The Addams Family (1973 TV series)
- This article is about the 1973 TV series. For other uses, see The Addams Family.
| The Addams Family | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Created by | David Levy |
| Network | NBC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Original release | September 8—December 22, 1973 |
| Starring | Lennie Weinrib Janet Waldo Cindy Henderson Jodie Foster Ted Cassidy Jackie Coogan John Stephenson |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Paul Sommer Maurice Pooley |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | Bill Raynor Miles Wilder Bud Atkinson Dick Conway Jack Mendelsohn Gene Thompson |
| Director(s) | Charles A. Nichols Wally Burr (voices) |
| Series navigation | |
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The Addams Family is an American animated macabre comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for NBC's Saturday morning line-up. It ran in 1973, airing 16 episodes that spanned one season. It is based on Charles Addams's single-panel comic in The New Yorker, and the success of ABC's original live-action adaptation during the 1960s; Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy reprised their roles as Uncle Fester and Lurch, respectively. According to the credits, David Levy created both incarnations.
Unlike their guest appearance on The New Scooby-Doo Movies—wherein the macabre-loving Addamses reside in their Victorian-style mansion, disturbing their neighbors with their eccentric and mysterious ways—the series revolves around the extended family traveling in a camper van (which resembled their mansion on wheels) across America, showcasing their lifestyle and supernatural abilities to the whole country. Hanna-Barbera would have a second chance in 1992 to be more faithful.
Hanna-Barbera and the United States Forest Service also teamed up to produce a Smokey Bear public service announcement.
The entire series has been released on DVD.
Production
Development
Casting
In their aforementioned guest appearances in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy reprised their respective roles (as Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, and Lurch) from the live-action series, while future movie star Jodie Foster and Cindy Henderson were newly cast to play the kids (Pugsley and Wednesday). In the series proper, Astin and Jones were replaced with Lennie Weinrib and Janet Waldo, respectively. Waldo and John Stephenson had also voiced Grandmama and Cousin Itt, respectively, in both versions.
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, credited as musical director, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte.
Episodes
| Episode | Number | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| "The Addams Family in New York" | 1x01 | September 8, 1973 |
| "Left in the Lurch" | 1x02 | September 15, 1973 |
| "Boola Boola" | 1x03 | September 22, 1973 |
| "The Fastest Creepy Camper in the West" | 1x04 | September 29, 1973 |
| "The Mardi Gras Story" | 1x05 | October 6, 1973 |
| "Follow That Loaf of Bread" | 1x06 | October 13, 1973 |
| "Aloha, Hoolamagoola" | 1x07 | October 20, 1973 |
| "The Reluctant Astronauts' Trip to the Moon" | 1x08 | October 27, 1973 |
| "The Great Balloon Race" | 1x09 | November 3, 1973 |
| "Ghost Town" | 1x10 | November 10, 1973 |
| "The Circus Story" | 1x11 | November 17, 1973 |
| "The Addams Family at Sea" | 1x12 | November 24, 1973 |
| "The Voodoo Story" | 1x13 | December 1, 1973 |
| "The Roller Derby Story" | 1x14 | December 8, 1973 |
| "The Addams Family Goes West" | 1x15 | December 15, 1973 |
| "The Addams Family at the Kentucky Derby" | 1x16 | December 22, 1973 |
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: September 8, 1973 at 9:00 am on NBC
- United Kingdom and Ireland: January 26, 1974 at 10:20 am on LWT
Cast
- Lennie Weinrib as Gomez Addams
- Janet Waldo as Morticia Addams, Grandmama
- Cindy Henderson as Wednesday Addams
- Jodie Foster as Pugsley Addams
- Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester
- Ted Cassidy as Lurch
- John Stephenson as Cousin Itt
Crossover
| Title | Number | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| The New Scooby-Doo Movies: "Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family" | 1 | September 23, 1972 |
Merchandise
Home media
In 1991, Hanna-Barbera Video released several episodes on a couple of VHSes, which were then transferred to LaserDisc by Image Entertainment in 1992.
On October 19, 2010, the Warner Archive Collection released the whole series on DVD as The Addams Family: The Complete Series.
Reading material
Between 1974-75, Gold Key Comics published a three-issue comic book series which consisted of adaptations of "Boola Boola," "The Addams Family in New York," and "Left in the Lurch."
Board game
In 1974, Milton Bradley released a board game version of the series called The Addams Family Game.
