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ABC News
ABC News
National

Actor who played Wednesday Addams in the original Addams Family television series dies, aged 64

Lisa Loring, the actor best known for playing Wednesday in the original television series the Addams Family, has died, aged 64.

Vanessa Foumberg, one of Loring's two daughters, told The Hollywood Reporter the actor died after from complications after a stroke. 

"She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands," she told the magazine.

Loring played the daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams in the American television series from 1964 to 1966 — appearing in 64 episodes, according to IMDb. 

She was six years old when she joined the cast.

"I learned to memorise before I could read," she said in an article published by the Canberra Times in 2017. 

She had several other acting credits to her name, but is best loved for her role on the show and appeared at horror and science fiction conventions in her later years. 

The role of Wednesday Addams has been revised as the decades have passed, with Christina Ricci, Chloë Grace Moretz and, in the most recent Netflix adaption, Jenna Ortega playing the iconic part.

A sequence of Ortega dancing in character as Wednesday went viral soon after the show's release, but Loring's dance as Wednesday has also clocked up significant numbers. 

A clip from the 60s series showing Loring dancing with Lurch, played by Ted Cassidy, has more than 9 million views on YouTube. 

Her friend Laurie Jacobson remembered Loring as "a ton of fun" in a Facebook post. 

"She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams," she said.

"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 humour, affection and love — will long play in our memories."

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