John Astin

Not to be confused with John Ashton (actor).

John Astin
Astin in a 1977 publicity photo for Operation Petticoat
Born	John Allen Astin (1930-03-30) March 30, 1930 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Washington & Jefferson College Johns Hopkins University
Occupations	Actor director
Years active	1954–present
Television	The Addams Family
Spouses	Suzanne Hahn ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1972)​ Patty Duke ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1985)​ Valerie Sandobal ​ (m. 1989)​
Children	5, including Sean and Mackenzie
Parents	Allen V. Astin (father) Margaret Astin (mother)
Relatives	Alexander Astin (brother)

John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles, primarily in character roles. He is best known for starring in The Addams Family (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, reprising the role in the television film Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977) and the animated series The Addams Family (1992–1993).

Astin starred in the TV film Evil Roy Slade (1972). Other notable film roles include West Side Story (1961), That Touch of Mink (1962), Move Over, Darling (1963), Freaky Friday (1976), National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985), Teen Wolf Too (1987) and The Frighteners (1996). Astin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his directorial debut, the comedic short Prelude (1968).

Astin has been married three times. His second wife was actress Patty Duke, and Astin is the adoptive father of Duke's son, actor Sean Astin.

Early years

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.

Career

Astin started his performing career in theater, making his first Broadway appearance as an understudy in Major Barbara (1954) and also did voice-over work for commercials. He appeared as "Ready-Money Matt" in the long-running off-Broadway production of Threepenny Opera (which began in 1954), starring Lotte Lenya. His first big film break came with a small role in West Side Story (1961).

During this period, his talent for also playing comedy was spotted by actor Tony Randall, leading to guest starring roles on the sitcom Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North; The Donna Reed Show; and Harrigan and Son, starring Pat O'Brien, the first show broadcast on CBS and the latter two shows broadcast on ABC. In 1961, Astin appeared in the final episode of the ABC police drama The Asphalt Jungle.

During the 1962–63 television season, Astin had his first lead in a television series, the ABC sitcom I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, co-starring with Marty Ingels. Astin played Harry Dickens to Ingels's Arch Fenster, as two trouble-prone carpenters. The series combined witty dialogue with moments of slapstick comedy. I'm Dickens, He's Fenster received critical raves, but was against two high-rated shows, Sing Along with Mitch on NBC and Route 66 on CBS. By the time I'm Dickens, He's Fenster gained a following and started winning its time slot, ABC had already canceled the show. A total of 32 episodes were produced.

Astin is perhaps best known for The Addams Family, a popular sitcom that ran on ABC from 1964 to 1966, based on cartoons created by Charles Addams. Astin starred as Gomez Addams, the head of the macabre family. He later reprised the role of Gomez in the 1977 made-for-television film Halloween with the New Addams Family and voiced the role of Gomez in the animated series The Addams Family from 1992 to 1993. In the Canadian-American television series The New Addams Family, which ran from 1998 to 1999, Astin appeared as Grandpapa Addams, with the role of Gomez played by Glenn Taranto. With the death of Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday, in January 2023, Astin is the last surviving cast member of The Addams Family.

Astin alongside Carolyn Jones as Gomez and Morticia Addams in The Addams Family in 1964

Astin joined the retooled The Pruitts of Southampton (re-titled The Phyllis Diller Show) for the second half of the 1966–67 season, playing Diller's brother-in-law, Angus Pruitt. He also played the Riddler in the second season of Batman (Frank Gorshin returned for the third and final season.)

He played submarine commander Matthew Sherman on the 1970s television series Operation Petticoat. He also made several appearances in the first two seasons of the popular mystery series Murder, She Wrote, as scheming real estate developer (and finally Sheriff) Harry Pierce, who ends up as the murderer in his last episode. He had a recurring role on the sitcom Night Court as Buddy, eccentric former mental patient and the father of lead character Harry Stone, who often ended his conversations with a big smile and the phrase,"...but I'm feeling MUCH better now!"

Astin played the regular role of Ed LaSalle on the short-lived Mary Tyler Moore sitcom Mary during the 1985–86 television season. He also guest starred on numerous television series, including appearances on Duckman, Homeboys in Outer Space, Jack Palance's ABC circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth, and a 1967 episode of Gunsmoke as Festus Haggen's cousin Henry.

