Knowledge (XXG)

Thing (The Addams Family)

Source 📝

505:. According to Phil Hore, Addams was inspired by Phil Harris's 1950 novelty song "The Thing". One of Addams' cartoons introduced a mysterious entity known only as The Thing, who was said to be too horrifying to be seen by human eyes. Compared to the adaptations, The Thing is actually a person of unknown origin, observing the household through slightly-opened doors and the balustrades, from around corners, and even beneath window sills with his face and hands clearly seen by the reader. 1474: 314: 640: 168: 66: 25: 524:. The two characters occasionally appeared in the same scene (in which case Thing would be played by a crew member, notably assistant director Jack Voglin). Thing customarily emerged from a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams' mansion, and the mailbox outside. He occasionally emerged from behind a curtain, within a plant pot, the family wall safe, or elsewhere. 531:. 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. Thing was usually a right hand, but Cassidy sometimes played him as left, simply to see if anyone would notice. Thing is credited as "Itself" at the end of each episode. 606:, portrayed by Victor Dorobantu. Makeup was used to enhance Thing's appearance with stitches and marks. During filming, Dorobantu would be hidden while wearing a blue suit. Thing's language was made up on the day of filming. A stand-in hand was used instead of Dorobantu for certain times. After each take, 736:
you, Thing" is one of the best known lines of the series; Wednesday takes after her mother in also expressing gratitude for Thing's assistance. Thing cannot talk, but it does sometimes snap its fingers to attract attention, and is also able to communicate by signaling in Morse code, writing, or with
745:
in some episodes, a visitor to the Addams home, profusely grateful for some kindness of the Addamses', enthusiastically shakes hands with everyone present—"Thank you, Mr. Addams! Thank you, Mrs. Addams!"—and is then offered a handshake by Thing. "And thank
558:
where Thing was played by the hand of Canadian magician/actor Steven Fox. His classic box only appears in one episode of the series (the remake of "Thing's Romance"); in others, he lives in a closet that has been modified as his own "house-within-a-house".
481:"The Thing is often observed watching the family through the balustrades of the balcony over the living room. We don't know quite who or what he is, but, whatever, he's the soul of good nature—at least, he grins perpetually and may occasionally whimper." 724:
episode on how Gomez and Morticia met, it is revealed that Thing has been with the Addams family since Gomez himself was a child, suggesting Thing is the son of an earlier generation of hand-servants (see below). Thing, overall, acts as the
753:
In one episode, Morticia gets goosed, and initially suspects Thing, who had been nearby moments earlier. However, Gomez immediately appears and admits responsibility, explaining: "Thing just likes to hold hands".
720:). It accompanies the family on drives by riding in the glove compartment, and in one episode, where Gomez appears in court, it emerged from Gomez's briefcase. Thing and Grandmama are fond of arm-wrestling. In a 1515: 614:
puts him in charge of watching over Wednesday while she attends Nevermore Academy, only for Wednesday to force him to help her with solving the mysteries of the school and the town of Jericho.
789:
In the episode "Thing Is Missing", Gomez and Morticia find a portrait of Thing's parents, a male hand and a female hand. The 1990s revived series implied the existence of other hands as well.
554:. After this, Fester gets into the car and Thing drives them off to the Addams Family Mansion, albeit erratically, frightening Fester in the process. This is also true for the 1998 series 770:" 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 1510: 1416: 1409: 435:
series. The Addamses called it "Thing" because it was something that could not be identified, being originally an unseen creature in the original cartoons but starting with
1345: 1505: 1053: 661: 185: 38: 963: 785:
Esmerelda: Another female hand hired by Millicent after firing Lady Fingers. Esmerelda turned out to be a thief and Millicent rehires Lady Fingers.
