A: A hidden spinal brace. The chair’s backing was so violently rigid that it caused Carolyn Jones severe back pain, forcing the props crew to install a molded canvas medical corset into the wicker frame.
The Addams Family is a delightfully macabre 1960s sitcom that turned the traditional American family dynamic completely upside down with its gothic charm and satirical wit. Based on Charles Addams’ famous New Yorker cartoons, the show followed a wealthy, eccentric aristocratic clan who blissfully delighted in all things spooky, macabre, and bizarre, completely unaware that the rest of the world found them terrifying.
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- Years Active: 1964–1966 (2 seasons, 64 episodes)
- Creator: David Levy (developed for television)
- Main Cast: John Astin (Gomez Addams), Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams), Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester), Ted Cassidy (Lurch), Marie Blake/Blossom Rock (Grandmama), Lisa Loring (Wednesday Addams), Ken Weatherwax (Pugsley Addams), and Ted Cassidy/Jack Voglin (Thing).
Major Production Blooper: Thing’s Disappearing Right-Handed Body
The character of Thing—the disembodied hand that lived in various boxes around the house—presented a bizarre logistical challenge for the production crew. Most of the time, Thing was played by the towering 6’9″ actor Ted Cassidy, who also played Lurch the butler.
Because Cassidy was right-handed, Thing was almost always filmed using his right hand. However, on occasions when Lurch and Thing had to appear in the same shot together, a crew member (usually associate producer Jack Voglin) had to substitute his own hand inside the box.
The major, recurring visual blooper occurred because Voglin was left-handed. Sharp-eyed viewers watching closely can spot several episodes where Thing instantly switches from a right hand to a left hand between cuts. Furthermore, because Cassidy had to physically squeeze his massive frame beneath tables, behind false walls, and into tight cabinet spaces to stick his hand up through the props, directors occasionally failed to notice his black suit sleeve, his elbow, or the top of his shoulder peeking through the “secret” trapdoors on broadcast television.