Lisa Loring, the actress who played Wednesday Addams in the original 1960s sitcom “The Addams Family,” has died at the age of 64.
Loring died Saturday night at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank of complications from a stroke caused by smoking and high blood pressure. She reportedly went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands.
Loring took on the role of the morbid young Wednesday in the series at just six years old in 1964. She played the character for only two years but became world famous for the role and set a template that later inspired the likes of Christina Ricci for the films and, more recently, Jenna Ortega in Netflix’s “Wednesday” series.
With Loring’s death, Gomez Addams himself John Astin remains the last surviving member of the original cast. Loring’s first television appearance came in 1964 in an episode of the NBC medical drama “Dr. Kildare”.
Post-Addams, she co-starred with Astin again in ABC’s Phyllis Diller-led sitcom “The Pruitts of Southampton”. Her career stalled for a number of years thereafter until she returned to acting in the 1980s and appeared on numerous shows, including a recurring part in CBS soap “As the World Turns”.
Other guest-starring spots included “Barnaby Jones” and “Fantasy Island”. She also starred in several slasher films, including “Blood Frenzy” and “Savage Harbor”. She was married four times and leaves behind two daughters and several grandchildren.
Source: THR
