Ted Cassidy (1932-1979), 6'9" Character Actor Most Famous for Playing "Lurch" in "The Addams Family"

[DonRocks]

A couple of things I've watched in the past two years I didn't realize Ted Cassidy was in:

Star Trek Season 1, Episode 7: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" - 

Star Trek Season 1, Episode 18: "Arena" - Voice of the Gorn Captain (Uncredited) - 

"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" 

And damned if he wasn't Lurch in "The Addams Family!" 

Many people (myself included) conflate Ted Cassidy with Richard Kiel. I'll add some things about this talented character actor (I only use the term "character actor" because at 6'9" (Kiel was 7'2"), Cassidy was able to get roles that few other people could.

* His Star Trek character in the episode "What are Little Girls Made of?" was an ancient android named Ruk.

* The picture from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" shows Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) taking Harvey Logan (played by Cassidy) off-guard, kicking him in the testicles, to quell a resurrection to take over the "Hole in the Wall Gang."

* The Lurch photo is, well, Lurch - but Cassidy was also the hand for "Thing." His "You Rang?" trademark was ad-libbed the first time, but made everyone laugh, and was such a hit that it became a fixture in the show.

* Though he often played the harpsichord in The Addams Family, he was a competent organist in real life.

* He played subsequent roles of "Bigfoot" on "The Six Million Dollar Man" (André The Giant played the creature in the original episode).

* After transferring from West Virginia Wesleyan University, Cassidy played basketball for Stetson, and averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game over three seasons.