Astin received an Academy Award nomination for Prelude, a short film that he wrote, produced, and directed. He was nominated for an Ace Award for his work on Tales from the Crypt, and received an Emmy Award nomination for the cartoon voice of Gomez on ABC-TV's The Addams Family. He also voiced the character Bull Gator on the animated series Taz-Mania. Astin served for four years on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, and has been active in community affairs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Astin has continued to work in acting, appearing in a string of Killer Tomatoes films as Professor Gangreen and as Professor Wickwire in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.. In 1996 he featured as The Judge, the ghost of an Old West gunslinger, in Peter Jackson's The Frighteners. He also has toured the one-man play Edgar Allan Poe: Once Upon a Midnight, written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid. In a December 2007 Baltimore Examiner interview, Astin said of his acting experience:

We all struggle, and I had plenty of that, but I've had a great time. I've done hundreds of TV shows and 30 to 40 movies, and I love acting. I'm very happy having done the Poe. That's been really terrific.

Astin is a member of the board of directors of the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts in Columbia, Maryland.

Teaching

The handprints of John Astin in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

Until his retirement in 2021, Astin was director of the Theater Arts and Studies Department and Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater, which offers an undergraduate minor program. Commenting on his dual career, he said in 2007, "I don't know one major university that has a known actor teaching every day." Astin noted that he is one of only a handful to earn a drama degree from Hopkins. He taught at Hopkins from 2001 until 2021. Devika Bhise has been working with the university to create "The Astin Fund", an endowed chair that would allow theater to be a major at Johns Hopkins University for undergraduates.

Personal life

Astin has five sons; three (David, Allen, and Tom) with his first wife, Suzanne Hahn, and two with his second wife, actress Patty Duke – one adopted (Sean, Patty's son from an earlier relationship, whom Astin adopted during their marriage) and one biological (Mackenzie).

Astin married Valerie Ann Sandobal in 1989 and they live in Baltimore, Maryland. Astin is a vegetarian. He practices Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.

Filmography

Astin's film and television roles include:

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	ref
1960	The Pusher	Detective
1961	West Side Story	Glad Hand, Social Worker Leading Dance	American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
1962	That Touch of Mink	Mr. Everett Beasley
1963	Move Over, Darling	Clyde Prokey	The picture was a remake of a screwball comedy film, My Favorite Wife (1940), with Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. In between these movies, a version entitled Something's Got to Give began shooting in 1962, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin, but was never finished.
	The Wheeler Dealers	SEC official	Released as Separate Beds in the UK
1967	The Spirit Is Willing	Dr. Frieden
1968	Candy	Daddy / Uncle Jack	Sex farce film directed by Christian Marquand based on the 1958 novel by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, from a screenplay by Buck Henry. The film satirizes pornographic stories through the adventures of its naive heroine, Candy, played by Ewa Aulin.
1969	Viva Max!	Sergeant Valdez	Comedy film
1971	Bunny O'Hare	Ad	American comedy film directed by Gerd Oswald. Bette Davis was unhappy with the final film and sued AIP for $3.3 million in damages.
1972	Un secuestro de locura	Star	Spanish-language film. Directed by Cy Howard.
	Evil Roy Slade	Evil Roy Slade
	Get to Know Your Rabbit	Mr. Turnbull
	Every Little Crook and Nanny	Vito Garbugli
	Wacky Taxi	Pepper
1973	The Brothers O'Toole	Michael O'Toole / Desperate Ambrose Littleberry	American comedy western film directed by Richard Erdman. Michael O'Toole, a roguish gambler and con artist, and younger brother Timothy O'Toole, a womanizer, turn the sleepy mining town of Molybdenum, Colorado upside down.
1976	Freaky Friday	Bill Andrews	American fantasy comedy film directed by Gary Nelson.
1985	National Lampoon's European Vacation	Kent Winkdale (host of "Pig in a Poke")	Originally given the working title Vacation '2' Europe. The second film in National Lampoon's Vacation film series.
1987	Teen Wolf Too	Dean Dunn	American comedy film The sequel to Teen Wolf.
	Body Slam	Scotty the car dealer	American comedy film directed by Hal Needham.
1988	Return of the Killer Tomatoes	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	A horror comedy film The second film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1989	Night Life	Uncle Verlin	A horror comedy film
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Janitor
	Killer Tomatoes Strike Back	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	The third film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1991	Killer Tomatoes Eat France	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	The fourth film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1993	Stepmonster	Minister	Direct-to-video film
1994	The Silence of the Hams	The Ranger	Italian: Il Silenzio dei Prosciutti Parody film of many popular thriller and horror films, notably The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho.
	Huck and the King of Hearts	Zach
1996	The Frighteners	The Judge	New Zealand-American horror comedy fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with his wife, Fran Walsh.
2001	Betaville	President Sender
2006	What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole	Dr. Quantum	Voice
2015	Starship II: Rendezvous with Ramses	Professor Peabody

