Lurch (The Addams Family)

Lurch
Ted Cassidy (on right) as Lurch with Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester (left).
First appearance	The New Yorker cartoon, (1938)
Created by	Charles Addams
Portrayed by	Ted Cassidy Jim Cummings Carel Struycken John DeSantis
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Servant
Nationality	American

Lurch (whose first name is unknown) is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Charles Addams as a manservant to The Addams Family. In the original television series, Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy, who used the famous catchphrase, "You rang?" (a similar phrase was the trademark of the character Maynard G. Krebs in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis).

In Charles Addams's original cartoons, Lurch is often seen accompanying the rest of the Family, sometimes carrying a feather-duster. In a couple of illustrations, the Family is seen decorating Lurch like they would a Christmas Tree.

Lurch is a 6 ft 9 in (2.05 m) tall, shambling, gloomy butler who somewhat resembles a cross between Frankenstein's monster (as played by Boris Karloff) and a zombie. In the original Addams Family television series, Lurch has a deep, resonant voice unlike that of Herman Munster, a character on the show's main competitor, The Munsters. Although fully capable of normal speech, Lurch often communicates via simple inarticulate moans, which, much like the dialogue of Cousin Itt, his employers have no trouble understanding.

This towering mute has been shambling around the house forever...He is not a very good butler but a faithful one...One eye is opaque, the scanty hair is damply clinging to his narrow flat head...generally the family regards him as something of a joke.

Like any butler, Lurch tries to help around the house, but occasionally his great size and strength cause trouble. He clearly takes pride in his work and is willing to do even the most arduous task.

His character often demonstrates signs of frustration towards his employers, however his continued presence also suggests loyalty. As a result he appears to be one of the family.

The family summons him with an ever-present bell pull (in the form of a hangman's noose). When pulled, it produces a loud gong noise that shakes the house, to which Lurch instantly appears and responds, "You rang?", even if wide-angle shots reveal that he was clearly nowhere in the vicinity before; on a few occasions Lurch arrives even before the bell pull is tugged.