Meet the Addams Family

The Addams FamilyDramaturg DiariesMusical Theatre
Written By Shaina Horstmann

While today best known for its live-action television and film adaptations, the Addams Family franchise began as a series of comics by New Yorker cartoonist Charles “Chas” Addams. In the magazine’s August 6, 1938 edition, Addams published what would be his first Addams Family cartoon: an image of a salesman pitching a “noiseless, vibrationless” vacuum to a witch-like, Bride-of-Frankenstein woman and her large butler in the foyer of a haunted Victorian home (p. 9). Though unnamed in this comic, these characters would later become Morticia Addams and Lurch. 

Addams, C. (1938, Aug. 6). “Vibrationless, Noiseless, and a great time…” [Illustration]. The New Yorker, p. 9. https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1938-08-06/flipbook/8/.

The Anti-Rockwell Family

In the foreword to The Addams Family: An Evilution, author and Director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation H. Kevin Miserocchi writes, “Charles Addams set out not to create a family but rather to suggest how society as a whole might interpret characters bent on the darker side while living lives similar to those embracing the light” (2010, p. 9). However, in creating a family of outcasts, Addams birthed a franchise that would win over the hearts of America. Charles Addams intended for the Addams family to be “a funhouse-mirror reflection of American culture,” but American culture embraced the family, instead (KalaLea, 2019). The Addams Family was a weird bunch, but they were just like us. Miserocchi continues:

“Always described as strange, eerie, odd, and spooky, the Family nevertheless had many of the same joys and woes that all families experience… They celebrated Christmas just as eagerly as Halloween, just with their own traditions. What would an Addams Family Christmas be without lighting a fire in the fireplace in anticipation of Santa’s arrival, or pouring boiling oil on the neighborhood carolers? They really weren’t that different after all” (2010, p. 10). 


Addams, C. (1947, Dec. 27). “Addams Family Christmas Dinner” [Illustration]. The New Yorker, p. 21. https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1947-12-27/flipbook/020/.

Rockwell, N. (1943, Mar. 6). “Freedom from Want” [Oil Painting]. The Saturday Evening Post. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/%22Freedom_From_Want%22_-_NARA_-_513539.jpg.

Morticia Addams 

Morticia Addams was the first member of the Addams Family created by Charles Addams, making her New Yorker debut on August 6, 1938 (p. 9). Addams described Morticia as “the real head of the family and the critical and moving force behind it” (Miserocchi, 2010). Morticia is “low-voiced, incisive, and subtle,” rarely smiling and avoiding cliches (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 44). She has long, sleek, dark hair and wears a seductive black form-fitting gown with a tattered tentacle train – a “glamorous femme fatale” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 44).

Gomez Addams

Gomez Addams first appeared in The New Yorker on November 14, 1942, in a comic with his beloved wife, Morticia. In the illustration, Gomez asks Morticia, “Are you unhappy, dear?” to which she replies, “Oh yes, yes! Completely!” (Addams, 1942, p. 27). According to creator Charles Addams, Gomez is “a crafty schemer” and “jolly man” who “tries hard to be father and teacher to the children, though sometimes misguided” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 62). He is “sentimental and often puckish,” relying on Morticia to “straighten him out” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 62). Gomez’s devotion to both his wife and his children comes into conflict in The Addams Family Musical; in the stage show, Gomez must keep Wednesday’s engagement a secret from Morticia, betraying her trust in the process.  

Wednesday Addams 

Named for the 19th-century nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child,” Wednesday Addams is “full with woe” (Halliwell-Phillipps, J.O., 1849, p. 228). Charles Addams said the young Addams daughter is “a solemn child, prim in dress and, on the whole, pretty lost” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 80). She is mysterious and imaginative, though prone to the occasional tantrum in the comics. According to Addams, Gomez has a secret soft spot for his daughter – a trait that was carried into the stage musical as Gomez struggles to accept his little girl is growing up (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 80).

Pugsley Addams

Charles Addams described Pugsley Addams as “an energetic monster of a boy about nine years old – blondish red hair, popped blue eyes and a dedicated troublemaker – in other words, the kid next door” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 80). His favorite pastimes include building his own guillotines, poisoning his younger sister, and pranking bystanders with the Addams’s unusual pets (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 80). When illustrating the child, Addams had always called him “Pubert” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 81). However, ABC wouldn’t approve of the name when adapting the Family for television, so Addams decided on “Pugsley” – after the Pugsley Creek in the Bronx – instead (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 81).

In the original comics, Pugsley Addams is the eldest child of the Addams Family, though The Addams Family Musical changed his role to younger brother. Though the musical does maintain Pugsley’s impish nature, this time directing his mischief toward thwarting his sister’s engagement so that she remains at home with him. 

Lurch 

Lurch is the lumbering, silent butler of the Addams Family. Of Lurch, Charles Addams said, “this towering mute has been shambling around the house forever” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 118). While his character design favors Frankenstein’s monster, Lurch is not a monster of any sort; he adores the Addams children and faithfully dotes on the family, though not skillfully. He is “slow-witted but truly kind,” and until the television adaptation, Charles Addams had never even considered his appearance would be frightening to anyone (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 120). 

Uncle Fester

Charles Addams called Uncle Fester an “incorrigible” fellow, who “except for the good nature of the family and the ignorance of the police, would ordinarily be under lock and key” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 146). Despite this, Addams stated the character he related to most was, in fact, Uncle Fester (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 147). Uncle Fester’s favorite pastimes include fishing with dynamite, watching grotesque cinema, and playing with electricity (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 146-7). 

Grandma Frump, or Grandmama

According to Charles Addams, Grandma Frump is a “disrespectful old hag” and “good humored about all and can be garrulous” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 128). In the comics, she is Gomez’s mother, though her relationship to the Family changes throughout iterations of the franchise (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 128). Addams said she is a favorite of the children and “willingly helps with the dishes, cheats at solitaire and is thoroughly dishonest” (Miserocchi, 2010, p. 128). In The Addams Family Musical, Grandmama provides the truth serum that creates the chaos of the second act. 

Shaina Horstmann
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