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7 Addams Family cast members who look totally different in Western roles
These Old West characters are a far cry from the spooky parts that they’re best known for.
Though it only originally aired for two seasons, The Addams Family has continued to be a huge presence in pop culture. For many fans, the original 1960s cast is still the best iteration of each character and the actors are instantly recognizable, at least in their kooky and spooky attire.
Here are members of the Addams Family looking totally different. They’ve swapped suits for suspenders and cobwebs for cowboy hats. It's the Addams Family out west! Well, the actors at least.
1. Carolyn Jones
After appearing in classic '50s films like House of Wax and The Tender Trap with Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds, Carolyn Jones ventured into television on shows like Dr. Kildare. She was also in three episodes of Wagon Train before becoming Morticia Addams. Two of Jones’ Wagon Train episodes are in color, a rarity for the classic Western. In “The Jenna Douglas Story,” seen here, Jones plays the title character who looks nothing like Morticia Addams but did break out of a straightjacket.
2. John Astin
John Astin was no stranger to Westerns, appearing in Maverick, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West and even an Old West episode of The Twilight Zone, “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim.” Astin also played Festus Haggen’s cousin, Hard Luck Henry, shown here, in one memorable Gunsmoke episode.
3. Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan began his career as a child star in silent films. By the time he became Uncle Fester, he had dozens of credits to his name and had appeared on TV in everything from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to The Andy Griffith Show. After The Addams Family, Coogan acted in Westerns like The Virginian and The Wild Wild West. He was also in the Don Knotts movie The Shakiest Gun in the West, shown here, as the assistant to a gun-smuggling preacher.
4. Ted Cassidy
Lurch was Ted Cassidy’s very first credited role and it jumpstarted his Hollywood career. After The Addams Family, Cassidy was in Batman, Star Trek, The Beverly Hillbillies and much more. In the season 11 Bonanza episode “Decision at Los Robles” he played a tall, intimidating cowboy (seen here) employed by a man bent on revenge against Ben and Joe Cartwright.
5. Blossom Rock
Blossom Rock, also known as Marie Blake, ended her long career playing Grandmama in The Addams Family. Before that, she was best known as Sally the receptionist in the many Dr. Kildare films of the 1940s. In 1962, she appeared in the TV Western Lawman, seen here, in a much more serious and put-together role than she would embody two years later in Addams Family.
6. Ken Weatherwax
Ken Weatherwax’s only acting credits are Addams Family projects – the original 1960s series, the 1973 animated version and the 1977 reunion film. Except for one, that is. He had a small role as one of many children in the Wagon Train episode “The John Gillman Story,” which originally aired a month after The Addams Family premiered in the fall of 1964.
7. Felix Silla
Though he often embodied characters with elaborate costumes that didn’t show his face, Felix Silla had a long career that spanned everything from The Monkees to Spaceballs. He was Cousin Itt in The Addams Family but also Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and an Ewok in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. One of Silla’s first onscreen roles came in the Bonanza episode “Hoss and the Leprechauns,” seen here.
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42 Comments
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theres always a debate between the two - which was best
you cant compare them - Munsters are by far funnier - but Addams family was quirky and more interesting
and Jackie Coogan was really good on Perry Mason
loved Fred Gwynne in car 54 - HINT Me-tV?!
OOH OOH!
Bonus: while you're there, you can watch the entire unaired pilot. It's quite fascinating. There was also a different actor playing Eddie; I think his name was Happy Dorman. It's not difficult to see why they replaced him. Whereas Butch Patrick gave Eddie an endearing persona, Dorman's portrayal was unlikable in the extreme.
I won't go into it here, but you can look it up on Wikipedia.
