Ted Cassidy

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Ted Cassidy


imagesize = 250px
caption = Ted Cassidy as Lurch on "The Addams Family"
birthdate = birth date|1932|7|31|mf=y
location = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|1979|1|16|1932|7|31
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
yearsactive = 1952-1979
birthname = Theodore Crawford Cassidy
othername =
homepage =
academyawards =

Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 - January 16, 1979), known as Ted Cassidy, was a well known American character actor and voice actor who performed in television and films.

Biography

Early life and career

Although born in Pittsburgh, Cassidy was raised in Philippi, West Virginia, 120 miles south of Pittsburgh. He played basketball (center position) and football (tackle) for Philippi High School. At that time, he was an imposing figure in both venues, being the tallest player in the conference. Early in his academic career, Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, in nearby Buckhannon, WV, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. He later attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, as a Speech Major. Active in student government, he also played basketball for the Hatters, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in his only season as a player. Early in his show business career, he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA-AM in Dallas, Texas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8, playing "Creech," an outer space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars" segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. An accomplished musician, Cassidy moonlighted at Luby's Cafeteria in the Lochwood Shopping Center in Dallas, playing the organ to entertain patrons. On November 22, 1963, shortly after the John F. Kennedy assassination, Cassidy interviewed several of the witnesses, including two very close witnesses, William and Gayle Newman, after the Newman's had appeared on WFAA-TV, but before they left to go to the Dallas Sheriff’s office (No tape exists of that interview for the radio station did not start recording their broadcasts until about 1:45 PM)

The move to television

"The Addams Family"

Cassidy's unusual height (6 feet 9 inches tall, or 206 cm) gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles. He is probably best known for playing the tall butler, Lurch (in which role he feigned [According to the "Addams Family, Season 1, Volume 1" DVD of the original TV series, Vic Mizzy (Music composer) states that Lurch (Ted Cassidy) is playing on a dead keyboard, and that he (Vic Mizzy) played all the parts. This is shown in the Snap Snap special feature.] playing the harpsichord), and the "helpful hand in a box" character named Thing, on the 1960s American television series, "The Addams Family" (A crew member would take over the "Thing" role in those scenes which had both characters).

Cassidy also guest starred in The Wild Wild West in its first season in 1965.

"Star Trek"

Cassidy portrayed the voice of the more aggressive version of Balok in the "" episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and he played the role of the android Ruk in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?." He also voiced the Gorn in the "Star Trek" episode "Arena".

Cassidy did more work with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s, playing Isiah (pronounced "Eye-SIGH-ah") in the pilots of the post-apocalyptic dramas "Genesis II" and "Planet Earth".

"I Dream of Jeannie"

Ted appeared in several episodes of "I Dream of Jeannie" in 1968. Once appearing as the master to Jeannie's devious sister in part 3 of the 4-part episode "Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?", and again in the episode "Please Don't Feed the Astronauts."

"The Six-Million Dollar Man "

In the two part episode entitled "The Return Of Bigfoot", Cassidy appeared as "Bigfoot" (played by André the Giant in a previous two parter).

Voice acting and film work

Concurrently with his appearances on "The Addams Family", Cassidy began doing character voices on a recurring basis for the Hanna-Barbera Studios, culminating in the role of Frankenstein Jr. in "Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles" series. Cassidy also voiced Ben Grimm aka The Thing in the 1978 animated "Fantastic Four".

After "The Addams Family", Cassidy began to add more voice-over work to his résumé; in that acting field, most notably, he narrated the opening of the TV series "The Incredible Hulk." Cassidy also provided the Hulk's growls and roars. He also provided the growls and roars for Godzilla in the 1979 cartoon series and the gurgling voice of Black Manta, as well as Braniac and several others on "Super Friends". He detested being compared or confused with acromegalic actor Richard Kiel, who played "Jaws," the assassin with stainless steel teeth, in two James Bond films.

Other film work included his appearance in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". He also co-wrote the screenplay of 1973's "The Harrad Experiment", in which he made a brief appearance.

Death

Cassidy died in 1979 at age 46 from complications following open-heart surgery. Fellow actor Sandra Martinez assisted and took care of Ted during his final years. Cassidy's remains were cremated, and buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home. It is believed by some that when the house was eventually sold, his ashes were left behind as they were paved over or no-one could remember where they were buried. An "Addams Family" movie was dedicated to him.

References

External links

*
* Hear The Ted Cassidy Song "The Lurch" [http://staffannouncer.com/blog/?p=7]