Lisa Loring (Fantasy Island, Barnaby Jones), known for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, has reportedly died at age 64 on January 28th of 2023. The Addams Family aired on ABC from 1964 to 1966. Loring’s Wednesday Addams has recently re-entered the zeitgeist after the popularity of Netflix’s Wednesday brought attention to the former iteration of the character once again.
Loring’s agent reported in a statement to CNN that Loring died with her family and that “she will be missed dearly.” Friend of Loring, Laurie Jacobson, posted on Facebook that Loring’s death was caused by a stroke due to high blood pressure and smoking. The Facebook post also states that Loring had been on life support for three days before her family took her off of it.
Loring was cast as Wednesday in the hit show when she was just six years old. The image of the dark braids and contrasting pale skin of the little girl in the collared black dress kept Wednesday Addams an iconic and memorable part of pop culture for decades.
Wednesday is known for her deadpan delivery and morbid interests and Loring brought these aspects of her character to life in a way that stuck with audiences for many years. Loring also plays Wednesday in the TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family which aired in 1977.
Loring’s version of Wednesday is referenced in Netflix’s Wednesday during the dance in episode 4. Jenna Ortega, actress playing Wednesday Addams in the Netflix adaptation, recreated the shuffle Loring’s Wednesday does while dancing with the butler in an episode of The Addams Family. In the cult classic episode, Wednesday encourages the family Butler to loosen up and dance to have fun and impress a lady.
Loring’s iconic Wednesday Addams can be seen in The Addams Family, currently available to stream on Netflix.