Lisa Loring dies; played Wednesday on TV’s ‘Addams Family’
She took on the role when she was 6 years old and played the death-obsessed character until the show ended two years later.
(CNN) — Lisa Loring, best known for her role as Wednesday Addams in the original “The Addams Family” sitcom, has died at the age of 64.
Loring “passed away on Saturday surrounded by her family,” longtime agent Chris Carbaugh told CNN in a statement on Monday.
“She brought to life one of the most iconic characters in Hollywood history that is still celebrated today,” Carbaugh said. “Lisa loved sharing her memories and meeting all her fans across the world.”
The former child star was a mother and grandmother, her agent added.
Laurie Jacobson, Loring’s friend, also reported her death on Facebook, saying she had “suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure.”
“She had been on life support for three days. Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night,” Jacobson wrote. “She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams.”
Loring was the blueprint for the pale, pigtailed Wednesday after being cast in the sitcom “The Addams Family” in 1964. She took on the role when she was 6 years old and played the death-obsessed character until the show ended two years later.
In 1977, she appeared as Wednesday Sr. in the television film “Halloween with the New Addams Family.”
Loring’s deadpan delivery of the character, based on the New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams, paved the way for other actresses, including Christina Ricci, who starred as Wednesday in the 1991 hit movie “The Addams Family” and its sequel, “Addams Family Values.”
Jenna Ortega, who plays the character in the Netflix series “Wednesday,” said her version of the pop-culture icon was also inspired by Loring. The prom dance sequence that went viral on TikTok incorporates “a little bit of her shuffle” from an episode in which Wednesday teaches the hulking butler Lurch to dance, Ortega said on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in December.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Loring was born Lisa Ann DeCinces in the Marshall Islands and was given her stage name when she started modeling at age 3.
Following her stint as Wednesday in “The Addams Family,” Loring joined Phyllis Diller’s sitcom “The Pruitts of Southampton.” She later landed a recurring role in “As the World Turns,” playing Cricket Montgomery.
Her acting credits also include shows “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Fantasy Island” and “Barnaby Jones.”
The-CNN-Wire
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