It’s sadly been confirmed that original Wednesday Addams star Lisa Loring from the sitcom series The Addams Family has died. She was 64-years-old.
This news was shared via The Guardian. Additionally, a statement was released by Loring’s friend, author Laurie Jacobson, who discussed her cause of death.
Loring is said to have suffered a stroke, and after three days on life support, passed away. Here’s the statement given by Jacobson, who explained the stroke was the result of both high blood pressure and smoking:
“It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend, Lisa Loring. 4 Days ago she suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure. She had been on life support for 3 days. Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night. She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams.
Beautiful, kind, a loving mother, Lisa’s legacy in the world of entertainment is huge. And the legacy for her family and friends — a wealth of humor, affection and love will long play in our memories. RIP, Lisa. Damn, girl…you were a ton of fun.”
The Wednesday Addams character was first played by Loring when she was only 5-years-old. She became an immediate icon and set the stage for the different iterations we’ve had over the last few decades. Now that the character appears to be more popular than ever with the Netflix series Wednesday – many fans can thank the influence that Loring had on the property.
In addition to playing Wednesday on the original Addams Family series from 1964 to 1966, she returned for the 1977 TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family. She also appeared in a number of 1980’s horror films including Blood Frenzy, Iced, and Savage Harbor. Her last film appearance was the 2015 movie Doctor Spine.
Lisa Loring is survived by her daughters, Marianne and Vanessa, and grandchildren, Emiliana and Charles.