You may have heard that Wednesday, a new live-action series directed by Tim Burton that’s based on The Addams Family character is headed to Netflix. (Eventually. There’s no word about a release date yet.) But did you know that the iconic Addams Family TV series was based on a comic strip?
I never did. I never knew it was anything except the mysterious and spooky and altogether ooky series from the 60s. It was thanks to Addamsfest that I learned what had inspired that series —the comic strip of the same name by cartoonist Charles Addams.
We’ll briefly touch on what and when Addamsfest is, but let’s dive into The Addams Family cartoon’s origin story, including what inspired Charles Addams to create his macabre characters.
The Addams Family Is Born
Another thing that blew my mind was that I’ve always thought The Addams Family was pretty avant-garde for 1964, which is when the TV series first debuted. However, the comic strip first debuted in The New Yorker in 1938, almost thirty full years before the TV show.
I can only imagine how the “satirical inversion of the ideal 20th-century American family,” as Wikipedia described it, was received in the thirties. Well, apparently it was well-received. The “one-panel gags” were published there ever after until Charles Addams’ death in 1988 —with one exception.
When the series aired on TV, William Shawn, the editor of The New Yorker, published other Charles Addams cartoons, but not any Addams Family ones. Basically, he pulled the snob card. He felt his audience was more “refined” and didn’t want anything in his magazine that could be associated with anything common that “just anybody” could see. (See? Snob card. No other way to call that.)
Comic Strip vs. the TV Series
Something else I found super interesting was the characters. The comic strip characters didn’t have names. They received those for the TV show.
Also, not all of those from the series were original to the comic strip. Most of them were part of it though. All the major characters were, including Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Lurch, and Pugsley’s pet octopus Aristotle.
Thing came along in 1954. (He didn’t start out as a disembodied hand at first either.) Cousin Itt and Kitty Kat the pet lion arrived in 1964.
What inspired Charles Addams to create the Addams Family?
As is the case with so many places writers and artists live, they draw inspiration from their surroundings. Charles Addams is no exception. Apparently, the “ornate Victorian mansions and archaic graveyards” of his hometown of Westfield, New Jersey, lit his creative juices.
Makes me want to jaunt there. Which I’d gladly love to do anytime but especially for AddamsFest!
AddamsFest
The first Addamsfest took place in Westfield in 2018. Ever since, it’s hosted a month-long array of activities and events in October in honor of both Charles Addams and the strange, deranged, but lovable characters that he created.
For instance, in 2020, even with the lockdown and all, local businesses decorated their windows with Addams Family motifs for the Wicked Windows of Westfield. Westfield residents were also invited to participate in a Haunt Your House Decorating Contest. And of course Halloween season isn’t complete without movies. They transformed the train station into Dudley’s Drive-In to show kid-friendly movies like The Addams Family movie and Hotel Transylvania early on certain evenings. Then later in the evenings, they showed more grown-up classics like Psycho and Rocky Horror Picture Show.
To learn more, visit AddamsFest.com.
Check-In
So…what about you? Did you know The Addams Family was based on a comic strip?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I didn’t know Addams family was based on a comic strip. I just know I loved the tv show and movies. I hope more movies show up to watch. I have a Addams family my daughter is Mortician, my son in law Gomez, my grandson is talk like Lurch, my granddaughter is Wednesday, my son is Uncle Fester, my 2 nd son is from other parents is Pugsley, my cat is Kitty Kat, I am Grandmama, my 3 rd son is Cousin ITT from other parents and Aristotle is my 2nd daughter from other parents. I could probably write a book!!
I did know The Addams Family was based on a comic strip. I once read a brief biography about Addams. He was talented! Wouldn’t it be cool to have a hometown celeb like Westfield has the late Addams?
You could write a book about your Addams Family!!!!
I’m so glad you commented because I was wondering if you would know. Based on something you said before on another post. No joke. As I was writing I was thinking, “I bet Priscilla does know it was based on a comic strip.” And you did!!!!