Lisa Loring, the original Wednesday Addams, has died at 64
Lisa Loring, best known for her iconic role as Wednesday Addams on the 1960s TV adaptation of “The Addams Family,” died on Jan. 30 following a massive stroke. She was 64.
Author and producer Laurie Jacobson shared the sad news about her friend on Facebook.
“It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend, Lisa Loring,” Jacobson wrote in the post. “4 Days ago she suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure. She had been on life support for 3 days. Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night. She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams.
“Beautiful, kind, a loving mother, Lisa’s legacy in the world of entertainment is huge. And the legacy for her family and friends — a wealth of humor, affection and love will long play in our memories. RIP, Lisa.”
Loring’s daughter Vanessa Foumberg confirmed her mother’s death.
“She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands,” Foumberg told Variety.
Born in 1958 in the Marshall Islands on the Kwajalein Atoll, a remote island nearly 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, Lisa started her acting career as a child model appearing in numerous television commercials and print ads.
She landed her most recognizable role in 1964, when she was cast as Wednesday Addams for the original TV series, which ran from 1964-1966. After that, she appeared on “The Phyllis Diller Show” and “Barnaby Jones.” She also portrayed Cricket Montgomery Ross on the soap opera “As the Word Turns” from 1980 to 1983.
“Lisa was a very loving Mother, Grandmother and friend with a lifetime of amazing stories and experiences. She brought to life one of the most iconic characters in Hollywood history that is still celebrated today,” a representative for Loring told ABC News in a statement. “Lisa loved sharing her memories and meeting all her fans across the world. She will be missed dearly.”
She is survived by two daughters, Marianne Stevenson and Vanessa Foumberg, and two grandchildren, Emiliana and Charles.