Thing (Addams Family)
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Thing was a fictional character in the television series The Addams Family (1964-66) , the revived series The New Addams Family (1998), and in the related movies The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993). Thing takes the form of a disembodied hand who performs various useful functions for the family.
In the 1960s television series, Thing was played by Ted Cassidy, who also played the lugubrious butler Lurch. Thing is confined to a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams mansion. He apparently moved from box to box through a labyrinth of tunnels, but the tunnels are never actually shown. In the films, thanks to advances in special effects, Thing (played by Christopher Hart) is able to emerge and run on his fingertips, much like a spider.
Thing was the creation of Charles Addams, who drew the Addams Family cartoons in The New Yorker magazine beginning in the 1930s. He first appeared in Addams's 1954 book Homebodies. One of Addams's cartoons shows the Addams mansion with a sign at the front saying "Beware of the Thing."
Since Cassidy was 6' 9" ( 2,06 m ) tall, using him to depict Thing caused great technical difficulties on the set of The Addams Family. In many scenes he lay on his back on a wheeled trolley, below the line of sight of the cameras, and inserted his arm through the bottom of the box.
Among Thing's many useful roles are fetching the mail, handing cigars to Gomez Addams and then lighting them, changing the channel on the Addams TV set, holding Morticia Addams's wool while she knits and turning over records on the phonograph (particularly when Gomez and Morticia dance the tango). Thing and Grandmama are fond of arm-wrestling.
Morticia is always very appreciative of Thing's services, and her frequent "Why thank you, Thing" is one of the best known lines of the series. Thing cannot talk, of course, but he does sometimes snap his fingers to attract attention, and is also able to communicate by signaling in Morse code, writing, or with the help of the manual alphabet. This can be very disconcerting to visitors to the Addam's mansion.
Other hands
On the 1960s TV series, two similar hands were introduced in the episode "Morticia Meets Royalty":
- Lady Fingers: a female "handmaiden" who was the servant of Aunt Millie, also known as Princess Millicent von Schlepp. When Millicent came to visit, Thing and Lady Fingers fell in love. Lady Fingers later returned in the 1977 Addams Family Halloween special and the 1998 series revival.
- Esmerelda: another female hand hired by Millicent after firing Lady Fingers. Esmerelda turned out to be dishonest, and Millicent rehired Lady Fingers.
The 1990s revived series implied the existence of other hands as well.