The Many Faces of Morticia Addams

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My next Addams Family incarnation celebration covers Morticia Addams nee Frump, the famous and sexy matriarch of the family.

The New Yorker comics-

Morticia holds the record for being the very first member of the family to be introduced in the New Yorker comics made by the one and only Charles Addams, her first strip being published in 1938, depicting a traveling vacuum cleaner salesman making the claim that his vacuum is noiseless and a time saver while prototypes of Lurch and Thing look on.

It has been said that Morticia was Charles Addams' view on what the perfect woman should be like. If that is true, then Mr. Addams must have been one lucky guy: All of wives could easily be described as a real life version of Morticia.

There were a lot of funny strips featuring her. One unpublished strip featured in the book The Addams Family: An Evilution (which I recommend you buy if you consider yourself a true Addams fan) had her lock Wednesday and Pugsley in a trunk with a caption reading "Why don't you just spank us like other mommies?" It's funny that the kids would prefer having their rears struck fiercely to a time out locked up in a trunk. Forever it has been considered taboo for parents to discipline their kids by physically harming them, and I do believe in that idea. I do plan to have children someday, but I will discipline them in more humane manners: By explaining why their actions are bad and by taking away their playthings and giving them back once they have learned their lesson.

Another unpublished strip I thought was humorous had Gomez and Morticia talking to a marriage counselor and insisting him not to talk so loud because the children might hear. I can only guess that they were having marital problems, and no kid can possibly have an easy time dealing with the idea that their parents might have to get divorced.

1960's television show-

Morticia Addams was played in the famous live-action television show, which introduced many things we know them for today (e.g., the theme song by Vic Mizzy, Uncle Fester's light bulb trick, and the family's individual names) by Carolyn Jones.

Much like Herman and Lily from the Munsters becoming the first television couple to sleep in the same bed, Gomez and Morticia became the first television couple to have an apparent sex life. One of the many reasons why I believe the 60's were when television censors began to slip up. I mean, a lot of children's shows today seem to have no problem with getting people killed or even occasionally implied nudity (though that creates further issues with the dreaded double standard. I'd talk more about it, but that discussion is for another time).

This was the incarnation that started that beloved running gag of Morticia saying something in French, causing Gomez to go crazy, exclaim "Tish! That's French!", and kiss his wife's arm like there is no tomorrow.

Some episodes involved her sister Ophelia, who was played by the same actress (I noticed that they have the same face and are rarely on screen at the same time). Ophelia often came to the family for help whenever she was going through problems with her neverlasting boyfriends.

Carolyn Jones reprised her role again in the 1977 special Halloween with the New Addams Family, which even had most of the original cast of the 60's show. A major part of the plot was the arrival of Gomez's younger brother Pancho Addams and his not-quite-dead crush on Tish.

1970's animated series-

Carolyn Jones played Morticia again for an episode of The New Scooby Doo Movies that crossed over with the Addams Family. One of my favorite episodes of one of my favorite versions of Scooby Doo, to be precise.

Shortly after, that crossover episode was spun off into an Addams Family cartoon in 1973, but it was far from perfect. The animation was cheap, even for a 1970's cartoon, and Gomez had a very despicable voice. Janet Waldo played both Morticia and her mother Granny Frump.

Orion and Paramount Movies-

Both live-action films featured Morticia played by Anjelica Huston. Her pale skin was done by giving her brighter lighting than the other members of the cast.

I don't think anyone has forgotten that scene in the first movie where she reads her take on Hansel and Gretel to her kindergarten class, only for all of them to slowly cry over the two cruel kids burning that poor old witch alive.

The second movie had a third Addams child named Pubert introduced, and it also gave us that wonderful tango scene between Tish and Gomez.

1990's animated series-

In the second animated series by Hanna-Barbera, which was made in response to the success of the first movie, Morticia was voiced by Nancy Linari.

They continued the running gag of "Tish! That's French!", but also revealed that there were many other languages that turned Gomez on as well. As a matter of fact, Morticia was shown to have her own turn-on in the episode "Double O Honeymoon". She goes crazy whenever Gomez makes animal noises, reacting much the same way Gomez does when she speaks French.

Addams Family Reunion and The New Addams Family-

In the widely panned Addams Family Reunion, Morticia was played by Daryl Hannah, most known for her role as Madison the Mermaid in the movie Splash. Say what you will about this movie, but I really liked that tango scene she had with Gomez. Not as good as the one in Addams Family Values, but still pretty epic.

Even though Reunion had the same actors from the first two movies playing Lurch and Thing, it is actually not of the same continuity and only exists as the pilot for The New Addams Family.

The New Addams Family had Morticia played by Ellie Harvie. She was once again the usual portrayal of being the lovely and artistic matriarch. She is just too generic for me to say anything positive or negative about her. I can't really complain.

I did think it was funny, though, in the episode Granny the Happy Medium, when the ghost of Uncle Jester, Gomez and Fester's maternal uncle, possessed Morticia and even asked how she was able to walk in a dress that restricted movement in her legs.

I also found it sweet in the remake of the old episode The Winning of Morticia Addams where Fester and Grandmama try to get Morticia and Gomez to quarrel (they read a magazine article claiming that married couples that look happy are really miserable) by telling Tish that she is fat. Morticia asks her husband what he would think if she had gained extra weight on her derierre (she even uses that word), and Gomez simply says that if she was overweight, there would just be more of her for him to love.

The Musical-

In the recent musical, the plot was that Wednesday had turned 18 and was in love with a normal guy. One of the subplots was that Morticia was worried that she was old and that Gomez wouldn't love her anymore. In the end, Gomez and Morticia's love is rekindled and they accept that their daughter wants to be with a man that does not partake in their way of life. Bebe Neuwirth played Morticia in the original production.

The Addams Family created by Charles Addams