--- description: On the 50th anniversary of the debut of the original 'Addams Family' TV series, LIFE.com takes a look back at auditions for the show. title: 'Addams Family' Hopefuls: Photos From Auditions for a Classic TV Show image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4cedbc5e6841fa/698785cccd6848bf3809a60c/140911-addams-family-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Addams Family' Hopefuls: Photos From Auditions for a Classic TV Show by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 16, 2014 4:51 PM CUT  The cast of ABC's "The Addams Family," 1964. The cast of ABC's "The Addams Family," 1964.Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 16, 2014 4:51 PM CUT Some familial surnames are so much a part of the American landscape that it’s difficult to discuss the country’s history, its highs and lows or its complex and often contradictory legacy without mentioning them. The Roosevelt family. The Kennedy family. The Addams family. Consider the relevance and the cultural reach of the latter. Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch and the rest have been around, in various incarnations, for eight decades. Created in the 1930s by the legendary cartoonist, [Charles Addams](http://www.charlesaddams.com/ "undefined") (see below), the endearingly macabre family and assorted friends, neighbors and [things](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing%5F%28The%5FAddams%5FFamily%29 "undefined") have appeared in magazines (most notably _The New Yorker),_ books, movies, on Broadway and, of course in a short-lived but fondly remembered 1960s TV series. A later, not-terrible animated series ran for a few seasons as a Saturday morning cartoon in the mid-Seventies. Here, on the 50th anniversary of the broadcast premiere of the original TV series_—_it debuted on ABC on Sept. 18, 1964_—_LIFE.com takes a look back at the auditions for the show; some of the actors and actresses who ended up in the cast; and a number of others (largely unidentified in LIFE’s archives) who gave it their best shot, but evidently weren’t quite what producers had in mind. In an article titled, “TV’s Year of the Monster,” meanwhile, in the Aug. 21, 1964, issue of LIFE, the magazine referenced _The Addams Family_ as well as _Bewitched_ and _The Munsters_ in its preview of the networks’ fall lineups: --- > “” --- Finally, it’s worth noting that while Charles Addams himself was often depicted as a perverse and perhaps even sinister character straight out of one of his own cartoons, that persona was largely for show. As one of his obituaries pointed out when he died in 1988, at the age of 76, “a colleague at _The New Yorker_ once described Addams as ‘an urbane, relaxed, congenial man of great civility. He doesn’t eat babies.'” “He doesn’t eat babies.” What higher praise for any man?  Cartoonist Charles Addams. AL FENN _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  The cast of ABC's "The Addams Family," 1964. Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  An unidentified actor auditions for the role of Uncle Fester, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin (Gomez) with various actresses auditioning for the role of Morticia Addams, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin with an actress auditioning for the role of Morticia Addams, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene during auditions for "The Addams Family" TV show, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Girls auditioning for the role of Wednesday Friday Addams -- including Lisa Loring, at left, who was eventually cast. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A makeup artist with actor (possibly Jackie Coogan) auditioning for the role of Uncle Fester, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A would-be Morticia Addams, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin (right) with an actor auditioning for the role of Lurch. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actors who tried out for the part of Lurch, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ted Cassidy, who was cast as Lurch -- and whose hand was also occasionally seen onscreen as Thing. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin, 1964, Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin with Ken Weatherwax (left) who was cast as Pugsley. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Boys who tried out for part of Pugsley -- including Ken Weatherwax, at right, who was cast in the role. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin with an unidentified actor auditioning for the role of Uncle Fester, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  John Astin with an actress auditioning for the role of Morticia, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Unidentified actresses who tried out for the role of Morticia Addams, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Actress who tried out for the role of Morticia Addams, 1964. Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An actress who tried out for the part of Grandmama Addams. (Blossom Rock eventually won the role.) Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  From LIFE magazine, Aug. 1964. LIFE Magazine  LIFE Magazine ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3763739/addams-family-hopefuls-photos-from-auditions-for-a-classic-tv-show/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3763739/addams-family-hopefuls-photos-from-auditions-for-a-classic-tv-show/"},"headline":"'Addams Family' Hopefuls: Photos From Auditions for a Classic TV Show","datePublished":"2014-09-16T16:51:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:48.024Z","description":"On the 50th anniversary of the debut of the original 'Addams Family' TV series, LIFE.com takes a look back at auditions for the classic show.","url":"https://time.com/3763739/addams-family-hopefuls-photos-from-auditions-for-a-classic-tv-show/","keywords":["Television","Hollywood","photography","LIFE Magazine","1964","Bill Ray"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4cedbc5e6841fa/698785cccd6848bf3809a60c/140911-addams-family-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4cedbc5e6841fa/698785cccd6848bf3809a60c/140911-addams-family-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Addams Family 1964","caption":"The cast of ABC's \"The Addams Family,\" 1964.","creditText":"Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3763739/addams-family-hopefuls-photos-from-auditions-for-a-classic-tv-show/","name":"'Addams Family' Hopefuls: Photos From Auditions for a Classic TV Show"}}]}] ```