750:..." begins the visitor, before realizing who and what he has been confronted with, recoiling in inarticulate shock, and fleeing the premises. 1500: 1302: 527:
Since Cassidy was 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) tall, using him to depict Thing caused great technical difficulties on the set of
1163: 772: 927: 986: 1423: 1401: 581:. He appears as a disembodied hand and wears a watch with an eye on it (perhaps used to see) in some scenes, he is also shown to have a 1520: 1431: 1213: 1205: 1155: 1148: 509: 436: 232: 130: 1361: 1353: 687: 269: 251: 204: 149: 102: 52: 87: 80: 566:, Thing only appears in the beginning, when he opens the curtain. He is played by a member of the ensemble. In the tour version, 1457: 1046: 211: 109: 776:, as the handmaiden of Granny Frump and the 1998 series revival, as the handmaiden of Cousin Pretensia. Her name is a play on 1337: 1327: 865: 855: 665: 589:, again with a "watch" with an eye, which is used at various times to express Thing's feelings, such as exasperation with an 189: 44: 1278: 1243: 1109: 578: 323: 218: 116: 1449: 1318: 1076: 563: 650: 200: 98: 1478: 1039: 607: 1016: 669: 654: 178: 76: 1114: 521: 516:
as a disembodied forearm, since he occasionally emerged from his box at near-elbow length—was usually played by
539: 360: 319: 1387: 610:
was added to Thing and editors removed Dorobantu's body and created a skin to cover the top of Thing's wrist.
1380: 840: 513: 1259: 1179: 1171: 953: 721: 602: 283: 832: 1251: 1198: 778: 225: 123: 1286: 991: 762:
On the 1960s TV series, two similar hands were introduced in the episode "Morticia Meets Royalty":
586: 917: 1311: 1063: 861: 455:, "La Chose" (the Thing) in French speaking countries, "eiskaltes Händchen" (icecold hand) in 431: 404: 303: 1099: 571: 448: 313: 1089: 738: 705: 535: 460: 456: 1094: 1068: 582: 567: 497: 492: 345: 1031: 1494: 1394: 717: 623: 414: 439:
it was settled to be a disembodied hand. It is known as "Mãozinha" (Little Hand) in
1104: 1084: 726: 701: 611: 551: 622:
In December 2021, Thing appeared in advertisements for British furniture retailer
501:
magazine, beginning in the 1930s. The Thing first appeared in Addams's 1954 book
958: 922: 742: 639: 590: 517: 355: 167: 65: 1124: 767: 713: 732:
Morticia is always very appreciative of Thing's services, and her frequent "
704:
and then lighting them, changing the channel on the Addams TV set, holding
1021: 888: 806: 741:. This can be very disconcerting to visitors to the Addams' mansion; in a 1026: 700:
Thing's many useful roles included fetching the mail, handing cigars to
597: 543: 440: 987:"Pablo reveals first DFS creative to help nation find their 'thing'" 954:"Jenna Ortega Shares How The Wednesday Team Made Up Thing Language" 542:'s hand) is able to emerge and run on his fingertips, much like a 452: 444: 860:(First ed.). United Kingdom: St. Martin's Press. p. 6. 709: 1035: 633: 550:, Thing is shown driving a car into Debbie in order to rescue 161: 59: 18: 918:"Whose Hand Is That? Wednesday's Thing Actor Explained" 1516:
Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds
1441: 1417:
