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Origins
In one guise or another, The Addams Family have been entertaining audiences worldwide for over 60 years. Their earliest origins can be traced to the morbid New Yorker magazine cartoons of the late Charles Addams, who established himself as a cult icon with his charcoal world of witches, goblins and ghosts.
The family, then unnamed, first appeared in a 1937 cartoon, rapidly evolving into Addams' most popular characters, spawning merchandise such as rag-dolls and chinaware, along with a number of best-selling anthologies.
In 1964, comedy producer David Levy struck a deal with Addams and Filmways television to produce a weekly situation comedy based around the family. Ironically, after a number of networks passed on the concept, ABC Television only commissioned a pilot in reaction to the upcoming CBS debut of The Munsters, another horror-based comedy show.
As the characters had been relatively undefined on the printed page, Levy and Addams collaborated to establish the enduring Addams personalities, along with christening the clan. Addams was initially highly reluctant to have the show named after him, but was eventually bought by the offbeat air of The Addams Family as a title.
John Astin and Carolyn Jones headed the original cast, along with Jackie Coogan and Ted Cassidy. The result was one of television's most memorable situation comedies, neatly packaged with Vic Mizzy's classic theme.
Combining black humour and burlesque antics, The Addams Family was a hit with viewers and lasted for two seasons, before it was unceremoniously cancelled, once again in reaction to The Munsters, which had been killed by spiralling budgets and falling audience figures.
However, the format established itself as one of television's
most enduring, with perpetual repeats in syndication heaven. A cameo
by the Addamses in a 1970s episode of Scooby Doo paved the
way for a new cartoon series, produced by Hanna Barbera in 1973.
Hallowe'en with the New Addams Family, a poorly received
reunion movie featuring the cast of the original series, followed
in 1977.
Rumours of a big-screen outing for the format surfaced repeatedly throughout the 1980s and the 1991 film The Addams Family was the result. The victim of a highly troubled production, the film, bolstered with memorable performances by distinguished performers Angelica Huston and Raul Julia, took over $100,000,000 at the box office. Both this film and its 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values, were based heavily on Addams' original cartoons, and introduced a whole new generation of fans to the Addamses.
A script for another sequel had already been prepared before the sudden 1994 death of Raul Julia ended plans for a third movie. Despite the apparent end of the film franchise, rumours of a return to the small screen persisted. In the meantime, original Gomez John Astin loaned his vocal talents to an Emmy award winning 1992 animated series, which lasted for two seasons.
New Beginnings
In 1998, the Fox empire negotiated the acquisition of the US Family Channel, which would be re-launched in the fall under the Fox banner, with a large number of new original programmes and specials, produced in partnership with Saban International. Saban had established themselves as leaders in the field of economical children's television throughout the 1990s.
A number of original TV movies were to be produced for airing on the channel, with prior releases on the sell-through home video market. Amongst the initial raft of titles announced was Addams Family Reunion, which would star Tim Curry and Daryl Hannah. Produced hastily in California in the early months of 1999, it debuted on Home Video in the fall to almost unanimous derision.
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