The Surprising Connection Between ‘The Addams Family’s Lurch and ‘The Incredible Hulk’

Let’s get right to the point: Ted Cassidy was a scary, almost unearthly-looking feller. And while everybody in The Addams Family was great, Cassidy was absolutely perfect as the family’s forever loyal butler, Lurch.

When the show debuted on ABC in 1964, Lurch became a much more prominent character than originally anticipated. Producers envisioned him as a mute character with no dialogue. But when Cassidy ad-libbed the now-infamous “You rang?”, the rest was television history. Lurch became such a popular character he even had his own theme song and accompanying dance. Between The Lurch and The Batusi, the ’60s were truly a wonderful time to “cut a rug” on the dance floor.

At first, Cassidy loved Lurch’s popularity; however, he soon realized being perfectly cast might turn out to be a mixed bag. He thought of himself as a serious actor, and playing Lurch didn’t quite push his acting skills to their limits.

Richard R. Hewett / TV Guide /Courtesy Everett Collection

Even more worrisome was the legitimate concern about typecasting. Cassidy had seen what happened to actors who couldn’t shake the long shadows of their television characters, and he wanted nothing to do with that. One has to believe that when the show was canceled after Season 2, he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, Cassidy’s fears were seemingly warranted, as he became known within the industry simply as the guy who used to play Lurch. That said, Cassidy seemed to come to terms with the pros and cons of being Lurch.

In a 1972 interview archived on YouTube, here’s what Cassidy said, “Lurch is going to be remembered for a long time, whether I like it or not, and I think there are some things about it that I like.”

Looking for new ways to remain relevant in Hollywood, Cassidy found that he had a knack for voice acting, returning to the role of Lurch on the animated New Scooby-Doo Movies in the early ’70s and then continuing to voice the character on The Addams Family cartoon, which aired for a couple of seasons on NBC.

Cassidy also provided the voices for multiple characters in the beloved Saturday-morning classic Super Friends. Among the villains that Cassidy provided the voices for, he played the archenemy of Superman, Brainiac; as well as Aquaman’s deadly foe, Black Manta. Yep, pretty cool stuff when you’re 10 years old, waking up early, munching on Lucky Charms cereal, and hoping to avoid weekend chores.

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Even better than Cassidy’s vocal appearances were his monumental work as Bigfoot on both The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman. Sure, Andre the Giant may have played Bigfoot first, but Cassidy clocked in way more screen time as the legendary monster.

Towards the tail end of the ’70s, Cassidy again found vocal work on the live-action version of The Incredible Hulk, where he served as the weekly narrator and provided a lot of the grunts and growls for the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno). It is a safe bet that when called upon to growl like the Hulk, Cassidy just channeled his inner Lurch.

Sadly, in 1979, tragedy struck when Cassidy passed away after surgery to remove a non-malignant tumor. No one saw it coming. Because of that, days passed before the press reported that he had died.

It was a strange ending for a man who made a career out of playing strange characters. That said, looking back, Cassidy triumphed over an industry that desperately wanted to typecast him.

Cassidy’s biographer, Christofer Cook, talking to WBOY News reporter Sam Gorski, said it best: “He really had this drive to look past all of those things that would have held someone back. And he used his large size in order to become a commodity in Hollywood, and he did very well.”

Remembering the Time Lurch from 'The Addams Family' Became a Teen Idol Sensation

There was a time was Ted Cassidy even had a hit single and his own dance.

Remind