Addams Family Values: The Original Orchestral Score
1410:
Addams Family Values: Music from the Motion Picture
1372: 1301: 1270: 1235: 1228: 1190: 1140: 1133: 1075: 712:in under a minute, and turning over records on the 410: 400: 392: 384: 376: 371: 351: 341: 330: 296: 192:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 947: 945: 716:(particularly when Gomez and Morticia dance the 574:and Lucas's wedding while Thing holds the ring. 626:, as part of their "find your thing" campaign. 479: 1027:Unofficial episode guide to the revived series 1047: 708:'s wool while she knits, turning grapes into 8: 1022:Unofficial episode guide to the 1960s series 911: 909: 1346:The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt 668:. Unsourced material may be challenged and 53:Learn how and when to remove these messages 1511:Comics characters with superhuman strength 1232: 1137: 1054: 1040: 1032: 854:Clute, John; Grant, John (February 1999). 534:In the later films, thanks to advances in 688:Learn how and when to remove this message 495:, who drew the Addams Family cartoons in 270:Learn how and when to remove this message 252:Learn how and when to remove this message 150:Learn how and when to remove this message 807:"The New Addams Family - The Characters" 520:, who also played the lugubrious butler 322:) as shown running on its fingertips in 16:Fictional character in The Addams Family 831:Miserocchi, H. Kevin (March 31, 2010). 798: 966:from the original on December 13, 2022 596:Thing appears in the 2022 live-action 293: 86:Please improve this article by adding 985:Small, Jennifer (December 13, 2021). 7: 1506:Comics characters introduced in 1954 1164:Halloween with the New Addams Family 930:from the original on August 28, 2023 773:Halloween with the New Addams Family 666:adding citations to reliable sources 190:adding citations to reliable sources 952:Halloran, Amy (November 30, 2022). 318:Thing (played by the right hand of 14: 1362:The Addams Family Mystery Mansion 916:Gibbons, Ben (December 1, 2022). 437:the live-action television series 34:This article has multiple issues. 1473: 1472: 638: 491:(The) Thing was the creation of 312: 166: 64: 23: 1458:The Addams Family: An Evilution 835:The Addams Family: An Evilution 459:, and "Rączka" (Small hand) in 177:needs additional citations for 42:or discuss these issues on the 429:, is a fictional character in 201:"Thing" The Addams Family 99:"Thing" The Addams Family 1: 570:carries Thing on a pillow at 88:secondary or tertiary sources 1501:The Addams Family characters 585:. Thing also appears in the 425:, often referred to as just 857:The Encyclopedia of Fantasy 1537: 281: 1521:Fictional mute characters 1468: 587:2021 animated film sequel 311: 301: 766:Lady Fingers: A female " 282:Not to be confused with 1381:The Addams Family Theme 447:, "Dedos" (Fingers) in 372:In-universe information 367:Victor Dorobantu (2022) 510:1964 television series 489: 75:relies excessively on 1388:When You're an Addams 1260:Addams Family Reunion 1172:The New Addams Family 577:Thing appears in the 556:The New Addams Family 324:the 1991 feature film 284:The Thing (character) 1354:Addams