Ted Cassidy

Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 – January 16, 1979) was an American actor of radio, television and film and voice artist. Noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in and his deep bass voice, he tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and is best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He is also known for narrating The Incredible Hulk TV series.

Early life and career

Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. In his youth, Cassidy was an academically gifted individual and attended third grade at age six. During his freshman year of high school, at age 11, Cassidy was on the football and basketball teams. Despite this, he was a frequent target of bullying by his much older peers, having already reached a height of 6 ft 1 in.

After graduating from high school, Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, where he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He transferred to Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he played college basketball for the Hatters and was active in the student government.

After graduating with a degree in speech and drama, he married Margaret Helen Jesse in 1956, and they moved to Dallas, Texas. His acting career took off when he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA in Dallas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8, playing Creech, an outer space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars" segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. He gave an in-studio report from WFAA radio station on the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was among the first to interview eyewitnesses W. E. Newman, Jr. and Gayle Newman.

Television

Cassidy's notable height gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles. His most famous role was Lurch on The Addams Family (in which he feigned playing the harpsichord). He also played the character named Thing, while associate producer Jack Voglin would take over the "Thing" role in scenes with both characters. Though the character of Lurch was intended to be mute, Cassidy ad-libbed his signature line, "You rang?" The subtle humor and the deepness of his voice was immediately a hit. Thereafter, it was a recurring phrase written into the script.

Cassidy did more work with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s, playing Isaiah in the post-apocalyptic drama pilots Genesis II and Planet Earth. In the Lost in Space episode, "The Thief from Outer Space", he played the "Slave" to the alien "Thief" (Malachi Throne) who threatens the Robinsons.

Voice acting and film work

Concurrent with his appearances on The Addams Family, Cassidy began doing character voices on a recurring basis for the Hanna-Barbera Studios, culminating in the role of Frankenstein, Jr. in Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles series. He was the voice of Meteor Man in Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, as well as the hero in the Chuck Menville pixillated short film Blaze Glory, in which his already-deep voice was enhanced with reverb echo to give the character an exaggerated super-hero sound. Cassidy also voiced Ben Grimm (a.k.a. "The Thing") in The New Fantastic Four. Cassidy went on to perform the roars and growls for Godzilla in the 1979 cartoon series that Hanna Barbera co-produced with Toho; and was also the voice of Montaro in the Jana of the Jungle segments that accompanied Godzilla during its first network run. His was the basis for the sinister voice of Black Manta, as well as Brainiac and several others on Super Friends. Cassidy was the original voice of Moltar and Metallus on Space Ghost from 1966 to 1968. Indeed, Cassidy's final role was as King Thun of the Lion Men in the Filmation television animated feature film, Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All. That particular role was originally recorded shortly before Cassidy's death in 1979 until the decision was made to use the footage for a television series, The New Adventures of Flash Gordon. As such, Cassidy's death necessitated his role being recast for the series with Allan Melvin. After the series' conclusion, the original feature film and soundtrack were reassembled and broadcast in prime time in 1982 with Cassidy's performance used.

Death

Cassidy underwent surgery at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles to have a non-malignant tumor removed from his heart. While recovering at home, complications arose several days later and he was readmitted. On January 16, 1979, Cassidy died at age 46 at St. Vincent Medical Center.