Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams, is dead at 64.
Her agent told NPR that Lisa Loring, best known for her role as Wednesday on the first season of The Addams Family, passed away on Saturday.
According to Chris Carbaugh of C and V Promotions, Loring, 64, passed away surrounded by her family. She was a "loving mother, grandmother, and friend."
In a Facebook post, author and personal friend Laurie Jacobson stated that Loring first "suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure" last week and was placed on life support for three days.
"Her legacy, a wealth of humor, affection, and love, will long play in our memories for her family and friends," Jacobson wrote.
Loring was born in the Marshall Islands to Navy personnel, according to her IMBD page. Loring's mother moved with her to Los Angeles after her parents split up quickly, where she began her modeling career as a toddler.
When she starred as the 6-year-old Wednesday in the original 1964 Addams Family series, she established her place in the cultural canon. The eccentric family became a beloved American treasure after decades of reruns, despite the show's lack of immediate success (it lasted only two seasons).
Fans who identify as social outcasts found Wednesday's gloomy enthusiasm for raising spiders and beheading dolls appealing. Her white-collared dress and dark braids continue to inspire gothic fashion.
A half-dozen reprisal films and television series have given the character new interpretations, the most recent of which is the Jenna Ortega-starring 2022 Netflix streaming series Wednesday.
Loring's performance has been cited by Ortega as a major source of inspiration for the show, particularly a delightfully absurd dance scene that has since gone viral.
Loring appeared in a number of short-lived shows after the first Addams Family ended, including The Pruitts of Southhampton, Fantasy Island, and The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., as well as low-budget horror films like Iced.
In the early 1980s, she landed a memorable recurring role on As the World Turns as Cricket Montgomery.
According to IMBD, Loring semi-retired from acting in the middle of the 1990s in response to the suicide of a friend and her own drug addictions. She worked as a makeup artist in later years.
Loring was married three times and left two daughters behind.
