R.I.P. Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams

Variety’s obit

Although critics liked it, The Addams Family series was not particularly successful, having been abandoned by ABC after only two seasons. It nonetheless left a strong impression, far greater than expected for a black and white sitcom with anemic ratings (62nd in its second season). It is clearly remembered by all my boomer friends, and I can recall that it had cultural resonance at the time. It made the cover of TV Guide more than once, and there was a short period back in the day when my asshole high school buddies and I would always substitute “Why, thank you, Thing” for a simple “thanks.”

It endures in syndication, and has been lovingly rebooted again and again. As a commenter notes, both seasons are available on archive.org for those interested. Thank you to commenter (and of course, to Thing.)

After “The Addams Family” finished its two-season run, Loring joined Phyllis Diller’s sitcom “The Pruitts of Southampton.” The critics were somewhat less enthusiastic about that series. In 2002, TV Guide ranked The Pruitts of Southampton the 20th worst show of all time. (Full list.)

As an adult, Lisa did turn in one nude performance that I know of, in an obscure, low-budget 1989 horror film called Iced. She did a lot of tubbing, including a full (partially underwater) frontal:

image host

Way back in 2007, Brainscan did a collage from this poor-quality VHS.

image host

Those actually look like they would be damned sexy scenes if we had them in high definition.

11 thoughts on “R.I.P. Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams

  1. I believe there was also confusion between her and another adult film star named Lisa K. Loring. It didnt help that she did dabble in the adult industry behind the scenes and married a porn actor. She did do Playboy once but I remember it was one of those Girls of pictorials and she only showed her butt and even then she was wearing a completely see thru nightgown so she wasn’t even technically nude.

    1. Appears that your memory is impeccable. From the title of the pictorial, I wonder if it was the tribute to the girls of daytime soaps. Didn’t care about the shows, but I remember liking the girls in that pictorial.

  2. When nobody mentioned this fact, I had to check Wikipedia to be sure. She used to be married to the pornstar Jerry Butler. He was apparently her 3rd (out of 4) husbands.

    When I was a kid in the 1970’s, The Addams Family was in constant syndication. So was the Munsters as a matter of fact. Forget Aliens vs Predators, they certainly should have crossed those 2 franchises. I don’t know if it was creepy or cooky, but I only just got around to watching Wednesday on Netflix. I finished it yesterday. Just a coincidence I suspect.

  3. Watched The Addams Family occasionally. Hey, Carolyn ie Morticia wasn’t as hot as Liz ie Sam or Babs ie Jeannie. RIP Wednesday …

    They’re creepy and they’re kooky
    Mysterious and spooky
    They’re all together ooky
    The Addams family

    1. I think this shows why, I would think, show runners bemoan viewers tuning out during the opening credits. The fact that I can still sing Gilligan’s Island, Beverly Hillbillies, Patty Duke, Addams Family, &c, I believe, has to have driven their success in syndication, or a fair bit of it.

  4. “Cindy Williams, who played Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the popular sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her family said Monday.”

    Dropping like flies…

    1. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
      That there’s a bit of nostalgia for a computer geek.

Comments are closed.