John Astin

John Astin
Astin in a 1977 publicity photo
Born	John Allen Astin (1930-03-30) March 30, 1930 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Washington & Jefferson College Johns Hopkins University
Occupations	Actor Voice actor Television director
Years active	1957–present
Television	The Addams Family Batman
Spouse(s)	Suzanne Hahn ​ (m. 1956⁠–⁠1972)​ Patty Duke ​ (m. 1972⁠–⁠1985)​ Valerie Ann Sandobal ​ ​ (m. 1989)​

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 best known for the roles of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, Evil Roy Slade, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.

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). 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 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.

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

Astin joined the retooled The Pruitts of Southampton (re-titled The Phyllis Diller Show) for the second half of the 1966-1967 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 in the 1970s TV series Operation Petticoat. He also made a notable appearance in the popular mystery show Murder, She Wrote, as the villainous Sheriff Harry Pierce. He had a recurring role on the sitcom Night Court as Buddy, eccentric former mental patient and the father of lead character Harry Stone. He also played the regular role of Ed LaSalle in the short-lived Mary Tyler Moore sitcom Mary during the 1985–86 television season. He guest starred on numerous television series too, including a Gunsmoke appearance in 1967 as Festus's cousin Henry, Jack Palance's ABC circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth, Duckman, and Homeboys in Outer Space.

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 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.

He 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.. 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.

Teaching

Astin currently teaches method acting and directing in the Theater Arts and Studies Department at Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater. Commenting on his dual career, he said in 2007, "I don't know one major university that has a known actor teaching every day." He hopes to re-establish a drama major at the university, noting that he is one of only a handful to earn a drama degree from Hopkins. Astin can be seen singing and playing cowbell in a music video from JHU released in December 2009.

Personal life

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

Astin has five sons; three (David, Allen, and Tom) with his first wife, Suzanne Hahn; two with his second wife, actress Patty Duke - one adopted (Sean, Patty's son from an earlier relationship, whom John adopted after their marriage) and one biological (Mackenzie). Astin is currently married to Valerie Ann Sandobal and lives in Baltimore. He practices Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.

His younger brother, Alexander Astin, is a professor emeritus at UCLA.

He has six granddaughters: Alexandra, Elizabeth, Isabella, Sedona, Jaya, and Dov.