Family Values 1252:Addams Family Values 1199:Wednesday Is Missing 779:Ladyfinger (biscuit) 662:improve this section 548:Addams Family Values 186:improve this article 1287:The Addams Family 2 1017:Article at TV ACRES 538:, Thing (played by 451:, "Mano" (Hand) in 291:Fictional character 630:Role in the series 579:2019 animated film 443:"Cosa" (Thing) in 363:(1991, 1993, 1998) 1488: 1487: 1450:The Addams Family 1427:(2019 soundtrack) 1424:The Addams Family 1405:(1991 soundtrack) 1402:The Addams Family 1338:The Addams Family 1329:The Addams Family 1320:The Addams Family 1297: 1296: 1279:The Addams Family 1244:The Addams Family 1224: 1223: 1214:The Addams Family 1206:The Addams Family 1149:The Addams Family 1064:The Addams Family 698: 697: 690: 529:The Addams Family 474:The Addams Family 432:The Addams Family 420: 419: 405:The Addams Family 365:Steven Fox (1998) 304:The Addams Family 280: 279: 272: 262: 261: 254: 236: 160: 159: 152: 134: 57: 1528: 1476: 1475: 1233: 1138: 1100:Wednesday Addams 1056: 1049: 1042: 1033: 1004: 1003: 1001: 999: 982: 976: 975: 973: 971: 949: 940: 939: 937: 935: 913: 904: 903: 901: 899: 885: 879: 878: 876: 874: 851: 845: 844: 828: 822: 821: 819: 817: 811:www.lkessler.com 803: 737:the help of the 693: 686: 682: 679: 673: 642: 634: 600:original series 540:Christopher Hart 487:— Charles Addams 449:Hispanic America 361:Christopher Hart 331:First appearance 320:Christopher Hart 316: 294: 275: 268: 257: 250: 246: 243: 237: 235: 194: 170: 162: 155: 148: 144: 141: 135: 133: 92: 68: 60: 49: 27: 26: 19: 1536: 1535: 1531: 1530: 1529: 1527: 1526: 1525: 1491: 1490: 1489: 1484: 1464: 1437: 1368: 1293: 1266: 1220: 1186: 1129: 1090:Morticia Addams 1071: 1060: 1013: 1008: 1007: 997: 995: 984: 983: 979: 969: 967: 951: 950: 943: 933: 931: 915: 914: 907: 897: 895: 887: 886: 882: 872: 870: 868: 853: 852: 848: 830: 829: 825: 815: 813: 805: 804: 800: 795: 760: 739:manual alphabet 706:Morticia Addams 694: 683: 677: 674: 659: 643: 632: 620: 536:special effects 484: 478: 469: 366: 364: 359: 326: 292: 287: 276: 265: 264: 263: 258: 247: 241: 238: 195: 193: 183: 171: 156: 145: 139: 136: 93: 91: 85: 81:primary sources 69: 28: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1534: 1532: 1524: 1523: 1518: 1513: 1508: 1503: 1493: 1492: 1486: 1485: 1483: 1482: 1469: 1466: 1465: 1463: 1462: 1454: 1445: 1443: 1439: 1438: 1436: 1435: 1428: 1420: 1413: 1406: 1398: 1391: 1384: 1376: 1374: 1370: 1369: 1367: 1366: 1358: 1350: 1342: 1334: 1325: 1316: 1312:Fester's Quest 1307: 1305: 1299: 1298: 1295: 1294: 1292: 1291: 1283: 1274: 1272: 1268: 1267: 1265: 1264: 1256: 1248: 1239: 1237: 1230: 1226: 1225: 1222: 1221: 1219: 1218: 1210: 1202: 1194: 1192: 1188: 1187: 1185: 1184: 1183:(2022–present) 1176: 1168: 1167:(1977 TV film) 1160: 1159: 1158: 1144: 1142: 1135: 1131: 1130: 1128: 1127: 1122: 1117: 1112: 1107: 1102: 1097: 1095:Pugsley Addams 1092: 1087: 1081: 1079: 1073: 1072: 1069:Charles Addams 1061: 1059: 1058: 1051: 1044: 1036: 1030: 1029: 1024: 1019: 1012: 1011:External links 1009: 1006: 1005: 977: 941: 905: 880: 866: 846: 823: 797: 796: 794: 791: 787: 786: 783: 759: 756: 696: 695: 646: 644: 637: 631: 