Take 5: Trick or treat with 'The Addams Family'

They were creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. And what better way to salute Halloween than to recall "The Addams Family," the comedy about an eccentric family that was based on the New Yorker cartoons. Here are five things you need to know about the show, which ran from 1964 to 1966, but has permanently implanted itself in viewers' memories.

The family liked historical names: Wednesday's pet, Homer, was a black widow spider. Her headless doll was named Marie Antoinette. Pugsley's pet Octopus was named Aristotle, and Morticia's man-eating plant was named Cleopatra.

Carolyn Jones spent two hours every day applying Morticia's makeup.

Cousin Itt's voice was done by producer Nat Perrin, who recited gibberish into a tape recorder and played it back at a higher speed.

Thing, the disembodied hand/arm limb, was usually played by Ted Cassidy, who also played Lurch. When Lurch had to be on camera at the same time as Thing, associate producer Jack Voglin lent his hand.

Jackie Coogan was originally rejected as Uncle Fester. He went home, shaved his head, and did his own makeup and costume. He got the part.

Source: imdb.com