The Real Meaning Behind the Addams Family Motto

"Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc!"
“We gladly feast upon those who would subdue us.”

Not just pretty words? Well, according to Dennis of the Campvs, the Addams Family Credo might be just that: pretty words. Dennis, graduate student linguist, translates the meaning of the Addams Family movie's bit of Hollywood Latin, "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc!":
“Thus do we growl that (our) big toes have,
at this moment, been thrown up from below!”

He then offers a possibly more accurate Latin verse:
“Laeti vescimur nos subacturis.”

Full notes on the translation at The Campvs

1965 Card Game for Download

andertoons has uploaded the complete 1965 Addams Family Filmways TV/Milton Bradley card game on flickr.com

For full color scans of the cards, box, and instructions, follow the link!

Funeral Customs Museum in Danger

Not exactly Addams Family news, but certainly news that the Addams Family themselves would be concerned with:

Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, Illinois is in danger of being closed down. The museum has already ceased normal business hours, changing to appointment only showings. It now faces the real possibility of being closed down completely.

Read about the museum's plight on the New York Times site
or the Morbid Anatomy Blog

Watch the Addams Family Cartoon!

Finally! The long elusive, 1990's Addams Family cartoon can be found--at least in part--on youtube! User acpsd775 has uploaded quite a few Addams Family cartoon episodes.

Summed up on the Unofficial Addams Family Site as "This series is based mostly on the first Addams Family movie, with the same dark humor. Interestingly, though, John Astin returned to the role he had created for the original series," this series is definitely worth taking checking out!



More Videos

Charles Addams Fan Art

The above masterpiece was created by art student Scott Kowalchuk. To see more pictures of the above Addams bust, along with lots of other great art by Mr. Kowalchuk, check out Scott's Snazzy Sketchblog

Charles Addams Collections

For those of you who haven't had a chance to read Charles Addams's original comics of the Addams Family, here's your chance! The Crosseyed Cyclops Blog has two books available for download. I suggest everyone grab them while they're still around!

Straight to the link!

John Astin's Passion for Poe

John Astin talks about his love of Edgar Allan Poe, and how his role in the Addams Family helps him "bring good literature to people."
Read the article on baltimoresun.com

Good Reviews For Addams Family Musical Reading

The Online New York Post reports reviews, summary, and snippits of the invitation-only first reading of the Addams Family script.

From the Post:
DA-DA-DA-DUM. Snap, snap!

Good buzz is coming out of this week's invitation-only reading of "The Addams Family" musical, with lots of cheers for what one spy calls a "brilliantly funny" cast - Nathan Lane (Gomez), Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia), Kevin Chamberlain (Uncle Fester), Marylouise Burke (Grandmama) and Terence Mann and Jan Maxwell as a "normal" couple.

Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, who wrote "Jersey Boys," have come up with an original story, taking nothing from either the TV show or the movies. The Addams estate, I'm told, was adamant that the musical be based solely on Charles Addams' New Yorker drawings.

"They have complete control over just about everything on this show, and they rule with an iron fist," a source says of the estate, which is said to collect millions of dollars a year on all things Addams.

The musical is set in the present day, and the Addams family lives in a spooky castle in the middle of Central Park. The plot is a bit like "Meet the Parents," with Gomez and Morticia throwing a dinner party for the parents of their daughter Wednesday's boyfriend.

Among many funny wisecracks, this one got the biggest laugh (for the full effect, imagine Nathan doing one his famous double takes on the punch line):

Morticia: When your mother moved in, it was supposed to be for two weeks. She's been upstairs now for 12 years.

Gomez: My mother? I thought that was your mother!

"The story's a little thin, but they fire a lot of funny jokes at you," says a theater executive, who says he's going to invest in the $10 million show.

Andrew Lippa's score is getting mixed reviews. While Lippa's an accomplished composer ("The Wild Party"), he's not exactly a tunesmith.

"Truthfully, I didn't leave humming any of the songs," one person says. "It's not a bad score by any means, but I think you've got to have a couple of songs that are as catchy as the famous theme."

Read the rest on NYPost.com!

Full Musical Cast & Crew List

mineowyn of livejournal.com has made a nice compilation of info about the upcoming Addams Family musical!



The cast of this developmental workshop includes Nathan Lane as Gomez, Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, Kevin Chamberlin as Fester, Zachary James as Lurch, Mary Louise Burke as Grandmama, Terrence Mann, Jan Maxwell and more. As is often the case with readings and workshops, this does not necessarily reflect what the final production casting will be.

As previously announced, the musical will make its world premiere Nov. 13, 2009-Jan. 10, 2010, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre in Chicago, prior to a spring 2010 launch on Broadway.

With a book by Marshall Brickman and partner Rick Elice (librettists of the 2006 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys) and music and lyrics by Drama Desk Award-winning composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), the musical is wholly original and not based on Addams Family material from other media.

Produced by Elephant Eye Theatrical and Roy Furman, The Addams Family has direction and design by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, the creators of Shockheaded Peter.

The Addams Family creative team also includes choreographer Sergio Trujillo, lighting designer Natasha Katz and musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

Visit the livejournal entry for actor/cast links.