628: 619: 618:In other media 616: 498:The New Yorker 493:Charles Addams 477: 470: 468: 465: 423:Thing T. Thing 418: 417: 412: 408: 407: 402: 398: 397: 394: 390: 389: 386: 382: 381: 380:Thing T. Thing 378: 374: 373: 369: 368: 353: 349: 348: 346:Charles Addams 343: 339: 338: 332: 328: 327: 317: 309: 308: 299: 298: 290: 278: 277: 260: 259: 174: 172: 165: 158: 157: 72: 70: 63: 58: 32: 31: 29: 22: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1533: 1522: 1519: 1517: 1514: 1512: 1509: 1507: 1504: 1502: 1499: 1498: 1496: 1481: 1480: 1471: 1470: 1467: 1460: 1459: 1455: 1452: 1451: 1447: 1446: 1444: 1440: 1433: 1432:Haunted Heart 1429: 1426: 1425: 1421: 1419: 1418: 1414: 1412: 1411: 1407: 1404: 1403: 1399: 1396: 1395:Addams Groove 1392: 1389: 1385: 1382: 1378: 1377: 1375: 1371: 1364: 1363: 1359: 1356: 1355: 1351: 1348: 1347: 1343: 1340: 1339: 1335: 1332: 1330: 1326: 1323: 1321: 1317: 1314: 1313: 1309: 1308: 1306: 1304: 1300: 1289: 1288: 1284: 1281: 1280: 1276: 1275: 1273: 1269: 1262: 1261: 1257: 1254: 1253: 1249: 1246: 1245: 1241: 1240: 1238: 1234: 1231: 1227: 1216: 1215: 1211: 1208: 1207: 1203: 1200: 1196: 1195: 1193: 1189: 1182: 1181: 1177: 1174: 1173: 1169: 1166: 1165: 1161: 1157: 1154: 1153: 1151: 1150: 1146: 1145: 1143: 1139: 1136: 1132: 1126: 1123: 1121: 1118: 1116: 1113: 1111: 1108: 1106: 1103: 1101: 1098: 1096: 1093: 1091: 1088: 1086: 1083: 1082: 1080: 1078: 1074: 1070: 1066: 1065: 1057: 1052: 1050: 1045: 1043: 1038: 1037: 1034: 1028: 1025: 1023: 1020: 1018: 1015: 1014: 1010: 994: 993: 988: 981: 978: 965: 961: 960: 955: 948: 946: 942: 929: 925: 924: 919: 912: 910: 906: 894: 890: 889:"Ted Cassidy" 884: 881: 869: 863: 859: 858: 850: 847: 842: 838: 836: 827: 824: 812: 808: 802: 799: 792: 790: 784: 781: 780: 775: 774: 769: 765: 764: 763: 757: 755: 751: 749: 744: 740: 735: 730: 729:of the show. 728: 723: 719: 715: 711: 707: 703: 692: 689: 681: 671: 667: 663: 657: 656: 652: 647:This section 645: 641: 636: 635: 629: 627: 625: 617: 615: 613: 609: 605: 604: 599: 594: 592: 588: 584: 580: 575: 573: 569: 565: 560: 557: 553: 549: 545: 541: 537: 532: 530: 525: 523: 519: 515: 511: 506: 504: 500: 499: 494: 488: 485: 482: 475: 471: 466: 464: 462: 458: 454: 450: 446: 442: 438: 434: 433: 428: 424: 416: 413: 409: 406: 403: 399: 395: 391: 387: 383: 379: 375: 370: 362: 357: 354: 350: 347: 344: 340: 336: 333: 329: 325: 321: 315: 310: 306: 305: 300: 295: 289: 285: 274: 271: 256: 253: 245: 234: 231: 227: 224: 220: 217: 213: 210: 206: 203: –  202: 198: 197:Find sources: 191: 187: 181: 180: 175:This article 173: 169: 164: 163: 154: 151: 143: 140:December 2007 132: 129: 125: 122: 118: 115: 111: 108: 104: 101: –  100: 96: 95:Find sources: 89: 83: 82: 78: 73:This article 71: 67: 62: 61: 56: 54: 47: 46: 41: 40: 35: 30: 21: 20: 1477: 1456: 1448: 1422: 1415: 1408: 1400: 1360: 1352: 1344: 1336: 1328: 1319: 1310: 1285: 1277: 1258: 1250: 1242: 1212: 1204: 1178: 1170: 1162: 1152:(1964–1966) 1147: 1119: 1105:Uncle Fester 1085:Gomez Addams 1062: 998:December 30, 996:. Retrieved 990: 980: 968:. Retrieved 957: 932:. Retrieved 921: 896:. Retrieved 892: 883: 871:. Retrieved 856: 849: 834: 826: 814:. Retrieved 810: 