Lisa Loring, who played the original Wednesday Addams in the 1960s sitcom The Addams Family has died. The actress was 64.
On January 28, Loring’s close friend Laure Jacobson shared the unfortunate news about her demise via a Facebook post. Laure informed that Lisa was taken off life support after suffering ‘a massive stroke’. Her death has been since confirmed by Loring’s daughter Vanessa Foumberg who told Variety that her mother passed away “peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands.”
Jacobson’s Facebook post, as shared by Deadline, read, “It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend, Lisa Loring. 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.”
Laure’s post further continued, “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. Damn, girl…you were a ton of fun.”
Lisa Loring was the original Wednesday Addams in the first live-action adaptation of Charles Addams cartoons in The New Yorker. The show released a total of 64 episodes from 1964 to 1966. Loring’s performance as Wednesday recently resurfaced after Jenna Ortega’s portrayal of the iconic character in the Netflix series Wednesday.
Ortega also revealed that she paid tribute to Loring with her iconic dance scene which brings back The Addams Family full circle as Loring also did her trademark dance on the original show. Jenna Ortega shared on The Tonight Show, “I knew there were certain things I wanted to do. I paid homage to Lisa Loring, the first Wednesday Addams.” I did a little bit of her shuffle that she does. Of course, they cut out of camera when I did do it, but it's there! I know it is!"
In 1977, Loring reprised her role as Wednesday in the movie, Halloween with the New Addams Family.
Loring was born Lisa Ann DeCinces in Kwajelein, Marshall Islands on February 16, 1958. Apart from her portrayal of Wednesday, she appeared in other shows as well including The Phyllis Diller Show, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Fantasy Island, Barnaby Jones, and As the World Turns. In the 1980s, she featured in a number of indie horror films like Blood Frenzy, Iced, and Savage Harbor. Her last stint as an actor was in the 2015 movie Doctor Spine.
Lisa Loring is survived by her two daughters Marianne and Vanessa.