Filmography

n.b. for credit listings reference

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	ref
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 1940 screwball comedy film, My Favorite Wife, 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.
1963	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 speaking 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
1973	The Brothers O'Toole	Michael O'Toole / Desperate Ambrose Littleberry
1976	Freaky Friday	Bill Andrews	American fantasy comedy film directed by Gary Nelson.
1985	National Lampoon's European Vacation	Kent Winkdale (host of "A 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 Gangreen	A horror comedy film The first sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Janitor	American horror comedy film. The sequel to Gremlins. The film is a live action horror comedy film; however, Dante put effort into taking the sequel in new anarchic directions.
	Killer Tomatoes Strike Back	Professor Gangreen	It is the second in the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1991	Killer Tomatoes Eat France	Professor Gangreen	It is the third in the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1993	Stepmonster	Minister	Direct-to-video film
	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.
1994	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.
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
1961	The Twilight Zone	Charlie	Episode: "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (S 2:Ep 23)
1962–63	I'm Dickens, He's Fenster	Harry Dickens	Main cast
1964–66	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Main cast
1967	The Pruitts of Southampton	Rudy Pruitt	Main cast The show was based on the novel House Party (1954) by Patrick Dennis. It was ABC's futile attempt to turn female stand-up comic Phyllis Diller into a sitcom comedienne very much in the style of Lucille Ball.
	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)
1971	The Odd Couple	Beau Buffingham	Episode: "Oscar's New Life"
	Night Gallery	Jonathon	Episode: "Pamela's Voice" (S 1:Ep 13)
		Randy Miller	Episode: "Hell's Bells" (S 2:Ep 29)
1972	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "Death of an Elephant" (S 12:Ep 23)
	Night Gallery	Munsch	Episode: "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (S 3:Ep 2)
1972–73	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"
	Insight	Guest Star	Episode: "Truck Stop" (S 13:23)
1974	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "The One-Armed Man" (S 15:Ep 20)
	Only with Married Men	Dr. Harvey Osterman	Made-for-TV Movie
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	Made-for-TV Movie
1977–78	Operation Petticoat	Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Sherman	Main cast
1978	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "Second Chorus" (S 18:Ep 31)
	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" ( 6:Ep 1)
	Diff'rent Strokes	C.W.	Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go" (S 7:Ep 1)
	Murder, She Wrote	Ross Hayley	Episode: "Hooray for Homicide" (S 1:Ep 4)
	Night Court	Kenny	Episode :"Inside Harry Stone" (S 2:Ep 9)
	Simon & Simon	Uncle Ray Simon	Episode: "Revolution #9 1/2" (S 4:Ep 12)
1985–86	Mary	Ed LaSalle	Main cast
1985	Riptide	Baxter Bernard	Episode: "Baxter And Boz" (S 2:Ep 13)
	Otherworld	Akin	Episode: "Mansion of the Beast" (S 1:Ep 7)
	Murder, She Wrote	Harry Pierce	Episodes: "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)
1986	Mr. Boogedy	Neil Witherspoon	Made-for TV movie
1986–90	Night Court	Former Mental Patient Buddy Ryan	Recurring role
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)
	Webster	Uncle Charles	Episode: "Simple Gifts" (S 5:Ep 12)
1988	Charles in Charge	Uncle Joe	Episode: "Pickle King of New York" (S 3:Ep 14)
	Webster	Uncle Charles	Episode: "Rich Man, Poor Man" (S 6:Ep 13)
1990	Attack of the Killer Tomatoes	Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen	Main cast
1991	Eerie Indiana	Radford	Recurring role
	Taz-Mania	Bull Gator	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)
1992–93	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Main cast Animated series based on the eponymous comic strip characters. Voice 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
1994–97	Duckman	Terry Duke Tetzloff	Recurring role
1994	Bonkers	The Mole	Episode: " Stressed To Kill" (S 3:Ep23)
	Burke's Law	Guest Star	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"
1995	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Additional Voices	Recurring role
	Murder She Wrote	Fritz Randall	Episode: "Film Flam" (S 11:Ep 6)
	Step by Step	George Humphries	Episode: "The Flight Before Christmas"(S 5:Ep 11)
1996	The Nanny	The Plastic Surgeon	Episodes: "Your Feets Too Big" (S 3:Ep 20) "Tattoo" (S 4:Ep 9)
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	Episode: "Jumbo Johnny / The Perfect Gift / Bravo, James Bravo" (S 1:Ep 10)
	Pinky and the Brain	Grover Whalen	Episode:"Mice Don't Dance" (S 3:Ep 11)
1998	The New Addams Family	Grampapa Addams	Episode: "Grandpapa Addams Comes to Visit" (S 1:Ep 16)
	Recess	Supt. Skinner	Episode: "Kids in the Mist" (S 1:Ep 12)
1999	Recess	The Judge	Episode: "The Story of Whomps" (S 2:Ep 11)
	The Hughleys	Guest star	Episode: "Storm o' the Century" (S 1:Ep 17)
	The New Addams Family	Grampapa Addams	Episode: "Fester and Granny vs. Grandpapa Addams" (S 1:Ep 40)
	The Wild Thornberrys	Bangaboo	Episode: "The Great Bangaboo" (S 1:Ep 17)
	Recess	Supt. Skinner	Episodes: "The Spy Who Came In from the Playground" (S 4:Ep4) "Prickly is Leaving" (S 4:Ep 11)
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	Episodes: "Blizzard Conditions" (S 1:Ep 14) "Piece of My Heart" (S 2:Ep 3)
2004	Higglytown Heroes	Santa Claus	Episode: "Twinkle's Wish" (S 1:Ep 12)
2005	School of Life	Stormin' Norman Warner	Made-for-TV Movie
2006	My First Time	Himself	Episode : "Something About Mary" (S 1:Ep 1)
2007	Higglytown Heroes	Santa Claus	Episode: "'Tis the Season to Be Ducky / Bingo Bongos" (S 3:Ep 18)

External links

• John Astin at IMDb
• John Astin at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Astin at TV Guide
• John Astin at TV.com
• John Astin at MSN
• John Astin in Once Upon a Midnight
• 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]