A couple snaps of the finger and "It's creepy and It's kooky" will roll right off the tongue of most Americans as The Addams Family is ingrained into the fabric of TV and American Pop Culture. To honor the centennial of the late Charles Addams, Google posted a stylish yet ghoulish "Doodle".
Addams is best known for the TV series, cartoon show, pair of movies and Broadway Musical all carrying his namesake and featuring unique characters: Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Pugsly, Wednesday, Grandmama, Lurch and of course, Thing.
Born January 7, 1912, the black humor of Addams' cartoons led to the creation of the TV series (which only aired for two seasons) but left a long-lasting impression.
"Gomez and Pugsley are enthusiastic. Morticia is even in disposition, muted, witty, sometimes deadly. Grandma Frump is foolishly good-natured. Wednesday is her mother's daughter. A closely knit family, the real head being Morticia—although each of the others is a definite character — except for Grandma, who is easily led. Many of the troubles they have as a family are due to Grandma’s fumbling, weak character. The house is a wreck, of course, but this is a house-proud family just the same and every trap door is in good repair. Money is no problem." - Charles Addams, "The Addams Family: An Evilution"
To pay tribute to this Addams Family, Google’s search homepage (the Google Doodle) spotlights Gomez and Morticia in the front of the logo’s “G”; Cousin Itt holding the “O”; young Pugsley in the “G” of a guillotine next to sister Wednesday; towering butler Lurch grasps the ”L”; and Uncle Fester chomps down on the “E.”
A Broadway musical based on Addams’s drawings opened in 2010 and closed this past New Year’s Eve -- It featured the tagline: “Come meet the family. We’ll leave the lights off for you”.
The sly, dark wit of Addams reminds many folks of Edgar Allen Poe, well, if Poe were a gag man.
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