The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The 1960's Addams Family Series
Ah, "The Addams Family." They're creepy and they're kooky. Mysterious and spooky. They're all together ooky. And so on. The ghoulish Addamses were created by cartoonist Charles Addams in the pages of The New Yorker before Hollywood came calling, adapting Addams' comics into a TV series in 1964. The series followed a family of weirdos who live every day like it's Halloween, much to the confusion of the normal folks all around them. The original "The Addams Family" series lasted only two seasons, running between 1964 and 1966, but its impact and influence continued for decades.
Sadly, the majority of the original cast of "The Addams Family" are no longer with us. But there's one main player who is still around.
John Astin (Gomez Addams)
John Astin played Gomez Addams on the show. A former lawyer and frequent cigar smoker, Gomez is known for being extremely horny for his wife, Morticia. He's the patriarch of the Addams clan, which includes Morticia (Carolyn Jones), their children Wednesday (Lisa Loring) and Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax), and of course, Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) (side-note: in the popular "Addams Family" movies from the '90s, Fester is Gomez's brother, but in the original series, he's Morticia's uncle). The family also includes Lurch the butler (Ted Cassidy), Gomez's mother Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock) (she's Morticia's mother in the movies), and the disembodied hand Thing.
Believe it or not, Astin is the only cast member still with us. He's 93 as of this writing and retired. A prominent TV actor, Astin began his career in the theater. His big movie break came from a small role in the film adaptation of "West Side Story," but it's "The Addams Family" he's best known for. Other film roles include "Freaky Friday" (1976), "National Lampoon's European Vacation" (1985), and "The Frighteners" (1996). Astin has five sons and is the adoptive father of actor Sean Astin (Patty Duke, Sean Astin's mother, was one of John Astin's three wives). Astin's final credited role before retirement was providing a voice for the animated series "Justice League Action."