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	ref
1960	Maverick	Joe Lambert	Episode: "The Town That Wasn't There" (S 4:Ep 3)
1961	The Twilight Zone	Charlie	Episode: "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (S 2:Ep 23)
1962	77 Sunset Strip (1958-1964 TV series)	Martin Grosch	Episode: "Dress Rehearsal" (S4:Ep36) air: 05/25/1962
1962	Ben Casey	Nat Morris	Episode: "Preferably, the Less-Used Arm" (S 1:Ep 29)
1962–1963	I'm Dickens, He's Fenster	Harry Dickens	Main role
1964–1966	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Main role
1967	The Pruitts of Southampton	Rudy Pruitt	Main role The show was based on the novel House Party (1954) by Patrick Dennis.
	Batman	The Riddler	Episodes: "Batman's Anniversary" "A Riddling Controversy"
	The Wild Wild West	Count Nikolai Sazanov	Episode: "The Night of the Tartar"
	The Flying Nun	Father Lundigan	Episode: "Flight of the Dodo Bird"
	Gunsmoke	Henry Haggen	Episode: "Hard Luck Henry" (S 13:Ep 7)
1968	Death Valley Days	Jesse Martin	Episode: "The Gold Mine on Main Street" (S 16: Ep 20)
1969	Bonanza	Abner Willoughby	Episode: "Abner Willoughby's return" (S 11:Ep 13)
1971	The Odd Couple	Beau Buffingham	Episode: "Oscar's New Life" (S 1:Ep 21)
1971–1972	Night Gallery	Jonathan, Randy Miller, Munsch	Episodes: "Pamela's Voice" (S 1:Ep 13) "Hell's Bells" (S 2:Ep 29) "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (S 3:Ep 2)
1972–1978	Insight	Guest star	4 episodes "Death of an Elephant" (S 12:Ep 23) "Truck Stop" (S 13: Ep 23) "The One-Armed Man" (S 15: Ep 20) "Second Chorus" (S 18: Ep 31)
1972	The New Scooby-Doo Movies	Gomez Addams	Voice, episode: "Wednesday Is Missing" (S 1:Ep 3)
1972–1973	McMillan & Wife	Sykes	Episodes: "The Night of the Wizard" (S 2:Ep 1) "Cop of the Year" (S 2:Ep 3) "Two Dollars on Trouble to Win" (S 2:Ep 7)
1973	The Partridge Family	Sydney Rose	Episode: "The Mad Millionaire"
	Circle of Fear	Fred Colby	Episode: "The Graveyard Shift"
1974	Only with Married Men	Dr. Harvey Osterman	Television film
1975	The Dream Makers	Manny Wheeler	Television film
1975– 1979	Welcome Back, Kotter	Museum curator	Recurring role
1976	Police Story	Dr. Milford	Episode: "Firebird" (S 3:Ep 18)
1977	Halloween with the New Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Television film
1977–1978	Operation Petticoat	Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Sherman	Main role
1977–1980	Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels	Additional Voices	Recurring role
1978	The Love Boat	Dave, The Hermit	Episode: "Marooned" (S 2:Ep 1)
	Fantasy Island	Charles D. Preston	Episode: "The Beachcomber / The Last Whodunit" (S 2:Ep 3)
1984	The Facts of Life	Vito Miles	Episode: "The Summer of '84" (S 6:Ep 1)
	Diff'rent Strokes	C.W.	Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go" (S 7:Ep 1)
	Simon & Simon	Uncle Ray Simon	Episode: "Revolution #9 1/2" (S 4:Ep 12)
1984–1990	Night Court	Buddy Ryan, Kenny	Recurring role
1984	Murder, She Wrote	Ross Hayley, Harry Pierce, Fritz Randall	Episodes: "Hooray for Homicide" (S 1:Ep 4) "Joshua Peabody Died Here... Possibly" (S 2:Ep 2) "A Lady in the Lake" (S 2:Ep 7) "Sticks and Stones" (S 2:Ep 10) "Film Flam" (S 11:Ep 6)
1985–1986	Mary	Ed LaSalle	Main role
1985	Riptide	Baxter Bernard	Episode: "Baxter and Boz" (S 2:Ep 13)
	Otherworld	Akin	Episode: "Mansion of the Beast" (S 1:Ep 7)
1986	Mr. Boogedy	Neil Witherspoon	Television film
1987	St. Elsewhere	Kevin	Episode: "Visiting Daze" (S 5:Ep 14)
	The Charmings	Jack/The Devil	Episode: "The Witch is of Van Oaks" (S 2:Ep 3)
1987–1988	Webster	Uncle Charles	Episodes: "Simple Gifts" (S 5:Ep 12) "Rich Man, Poor Man" (S 6:Ep 13)
1988	Charles in Charge	Uncle Joe	Episode: "Pickle King of New York" (S 3:Ep 14)
1989	The Saint: The Blue Dulac	George Lafosse	Television filme
1990	Attack of the Killer Tomatoes	Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen	Voice, main role
1991	Eerie Indiana	Radford	Recurring role
