The Addams Familyis one of the most iconic gothic dark comedies of all time.The Addams, a wealthy family of misfits, is at the heart of the spooky season every year, with the central story being adapted a number of times, updating the family’s tales for contemporary audiences. Most recently, Netflix’sWednesdayseries paired gorgeous cinematography with a distinctly modern tale of fighting discrimination and critiquing colonialism.Despite the Addams' supernatural abilities,the fictional family is based on a very real couple from New Jersey.
Cartoonist Charles Addams contributed cartoons loosely based on his own marriage toThe New Yorkerfrom 1938-1964. The cartoons depicted the fictional family attempting to do mundane activities like go to the beach or celebrate holidays, all the while humorously sticking out in their environment. Charles Addams' was inspired by a unique Victorian-era home that still stands in Westfield, New Jersey, which resemblestheAddams Familymansion.
Charles Addams Was A Cartoonist For The New Yorker
Addams Was An Accomplished Artist
Charles Addams was born in Westfield, New Jersey in 1912. Childhood friends recount that Addams would frequent the Presbyterian Cemetery on Mountain Avenue in town, and would often"wonder what it was like to be dead"(via local historianDarryl Walker). His macabre interests and offbeat humor went on to inspire hisAddams Familycartoons, an era-defining series inThe New Yorker.Addams worked with television producer David Levy in 1964 to flesh out his characters, giving each individual the names Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Thing, Cousin It, and more.
What is the Best Addams Family Movie?
The Addams Family has been making people laugh since the late 1930s, and eventually, the characters made their way to the big screen.
Addams studied at Colgate University, the University of Pennsylvania, and eventually the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. It was said that"his sense of humor is a little different from everyone else’s"in a conversation with biographer Linda H. Davis (viaThe New York Times). After honing his craft, Addams developed the cartoons to be based on his own unique ways and his first wife, Barbara Jean Day (who bears a striking resemblance to Morticia Addams). The marriage dissolved because Addams did not want to have children –explaining his view of children as amusing creatures through his cartoons.
The Real Addams Family Home Is In New Jersey
The House Is Currently Inhabited By Local Residents
Addams was once caught breaking into a home in Westfield on Elm Street, and this Victorian home is widely regarded as the inspiration for the fictionalAddams Familymansion. Known as a neighborhood rascal, biographer Linda H. Davis discovered in her research that he once drew a skeleton in chalk on the property. The biographer also noted that his family members and teachers noted Addams' artistic talents from a young age.
Westfield, New Jersey is known to boast well-preserved Colonial and Victorian-era homes, with 117 listed as historic homes (viaTAPinto). In the years since Addams' marvelously macabre creations, a number of haunting events have taken place in the town. In 1971, John List killed his entire family in his Victorian mansion, known as Breeze Knoll, motivated by financial devastation and religious fanaticism (viaNJ.com). List later evaded justice for 18 years, living under false identities and remarrying in a different state. The home was later burned to the ground in apparent arson, but the culprit was never found.
Needless to say, Addams' macabre interests and gothic style certainly add up with the town in which he was raised.
Years after the List murders, in 2014 the Broaddus family moved into a similar Victorian mansion in town, only to be stalked and have threatening mail sent to their home by someone who called themselves “The Watcher” (viaThe Cut). The Watcher was never apprehended, and the family moved out of their home. The eerie case was adapted for a television series of the same name in 2023 by Ryan Murphy for Netflix. Needless to say, Addams' macabre interests and gothic style certainly add up with the town in which he was raised.
How Much Of The Addams Family’s Shows Are True
Addams himself is described by friends in Davis' memoir as being a"debonair ladykiller"who once accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greta Garbo, and more to social events during his single period between marriages. Barbara Jean Day, Addams' first wife, had the same pale skin and striking dark hair as many of Addams' cartoon characters. Her witch-inspired glamor largely inspired Addams' design for Morticia Addams, and the several people to play the character in adaptations moving forward.
Day’s signature bangs are a clear influence onJenna Ortega’s take on Wednesday’s character inWednesday. The couple’s relationship is likely to have inspired the devotion between Gomez and Morticia, though all theAddams Familychildren are entirely fictional. The supernatural hijinks are thought to be based on Addams' own childhood daydreams.While America’s favorite mysterious family may have been fictional, the cartoons' lasting impact on modern media would not be possible without its creator’s real-life wife and matriarch.
Which Addams Family Movie Or Show Is The Most Accurate Adaptation?
Charles Addams Was Not Pleased With The Original TV Series
While Charles Addams based Gomez on himself, and Morticia on his “ideal” wife (although she also bore a striking resemblance to his first wife, Barbara Jean Day), he didn’t base his original cartoons inThe New Yorkerin his life. Rather, he created them based on the idea of him being an outcast in society and not fitting in. In reality, Charles wanted nothing to do with having children, so this was all fictional. However, he did add the two kids (Pugsley first and Wednesday second) and then Uncle Fester after that.
While Addams was happy to license the characters for the original TV series, he didn’t feel they were his characters, saying they were nowhere near as “evil' as the characters in his comic strips. Addams died before the movies were released, but the first two films,The Addams FamilyandAddams Family Values, played the closest to his original vision. The characters were less of a sitcom family and more “evil,” as Addams preferred, with Wednesday’s propensity for murder to fit in perfectly with his macabre humor.
The Addams Family
Cast
The Addams Family is a 1964 television series based on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The show stars John Astin and Carolyn Jones as Gomez and Morticia Addams, the heads of a macabre yet endearing family. Set in their gothic mansion, the series humorously contrasts the Addams' unconventional lifestyle with the outside world, highlighting their eccentric but affectionate family dynamics. The show gained popularity for its unique characters and darkly comedic tone.
