Garry was wrong. It was NOT Fred Guinn. It was Ted Cassidy who played Lurch.
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This is Lurch. He was the butler for the Addams family. Maybe if you ask nice, he will be YOUR butler, too. Do you have high ceilings?
Writer, photography, blogger. Previously, technical writer. I am retired and delighted to be so. May I live long and write frequently.
View all posts by Marilyn Armstrong
I was more into the Munsters as the Adams family. I don’t think the BBC had the Addams family on the TV. No. 1 Son is 1 meter 84 (over 6 feet) so I suppose we do have high celings.
The Addams family was based on a series of cartoons originally written for The New Yorker, a rather sophisticated magazine. The show wasn’t remotely sophisticated, but it was funny and had some surprisingly good actors in it. It was on for maybe five, six years? I didn’t watch it all the time, but I caught it now and then. It isn’t on reruns anywhere that I know of, but maybe it’ll pop up somewhere.
Isn’t Fred Guinn the guy who played the Frankenstein character in the comedy series I can’t remember the name of? And the cop in Car 54, Where Are You?
Garry was wrong (Wow, Garry was WRONG!!!!) — Theodore Crawford “Ted” Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor of radio, television and film and voice artist. Noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his deep bass voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and is best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He is also known for voicing The Hulk.
I loved the Addams Family as a kid. I especially enjoyed Lurch and his harpsichord, Thing, who wouldn’t want a thing to give you a helping hand and of course we kids liked Cousin Itt. It wasn’t that sophisticated but probably more so than The Munsters.
One of the cool facts from TV history is that the runs of The Addams Family and The Munsters were almost 100% concurrent…. both debuting and getting canceled at the same time. That would make it unlikely that Herman Munster was also moonlighting as Lurch, but both actors were big, hulking men who played monsters on 60’s black and white TV, so it’s easy to get them confused…
On a related note, I wonder how half of the Car 54 cast wound up in the Munster household….
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LMAO Lurch was my first thought as well. mwhaha
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I didn’t even watch the show much, but Lurch sorta sticks with you 🙂
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lol, too true on that. I didn’t watch much either, wasn’t particularly interested, but I saw him and he just stuck. That’s quite funny to me tbh.
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Yes, I was WRONG. The world will never be the same again.
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But will he bring his own harpsichord or do I need to purchase one?
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Maybe he’d be happy with an accordion?
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What a cast they had on that show. It really was inspired. Sitcoms these days seem to pale by standards of yesteryear.
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They had very good actors on it. Much better than most serial TV shows.
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I was more into the Munsters as the Adams family. I don’t think the BBC had the Addams family on the TV. No. 1 Son is 1 meter 84 (over 6 feet) so I suppose we do have high celings.
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The Addams family was based on a series of cartoons originally written for The New Yorker, a rather sophisticated magazine. The show wasn’t remotely sophisticated, but it was funny and had some surprisingly good actors in it. It was on for maybe five, six years? I didn’t watch it all the time, but I caught it now and then. It isn’t on reruns anywhere that I know of, but maybe it’ll pop up somewhere.
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What a name for a character and what a character.
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He was my favorite Addams family character and on TV, he was really funny.
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🙂
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In the White House there are regularly free jobs … Chief Strategist? Communication Officer? … High ceilings guaranteed
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And I’m sure Lurch would be suitable for one or even MORE of them.
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For trivia buffs. Lurch was the actor who played the alien in the Twilight Zone episode “to serve man”
It’s a cookbook!
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I remember. He ALSO played the judge in “My Cousin Vinnie.” From Garry, who as you know, knows EVERYTHING about the movies 🙂
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This brings back memories. I wonder who the actor was and if he ever had other acting roles.
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Fred Guinn. He also played the judge in the movie “My Cousin Vinnie.”
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Isn’t Fred Guinn the guy who played the Frankenstein character in the comedy series I can’t remember the name of? And the cop in Car 54, Where Are You?
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Garry was wrong (Wow, Garry was WRONG!!!!) — Theodore Crawford “Ted” Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor of radio, television and film and voice artist. Noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his deep bass voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and is best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He is also known for voicing The Hulk.
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Yes! Now I remember him. And as for Garry being wrong, he only gets two more strikes.
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He is embarrassed. He is NEVER wrong about movies or baseball. Except when he is.
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OK, I won’t mention it again. (But I’m sure you will! 🙂 )
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Garry keeps reminding me before I have a chance to remind HIM.
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oh how I loved those 2!! Thanks for the memory!
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I heard Lurch and I thought “Yes, Lurch!” I wasn’t planning to do any more writing, but it was just a picture and a couple of sentences … so … 😀
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In the interests of strict accuracy – it’s Fred Gwynne, not Guinn who played Herman Munster!
…but Ted was one of a kind – Muuuhhhuuhhuuuhhhuuhhhh. 😉
I loved the Addams family TV show much more than the movies and ‘Tish was always my favourite. (Followed by the Original Fester)
You must put out a bowl of rose stems with thorns (minus heads) for your guest! 🙂
love.
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I actually know that, but didn’t feel like making another correction.
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I loved the Addams Family as a kid. I especially enjoyed Lurch and his harpsichord, Thing, who wouldn’t want a thing to give you a helping hand and of course we kids liked Cousin Itt. It wasn’t that sophisticated but probably more so than The Munsters.
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But they were funny and different from other shows. My favorite part is that is was DIFFERENT at a time when everything was exactly the same.
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One of the cool facts from TV history is that the runs of The Addams Family and The Munsters were almost 100% concurrent…. both debuting and getting canceled at the same time. That would make it unlikely that Herman Munster was also moonlighting as Lurch, but both actors were big, hulking men who played monsters on 60’s black and white TV, so it’s easy to get them confused…
On a related note, I wonder how half of the Car 54 cast wound up in the Munster household….
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Obvious. They were all undercover cops.
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