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John Astin

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John Astin

The Addams Family
Born March 30, 1930
Baltimore, Maryland
Notable roles "Gomez Addams" in
The Addams Family
"The Riddler" in
Batman

John Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, but is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family television series and similarly eccentric comedic characters.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Astin was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Margaret Linnie MacKenzie and Allen Varley Astin. He attended Johns Hopkins University (Class of 1954) after transferring from Washington & Jefferson College. He studied mathematics at both institutions and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Johns Hopkins.

He has three sons—David, Allen, and Tom—with his first wife, Suzanne Hahn, and two sons—Sean and Mackenzie, both successful actors—with his second wife, fellow actor Patty Duke. Sean is not his biological son, but John legally adopted him when he married Patty. Interestingly enough, this is very similar to his role on the 80s sitcom Night Court. John Astin is currently married to Valerie Ann Sandobal.

[edit] Career

Astin started in theatre, doing voice-over work for commercials. His first big break came in a small but memorable part in the Oscar-winning West Side Story in 1961. A few years later, he starred in The Addams Family (1964-1966) as Gomez Addams, the macabre head of the family.

[edit] Return to the Addams familly

Image:GomezGlenn.jpg

He returned on the TV show The New Addams Family as Grandpapa Adams, alongside his successor in the role of Gomez, Glenn Taranto .

[edit] Other roles

Astin also played the Riddler on Batman during Frank Gorshin's second season departure (Gorshin came back for the 3rd). Furthermore, he made a notable appearance in popular mystery show Murder, She Wrote, as the villainous Sheriff Harry Pierce.

Astin received an Academy Award nomination for Prelude, a short film that he wrote, produced, and directed. He was nominated for an Ace Award for his work on Tales from the Crypt, and received an Emmy nomination for the cartoon voice of Gomez on ABC-TV's The Addams Family. Astin served for four years on the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, and is active in community affairs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

He has continued to work, appearing in a string of Killer Tomatoes films as Professor Gangreen. He also tours the one-man play Edgar Allan Poe: Once Upon a Midnight, written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid. Astin teaches method acting and directing in the Writing Seminars Department at Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] External links

pt:John Astin sv:John Astin

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