magazine over 56 years.

What is Pugsley's pet in the family lineup?

Kitty Kat is Morticia's lion and Cleopatra her man-eating plant.

Who was too ill to appear in the 1977 reunion movie Halloween with the New Addams Family?

Jane Rose from Phyllis stepped in; the rest of the original cast returned for the NBC film.

How did the actor who played Gomez distinguish his family from their rival sitcom family, the Munsters?

The two shows premiered within a week of each other in September 1964 and were often confused.

Which University of Pennsylvania building, where Addams studied, inspired the family mansion?

Two houses in his hometown of Westfield are also cited, one of which police once caught him breaking into.

Wednesday (2022) became the second-most-watched English-language show on which platform?

It reached an estimated 150 million households and a billion viewing hours by December 2022.

Which character in the 1991 film is a con artist's son who closely resembles the missing Fester?

Christopher Lloyd played the role; Gordon turns out to be the real amnesiac Fester after all.

What is the name of the family's pet lion in the 1964 sitcom?

Gomez notes that Kitty 'can't stand the taste of people'; Grandmama also wrestles an unnamed alligator in the basement pit.

In the 1964 series, Ophelia is which relation to Morticia?

Morticia's mother, Grandma Frump, and Gomez's Cousin Itt were the other recurring relatives.

Which original cast members reprised Wednesday and Pugsley in the 1977 reunion movie?

Halloween with the New Addams Family aired on NBC in October 1977 with all the original cast except the ailing Blossom Rock.

In Addams Family Values, what is the profession of Debbie Jellinsky, who marries Fester?

She is a serial killer who marries rich bachelors for their inheritances; Joan Cusack played her.

In Addams Family Values, which role is Wednesday given in the Camp Chippewa Thanksgiving play?

She breaks from the script and leads the outcasts to burn down the stage and capture Amanda, Gary and Becky.

Where was The New Addams Family (1998-99) filmed?

It aired on YTV in Canada, Fox Family in the US and CITV in the UK.