Ken Weatherwax, Pugsley On ‘The Addams Family,’ Dies at 59
Ken Weatherwax, the actor best known for playing Pugsley on The Addams Family died at his home in California on Sunday, December 7, after having a heart attack.
He was just 59-years-old.
According to TMZ, there will be two funerals for Weatherwax, per his family. There is going to be one just for the family and close personal friends. Another will be held for fans of Weatherwax, who has been most notably known for his role as Pugsley Addams.
Ken Weatherwax is someone that knew which role he was meant to play, and it was why he ended up playing Pugsley throughout 40 episodes of the original television series of The Addams Family. Believe it or not, the series lasted just two seasons and ran only from 1964 through 1966.
There was then an animated version of The Addams Family in 1973 in which Weatherwax was the voice of Pugsley Addams. He even went on to play Pugsley, Sr. in the made-for-TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family which aired in 1977.
The Hollywood Reporter said that the announcement of Ken Weatherwax’s death actually was first revealed on Facebook by his niece, Shanyn Vieira. Posted in all caps, the message was a sad one that was not written on a fan page, but on her personal wall.
JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT MY UNCLE KEN WEATHERWAX ( PLEASE LOOK HIM UP) WHO PLAYED PUGSLEY FROM THE ADDAM’S FAMILY DIED TODAY FROM A HEART ATTACK. SO WHEN YOU HEAR THE THEME SONG PLEASE THINK OF ME!!!……LOL!…….. YOU WILL SEE HIM ON TMZ AND THE NEWS………. RIP UNCLE!……. LOVE YOU!!…..XOXO
Weatherwax was a native of Los Angeles and didn’t do a lot more in his career, but he will still always be remembered. He appeared in a few toothpaste commercials, and in an episode of Wagon Train in 1964, but that really was it.
He had tried out for other roles after The Addams Family ended, but it appears as if typecasting was in full force. He never landed another one and even told Bill O’Reilly in a 2008 interview that typecasting was exactly what happened to him as he would always be known as Pugsley Addams.
During that interview, Weatherwax even said he was bullied in school for playing the role of Pugsley.
“Frankly, I didn’t deal with it very well. I was kicked out of like six or seven schools and went into the service [the Army] at the age of 17. I did kind of draw a lot of fire from that.”
While he didn’t have a lot of credits to his name, the world of television lost a great one in Ken Weatherwax, as he died far too young. Now, the legacy of the insect-eating Pugsley Addams must always live on in black-and-white.
[Image via SitComOnline]
