Before she became The Waltons Grandma, Ellen Corby appeared as Lurch's mom on The Addams Family

"I'm sort of a nut," Corby said. Wait. Does this mean Lurch and John-Boy are related?

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"Where's my boy?" Ellen Corby screams at Gomez Addams when he opens the door for her in The Addams Family episode "Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family."

For this episode, Corby is cast as Mother Lurch, and when she sees the towering Ted Cassidy just beside the door, she hugs his midsection squealing, "Sonny!"

Capturing the unique humor of The Addams Family, Lurch's arms wrap the empty air above his tiny mother's head.

When this episode first aired in 1965, Corby was celebrating her 30th anniversary working in motion pictures. She got her start as a script supervisor in 1935. After 11 years, she became the cherished character actor she is today, when she made the transition to acting and never looked back.

Corby is perhaps best known to classic TV fans for playing Grandma of a different TV family, the Waltons. As Esther Walton, Corby became so beloved in the role, kids actually sent her letters asking if they could come live with her.

"I get lots of fan mail from kids who want to adopt me," Corby told The Charlotte News in 1974.

"They like Grandma because she is thinking and active and not ready for the junk heap," she joked.

By 1974, Corby was in her 60s, and though she was still young and spry as Grandma, she said she had already experienced a major loss.

"I'm a widow now," Corby said. "I was married to a cameraman for many years. He's still the only man I ever loved."

She said most of her fans expected her to be like Grandma, but she claimed she didn't quite have it all together the way that Esther did.

"I'm sort of a nut," Corby said. "I'm not Grandma."

That nutty side maybe helped her fit in better playing Lurch's mom on The Addams Family. Corby said after all the time she spent roles she played in her career, something spooky eventually happened and she lost herself a little to the experience of portraying others.

"When you have acted as long as I have, quite often it is very difficult to be yourself," Corby said. "You sort of feel an invisible camera following you around."

On The Waltons, Corby became a household name after decades of entertaining character work, and when Corby had a stroke and had to leave the show, everybody hoped she'd regain her health, recover her lost speech and return to the screen.

And she did. When series creator Earl Hamner Jr. watched Corby film her first episode coming back, "Grandma Comes Home," he got chills and predicted Corby would win another Emmy.

She did take home three Emmys for Grandma, but unfortunately, she was only nominated for "Grandma Comes Home." (She lost out to Blanche Baker who won for her work in the mini-series Holocaust.)

According to Hamner, you can be sure Corby kept her chin up through those years where her name wasn't called to come pick up a trophy.

"Ellen has a philosophy that will not accept any negative thoughts," Hamner told The News-Journal in 1978. "She applies a positive aspect to all situations."

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54 Comments

L 17 months ago
She's in The Big Trees (I don't know what's wrong with people, I love that movie!).
She's the maid in the 1947 version of Little Women.
You can't miss that scratchy voice.
harlow1313 18 months ago
Never forget the evil that was Myrt "Hubcaps" Lesh.
RichLorn 18 months ago
I've always said I admire the male and female working character actors as much if not more than the "stars". If you have a minute, check her out on IMDb and marvel at the looong list of work she has done. I'll always particularly remember her role as Trina Halverston, the meek sister in I Remember Mama.
JHP 18 months ago
as BARN would say:)

"hub-caps Glesch" (sp)
34 months ago
Ellen Corby absolutely deserved that award for "Grandma Comes Home!" It seems any Hollywood movie/documentary about the European Holocaust, automatically wins.
L 34 months ago
She is also a bona fide movie star. She was in The Big Trees and the 1947 version of Little Women.

I'm sure there are dozens more.
Wiseguy 34 months ago
"Does this mean Lurch and John-Boy are related?"

Most stupid question I've ever read.
Someguy Wiseguy 25 months ago
It was - very obviously - a joke. Lighten up.
vinman63 34 months ago
Lurch mom was a criminal on Tags and it appears she may have been a nun also.
vinman63 34 months ago
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JHP 34 months ago
yeah if you need a good chuckle - picture her standing next to Ted Cassidy
mgaurelio 34 months ago
To this day, I wish I belonged to a family like the Waltons. I'm 56 years old and still find comfort watching the show at night before I go to sleep.
Michael 34 months ago
What gets confusing is that Will Geer's daughter is Ellen Geer. I start to think, "named after Ellen", and then catch myself. Corby wasn't married to Will Geer.

Ellen Corby lived to 1999, quite a while after her stroke. Imdb shows she was in a bunch of shows that are or were on metv.
HulkFan02 34 months ago
Idk her but I remember watching that episode when I was little and I don't remember this actress and didn't know she done the mother. Thank you for the fact I heard before
Someguy HulkFan02 25 months ago
Good Lord, take an English class.
daDoctah 34 months ago
I don't suppose they ever revealed what Lurch's first name was....
HulkFan02 daDoctah 34 months ago
Idk either
justjeff daDoctah 34 months ago
Inda... Inda Lurch... or maybe Lurch was his first name and Forward was his last name... Lurch Forward!
vinman63 daDoctah 34 months ago
Lurch is his last name.
UTZAAKE daDoctah 34 months ago
Randy?
Andybandit 34 months ago
Cool story. I am enjoying The Addams family at 5pm mountain time. I didn't realize how funny the show is.
HulkFan02 Andybandit 34 months ago
Same here, I seen the series and also liked it when I was little on my childhood
Someguy HulkFan02 25 months ago
It's "I saw", not "I seen". Take an English class.
harlow1313 34 months ago
My understanding is that Lurch's birth, due to his tremendous size, was quite a difficult delivery. Thing, on the other hand, was quick and easy. He was able to slap his own buttocks to induce breathing, and sever his own umbilical cord.
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HulkFan02 texasluva 34 months ago
I remember seen King Kong Escapes before, dude
justjeff harlow1313 34 months ago
...and do his own proctological exams...
stephaniestavr5 34 months ago
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LoveMETV22 34 months ago
Thank you MeTV. What a nice story. I always enjoy seeing her on the Waltons and other shows. I'm pretty sure the Lurch's mom episode is on tomorrow.
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texasluva lynngdance 34 months ago
Time 🤔. I am putting in a new desktop pc tomorrow. I can though if not ready use one of my other devices. Should be fun 🤳🙆‍♂️
lynngdance texasluva 34 months ago
Thanks! 😄 See ya there!
lynngdance texasluva 34 months ago
Just to clarify, (as there has been some confusion due to my lack of proofreading 😆) The quiz is my “Connecting The Dots” quiz I do from time to time, the topic of the quiz is not Gomer Pyle, I’m just posting it in the comment section of a Gomer Pyle quiz.
I will be posting here, (at 8:00 PM Central Time 🙂)
texasluva lynngdance 34 months ago
Hello my Movie Quizzers. Since most of you have been to my quizzes, taken part or just friendly conversation. I have decided to award a movie during the week for your viewing. Along with that I will post a guide to that director so you can review their movies before hand. This weeks movie will be The Sixth Sense. Below is a tread to movie and director info.

A Guide to the Films of M. Night Shyamalan. https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2429401881?playlistId=nm0796117&ref_=nm_ov_vi

The Sixth Sense (1999)1 hr 47 min
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast:
Bruce Willis
Toni Collette
Trevor Morgan
Haley Joel Osment
Olivia Williams
Donnie Wahlberg

https://archive.org/details/TheSixthSense
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