| Ted Cassidy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Theodore Crawford Cassidy July 31, 1932 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.  |
| Died | January 16, 1979 (aged 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S.  |
| Years active | 1952-1979 |
Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 - January 16, 1979), known as Ted Cassidy, was a well known American character actor and voice actor who performed in television and films. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The year 1952 in film involved some significant events Events January 10 - Cecil B The year 1979 in film involved some significant events Events March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A character actor is an Actor who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic
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Biography
Early life and career
Although born in Pittsburgh, Cassidy was raised in Philippi, West Virginia, 120 miles south of Pittsburgh. Philippi (pronounced 'FILL-uh-pea' is a city in and the County seat of Barbour County, West Virginia, United States. He played basketball (center position) and football (tackle) for Philippi High School. At that time, he was an imposing figure in both venues, being the tallest player in the conference. Early in his academic career, Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, in nearby Buckhannon, WV, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, Coeducational Liberal arts college in Buckhannon West Virginia Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in and the County seat of Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity ( ΑΣΦ, commonly abbreviated to Alpha Sig) is a social fraternity with 66 active chapters colonies and interest groups Fraternities and sororities (from the Latin words la frater and la soror, meaning "brother" and "sister" respectively are fraternal He later attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, as a Speech Major. Stetson University is an independent private co-educational liberal arts University that consistently earns high rankings in national college guides DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006 the U Active in student government, he also played basketball for the Hatters, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in his only season as a player. A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, or guild of students is a Student Organization Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m Early in his show business career, he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA-AM in Dallas, Texas. Showbiz redirects here For other uses see Showbiz (disambiguation. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience 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. WFAA-TV, channel 8 is the ABC television affiliate serving the Dallas / Fort Worth Texas DMA ( 5th largest nationwide) An accomplished musician, Cassidy moonlighted at Luby's Cafeteria in the Lochwood Shopping Center in Dallas, playing the organ to entertain patrons. Luby's Inc (formerly Luby's Cafeterias Inc is a Cafeteria-style restaurant chain originally founded in 1947 in San Antonio Texas. Lochwood is a neighborhood in east Dallas, Texas ( USA) adjacent to Lake Park Estates and Old Lake Highlands. On November 22, 1963, shortly after the John F. Kennedy assassination, Cassidy interviewed several of the witnesses, including two very close witnesses, William and Gayle Newman, after the Newman's had appeared on WFAA-TV, but before they left to go to the Dallas Sheriff’s office (No tape exists of that interview for the radio station did not start recording their broadcasts until about 1:45 PM)
The move to television
The Addams Family
Cassidy's unusual height (6 feet 9 inches tall, or 206 cm) gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The assassination of John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday November 22 1963 in Dallas Texas William Newman may refer to William S Newman (1912-2000 American musicologist William Newman (Canadian politician (b He is probably best known for playing the tall butler, Lurch (in which role he feigned[1] playing the harpsichord), and the "helpful hand in a box" character named Thing, on the 1960s American television series, The Addams Family (A crew member would take over the "Thing" role in those scenes which had both Lurch and Thing). A butler is a senior servant in a large Household. In the Great houses of the past the household was sometimes divided into departments with the butler Lurch (whose first name is unknown is the fictional manservant to The Addams Family created by Cartoonist Charles Addams. A role, or rôle, in the Performing arts, is usually taken to mean an Actor 's Characterization, or Interpretation A harpsichord is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Thing T Thing, referred to as just Thing, is a fictional hand in the The Addams Family. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U The Addams Family is an American Television series based on the characters in Charles Addams ' ''New Yorker'' cartoons.
Star Trek
Cassidy portrayed the voice of the more aggressive version of Balok in the Star Trek episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and he played the role of the android Ruk in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?. Star Trek is a Science fiction Television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through " The Corbomite Maneuver " is a first season episode of Star Trek The Original Series, first aired November 10 1966, and repeated " What Are Little Girls Made Of? " is a first season episode of Star Trek The Original Series. " He also voiced the Gorn in the Star Trek episode "Arena". In the Fictional Star Trek universe the Gorn are intelligent Reptilian humanoids from the Gorn Hegemony. " Arena " is an episode of Star Trek The Original Series.
Cassidy did more work with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s, playing Isiah (pronounced "Eye-SIGH-ah") in the pilots of the post-apocalyptic dramas "Genesis II" and "Planet Earth. Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19 1921 &ndash October 24 1991 was an American Screenwriter and producer. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Genesis II was a 1973 TV movie created and produced by Gene Roddenberry, directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, and starring Alex Cord Planet Earth was a Science fiction TV movie that was created by Gene Roddenberry and written by Juanita Bartlett (from a "
I Dream of Jeannie
Ted appeared in several episodes of I Dream of Jeannie in 1968. I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a Fantasy premise Once appearing as the master to Jeannie's devious sister in part 3 of the 4-part episode "Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?", and again in the episode "Please Don't Feed the Astronauts. "
Voice acting and film work
Concurrently 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. The Addams Family is an American Television series based on the characters in Charles Addams ' ''New Yorker'' cartoons. in Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles series. Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles was an American Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1966 Cassidy also voiced Ben Grimm aka The Thing in the 1978 animated Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four is a fictional Superhero team appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics.
After The Addams Family, Cassidy began to add the desire for more voice-over work to his résumé; in that acting field, most notably, he narrated the opening of the TV series The Incredible Hulk. The Addams Family is an American Television series based on the characters in Charles Addams ' ''New Yorker'' cartoons. Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and The Incredible Hulk is an American Television series based on the Marvel Comic book character of the same name. Cassidy also provided the Hulk's growls and roars. He also provided the growls and roar for Godzilla in the 1979 cartoon series and the gurgling voice of Black Manta on Superfriends. Black Manta is a Fictional character, a Supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an Archenemy of Aquaman. Super Friends is an American Animated television series about a team of Superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1986 on ABC as part He detested being compared or confused with acromegalic actor Richard Kiel, who played "Jaws," the assassin with stainless steel teeth, in two James Bond films. Acromegaly (from Greek akros "extreme" or "extremities" and megalos "large" - extremities enlargement is a Syndrome Richard Dawson Kiel (born September 13, 1939, in Detroit Michigan) is an American Actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story
Other film work included his appearance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a American Western film that tells the story of bank robbers Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) and He also co-wrote the screenplay of 1973's The Harrad Experiment, in which he made a brief appearance. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The Harrad Experiment is a 1973 movie about a fictional Harrad College where the students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other
Death
Cassidy died in 1979 at age 46 from complications following open-heart surgery. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Fellow actor Sandra Martinez assisted and took care of Ted during his final years. Cassidy's remains were cremated, and buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home. Woodland Hills is a district in the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. An Addams Family movie was dedicated to him.
References
- ^ According to the Addams Family, Season 1, Volume 1 DVD of the original TV series, Vic Mizzy (Music composer) states that Lurch (Ted Cassidy) is playing on a dead keyboard, and that he (Vic Mizzy) played all the parts. Victor Mizzy (born January 9, 1916 (or 1922 in Brooklyn New York) is an American Composer for television and movies whose best known works This is shown in the Snap Snap special feature.
External links
- Ted Cassidy at the Internet Movie Database
- Ted Cassidy article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Hear The Ted Cassidy Song "The Lurch"[1]
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