"Creepy" and "Kooky": the Addams Family Debuts September 18, 1964

Fifty-five years ago today, September 18, the TV family changed forever. 

That’s when the “creepy,” “kooky,” “mysterious” and “spooky” (albeit cultured) “Addams Family” first entertained us with an artful mix of adult humor, Old-World decorum, child-like fantasy and the macabre.  

The captivating characters by cartoonist Charles Addams found in “New Yorker” magazine had come to life and debuted on the ABC television network. Their new comedy was called, simply, “The Addams Family.” (*) 

Now listed among the “1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You Die,” the “sitcom combined the homespun family values of The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) with the macabre charms of The Twilight Zone (1959).” (**) 

“Amid sadomasochistic innuendos and morbid humor, it offered an inspirational vision of family unity and a marriage in which passion flourished despite the presence of two school-age children and often irksome relatives...” (**) 

“But what made the Addams Family the cooler cousin of The Munsters (also 1964) was the opportunity it offered to revel in the ghoulish, the sinister and – in the case of matriarch Morticia – the downright seductive, without worrying about the consequences....” (**) 

We still remember the main characters :   

Gomez Addams : wealthy head of the household and smitten spouse of the alluring Morticia. Cheerful, generous and quick to light up a cigar. 

Morticia Addams : Gomez’s beautiful, refined, enchanting spouse, doting mother, and gracious hostess to diverse family members living within the household (and to alarmed visitors who made the mistake of ringing their doorbell).  

The rest of the family: Uncle Fester, Grandmama, daughter Wednesday, son Pugsley and short-in-stature-but-long-on-hair Cousin Itt.  

Last, but not least were the monstrously tall, expressionless butler, Lurch, and a true “hand-y”-man if there ever was one, the ever-helpful “Thing.”  

 

Sources:  

(*) “2019 Chase’s Calendar of Events” available for checkout at MidPointe Library. 

 (**) Profile of “The Addams Family” found in the book, “1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You Die.” Published in 2015 by Universe Publishing. General Editor: Paul Condon. Available for checkout at MidPointe Library. 

 Images : From Google Images. 

 To find more Addams Family material go to: www.midpointelibrary.org > Addams Family  or 

www.midpointelibrary.org > eLibrary > Movies and TV shows > Addams Family 

MidPointe Library cardholders can also access Addams Family-related items from other libraries via SearchOhio and/or OhioLink. Go to :  

www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search > Addams Family > > SearchOhio (at top of page) 

(or)  

www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search > Addams Family > OhioLink (at top of page)