	Taz-Mania	Bull Gator	Voice, recurring role
	Father Dowling Mysteries	Manager of Gun Club	Episode: "The Priest Killer Mystery" (S 3:Ep 16)
	They Came from Outer Space	Neville Nessen	Episode: "Sex, Lies and UFOs, part 2" (S 1:Ep 20)
	Tales from the Crypt	Nelson Halliwell	Episode: "Top Billing" (S 3:Ep 5)
1992–1993	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Voice, main role Animated series based on the eponymous comic strip characters. The series' development began in the wake of the successful 1991 Addams Family feature film. It was the second-to-last Hanna-Barbera-produced show to premiere on ABC.
1993	The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Professor Wickwire	7 episodes
1993-1994	Problem Child	General Pierre Habib-Johnson	Voice, recurring role
1994–1997	Duckman	Terry Duke Tetzloff	Voice, recurring role
1994	Bonkers	The Mole	Episode: "Stressed to Kill" (S 3:Ep23)
	Burke's Law	Alexander	Episode: "Who Killed Alexander the Great?" (S 1:Ep 6)
	Mad About You	Himself	Episode: "Up All Night" (S 2:Ep 23)
	Step by Step	George Humphries	Episode: "The Ice Cream Man Cometh" (S 4:Ep 9)
	Aladdin	Sydney	Voice, episode: "The Animal Kingdom" (S 2:Ep 31)
	Aaahh!!! Real Monsters	Doctor	Voice, episode: "Monstrous Make-Over / A Wing and a Scare" (S 1:Ep 4)
1994–1995	Step by Step	George Humphries	Episodes: "The Ice Cream Man Cometh" (S 4:Ep 9) "The Flight Before Christmas"(S 5:Ep 11)
	Aladdin	Sydney	Voice, episodes: "The Animal Kingdom" (S 2:Ep 31) "While the City Snoozes" (S 3:Ep 4)
1995	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Additional Voices	Recurring role
1996	The Nanny	Dr. Roberts	Episodes: "Your Feets Too Big" (S 3:Ep 20) "Tattoo" (S 4:Ep 9)
	Quack Pack	Mr. Roborson	Voice, episode: "The Unusual Suspects"(S 1:Ep 15)
1997	Homeboys in Outer Space	Rhymer	Episode: "The Adventures of Ratman and Gerbil or, Holy Homeboys in Outer Space" (S 1:Ep 21)
	Johnny Bravo	Scientist 1/Blind Man	Voice, episode: "Jumbo Johnny / The Perfect Gift / Bravo, James Bravo" (S 1:Ep 10)
	Pinky and the Brain	Grover Whalen	Voice, episode: "Mice Don't Dance" (S 3:Ep 11)
1998–1999	The New Addams Family	Grampapa Addams	Episodes: "Grandpapa Addams Comes to Visit" (S 1:Ep 16) "Fester and Granny vs. Grandpapa Addams"
1998–1999	Recess	Supt. Skinner, The Judge	Voice, episodes: "Kids in the Mist" (S 1:Ep 12) "The Story of Whomps" (S 2:Ep 11) "The Spy Who Came in from the Playground" (S 4:Ep4) "Prickly is Leaving" (S 4:Ep 11)
1999	The Hughleys	Guest star	Episode: "Storm o' the Century" (S 1:Ep 17)
	The Wild Thornberrys	Bangaboo	Voice, episode: "The Great Bangaboo" (S 1:Ep 17)
2000	The Strip	Orson Bates	Episode: "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" (S 1:Ep 9)
	Becker	Richard Wilson	Episode: "All the Rage" (S 2:Ep 15)
2001	As Told By Ginger	Dave Bishop	Voice, episodes: "Blizzard Conditions" (S 1:Ep 14) "Piece of My Heart" (S 2:Ep 3)
2004–2007	Higglytown Heroes	Santa Claus	Voice, episodes: "Twinkle's Wish" (S 1:Ep 12) "'Tis the Season to Be Ducky" (S 3:Ep 18)
2005	School of Life	Stormin' Norman Warner	Television film
2006	My First Time	Himself	Episode: "Something About Mary" (S 1:Ep 1)
2017	Justice League Action	Uncle Dudley	Voice, episode: "Captain Bamboozle" (S 1:Ep 49)

External links

• John Astin at IMDb
• John Astin at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Astin at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• John Astin at Turner Classic Movies
• John Astin at AllMovie
• John Astin at TV Guide
• John Astin discography at Discogs
• John Astin at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• John Astin at TV.com Archived May 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• John Astin at MSN
• Article about John Astin's teaching work from the Johns Hopkins Gazette, "Course Catalog: Contemporary Theatre and Film: An Insider's View"; April 24, 2006 (Vol. 35 No. 31) (Includes contemporary picture of Astin)