Gomez Addams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gomez Addams is the fictional patriarch of The Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for The New Yorker magazine in the 1930s.

In the Charles Addams cartoons, Gomez — as with all of the members of the family — had no name. The name was given to him by Charles Addams with the advent of The Addams Family television series in 1964. Gomez is the husband of Morticia Addams, son (or in some incarnations of the family, son-in-law) to Grandmama Addams, brother (or sometimes nephew-in-law) to Uncle Fester, and father to Wednesday and Pugsley. Gomez also has a butler named Lurch and a Cousin Itt. Gomez's paternal grandfather was Grandpa Squint Addams, who was the son of Pegleg Addams; oddly, Gomez's paternal grandmother was also named Squint.

Gomez Addams is an athletic, acrobatic, and eccentric multi-millionaire. Though an extremely successful businessman, having acquired much of his wealth through investments, he seems to have little regard for money and will casually spend thousands of dollars on any whimsical endeavor (often to the total surprise of visitors who are mortified at the Addams' lifestyle). Gomez's investments are guided more by whimsy than strategy, yet luck rarely fails him; "It's not for nothing that they called me 'the Plunger,'" he boasts, (although it was not from Wall Street that he received this nickname, but from the Plumbers Union). In the original sitcom, Gomez owned businesses around the world, including a crocodile farm ("Crocodiles Unlimited"), a buzzard farm, a salt mine, a tombstone factory, a uranium mine, and many others. It was not unheard of for him to simply forget that he owned a controlling interest in a business.

Gomez studied law (being voted "Most Likely Never to Pass the Bar"), and although he rarely practices, he takes an absurd delight in losing cases (although in "The Addams Family Goes to Court," it is noted that while Gomez has never won a case, he has never lost one either; "Perfect record!" brags Grandmama). Gomez is of Castilian extraction, and almost always dresses in a pin-striped, dark-colored suit, sports slicked-back hair and a pencil-thin moustache. He enjoys smoking cigars, and is an accomplished juggler and knife-thrower. He is well versed in all types of combat, especially swordfighting. His favorite dance is The Freddy. Though head of the household, he is extremely naive and childish, with a short attention span and endless optimism. He has a childlike love for toys, especially model train sets, which he regularly enjoys destroying. Gomez is passionately in love with Morticia. He affectionally calls her romantic names like Querida ("darling") and Cara Mia ("my beloved"). The slightest things she does drives Gomez insane, whether she makes animal noises or speaks French.

Gomez was played by John Astin in the television series of the 1960s. Astin also voiced the character in an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies featuring the family. In the first animated series by Hanna-Barbera, Gomez was voiced by Lennie Weinrib. In the second animated series, also by Hanna-Barbera, Gomez's voice was again performed by John Astin. Later, the character was played by Raúl Juliá in the films, The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993). In 1998, the character was played by Tim Curry in the film Addams Family Reunion, and the next year, the character was played by Glenn Taranto in the TV series The New Addams Family.

The Addams Family
Characters
Gomez Addams | Morticia Addams | Pugsley Addams | Wednesday Addams | Uncle Fester | Grandmama | Lurch | Thing | Cousin Itt
TV
The Addams Family | The New Addams Family
Films
The Addams Family (1991) | Addams Family Values (1993) | Addams Family Reunion (1998)
Games
Fester's Quest (1989) | The Addams Family (pinball) (1991) | Addams Family (1992) | The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (1993) | Addams Family Values (1994) | Addams Family (1994)