This show and its rival series, The Munsters, both debuted within a week of one another in September 1964. At the end of that year's TV season, The Munsters ranked #18 in the Nielsens, with a rating of 24.7, while this show came in at #23, with a 23.9 rating. At the time, Nielsens indicated what percentage of American TV households tuned in to any given program. By the end of the following year, both series were canceled.
It took Carolyn Jones two hours every day to put on Morticia's make-up. Topping it all off, she wore a wig made of human hair.
Cousin Itt's voice was done by producer Nat Perrin, who recited gibberish into a tape recorder and played it back at a higher speed.
Charles Addams never named his characters, but he had to come up with names for the characters on the TV show (it was one of the few contributions he made to the series). Within a week he decided on all of them - except for Mr. Addams, who almost wound up being called Repelli (for "repellent") instead of Gomez.
Thing, the disembodied hand/arm limb, was usually played by Ted Cassidy. When Lurch had to be on camera at the same time as Thing, however, associate producer Jack Voglin lent his hand. A third actor also played Thing on occasion, but his identity is not known.
Thing was usually a right hand. Ted Cassidy (Lurch) occasionally used his left hand just to see if anybody would notice. Thing also had an arm, which was seen when it reached outside for something while in its box.
The Addamses' version of a cuckoo clock was a wolverine that popped out and growled the hours of the day.
Gomez's favorite food was eye of newt.
The doorbell sound was a foghorn.
Wednesday Addams' name is a reference to the nursery rhyme that says, "Wednesday's child is full of woe."
Gomez and Morticia Addams were the first married couple on American TV implied to have a sex life.
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