801: 788: 777: 771: 761: 752: 747: 733: 731: 727:straight man 702:Gomez Addams 699: 684: 678:January 2023 675: 660:Please help 648: 621: 601: 595: 576: 561: 555: 552:Uncle Fester 547: 533: 528: 526: 512:, Thing was 507: 502: 496: 490: 486: 483: 480: 473: 430: 426: 422: 421: 352:Portrayed by 334: 302: 288: 266: 248: 242:January 2016 239: 229: 222: 215: 208: 196: 184:Please help 179:verification 176: 146: 137: 127: 120: 113: 106: 94: 74: 50: 43: 37: 36:Please help 33: 1442:Other media 1236:Live-action 1217:(1992–1993) 1175:(1998–1999) 1141:Live-action 970:October 28, 959:Screen Rant 934:October 28, 923:Screen Rant 898:October 13, 873:January 11, 841:Pomegranate 816:October 13, 758:Other hands 743:running gag 583:foot fetish 518:Ted Cassidy 467:Appearances 411:Nationality 356:Ted Cassidy 1495:Categories 1134:Television 1125:Cousin Itt 1077:Characters 867:0312198698 793:References 768:handmaiden 714:phonograph 503:Homebodies 342:Created by 335:Homebodies 212:newspapers 110:newspapers 77:references 39:improve it 1453:(musical) 1180:Wednesday 1110:Grandmama 722:flashback 649:does not 603:Wednesday 572:Wednesday 514:retconned 377:Full name 307:character 45:talk page 1479:Category 1331:handheld 1271:Animated 1201:" (1972) 1191:Animated 1156:episodes 992:Campaign 964:Archived 928:Archived 591:eye roll 415:American 1322:pinball 670:removed 655:sources 598:Netflix 568:Pugsley 564:musical 562:In the 508:In the 385:Species 226:scholar 124:scholar 1461:(book) 1365:(2019) 1357:(1994) 1349:(1993) 1341:(1993) 1333:(1991) 1324:(1991) 1315:(1989) 1290:(2021) 1282:(2019) 1263:(1998) 1255:(1993) 1247:(1991) 1209:(1973) 864:  544:spider 461:Polish 457:German 441:Brazil 401:Family 393:Gender 358:(1964) 337:(1954) 228:  221:  214:  207:  199:  126:  119:  112:  105:  97:  1373:Music 1303:Games 1229:Films 1120:Thing 1115:Lurch 734:Thank 718:tango 612:Gomez 546:. In 522:Lurch 476:media 453:Italy 445:Spain 427:Thing 388:Thing 297:Thing 233:JSTOR 219:books 131:JSTOR 117:books 1000:2021 972:2023 936:2023 900:2020 893:IMDb 875:2024 862:ISBN 818:2020 710:wine 653:any 651:cite 396:Male 205:news 103:news 1067:by 748:you 664:by 624:DFS 608:CGI 472:In 188:by 79:to 1497:: 989:. 962:. 956:. 944:^ 926:. 920:. 908:^ 891:. 839:. 809:. 593:. 463:. 90:. 48:. 1434:" 1430:" 1397:" 1393:" 1390:" 1386:" 1383:" 1379:" 1197:" 1055:e 1048:t 1041:v 1002:. 974:. 938:. 902:. 877:. 843:. 837:" 833:" 820:. 782:. 691:) 685:( 680:) 676:( 672:. 658:. 286:. 273:) 267:( 255:) 249:( 244:) 240:( 230:· 223:· 216:· 209:· 182:. 153:) 147:( 142:) 138:( 128:· 121:· 114:· 107:· 84:. 55:) 51:(

Index

improve it
talk page
Learn how and when to remove these messages

references
primary sources
secondary or tertiary sources
"Thing" The Addams Family
news
newspapers
books
scholar
JSTOR
Learn how and when to remove this message

verification
improve this article
adding citations to reliable sources
"Thing" The Addams Family
news
newspapers
books
scholar
JSTOR
Learn how and when to remove this message
Learn how and when to remove this message
The Thing (character)
The Addams Family

Christopher Hart

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.