Addams, Charles (1912-1988), an American cartoonist, became famous for the morbid humor of his drawings. Addams enjoyed turning ordinary situations into ghoulish comedy. His cartoons featured ghosts, monsters, haunted houses, and cemeteries. Addams was best known for creating the comically grotesque characters called the Addams family. The family inspired a popular television series (1964-1966), motion pictures, and a musical comedy.
Charles Samuel Addams was born on Jan. 7, 1912, in Westfield, New Jersey, and raised there. He showed a fascination with the morbid at an early age, frequently visiting the local cemetery. His neighborhood had many Victorian houses like the spooky mansion he later drew for the Addams family. Addams achieved his greatest popularity as a cartoonist with The New Yorker magazine. He began publishing in The New Yorker in the 1930’s and became one of the magazine’s most celebrated cartoonists. Collections of Addams’s cartoons have been published in several books. Addams died on Sept. 29, 1988.
