John Astin
| John Astin | |
|---|---|
Astin in a 1977 publicity photo
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| Born |
John Allen Astin March 30, 1930 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Residence | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Alma mater | Washington & Jefferson College Johns Hopkins University |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Home town | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Television | |
| Spouse(s) |
Suzanne Hahn (m. 1956–72) Patty Duke (m. 1972–85) Valerie Ann Sandobal (m. 1989) |
| Children | 5 (1 adopted), including Mackenzie and Sean Astin |
John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, as well as a television director and voice artist and is known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and having been married to actress Patty Duke.
Astin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his directorial debut, a comedic short film entitled Prelude (1968).
Astin was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Margaret Linnie (née Mackenzie) and Dr. Allen Varley Astin, who was the director of the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology). At that time, Astin and his family resided on Battery Lane in Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1952, after transferring from Washington & Jefferson College. He studied mathematics at Washington & Jefferson and then drama at Johns Hopkins; he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Johns Hopkins.
Astin started in theater, making his first Broadway appearance as an understudy in Major Barbara, and also did voice-over work for commercials. His first big break in film came with a small part in West Side Story in 1961.
During this period, his talent for also playing comedy was spotted by actor Tony Randall, leading to guest starring roles on the situation comedies Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North, The Donna Reed Show, and Harrigan and Son, starring Pat O'Brien, the first carried on CBS and the latter two carried on ABC. In 1961, he appeared in the final episode of the ABC police drama The Asphalt Jungle. In 1962–1963, Astin starred with Marty Ingels in the unusual ABC sitcom I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, which lasted for thirty-one episodes. From 1964 to 1966, he starred in The Addams Family as Gomez Addams, the head of the macabre family. He appeared in the TV show The New Addams Family as Grandpapa Addams in 1998, with the role of Gomez Addams played by Glenn Taranto.
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