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John Astin

 
Actor: John Astin
 
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Mar 30, 1930 in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Occupation: Actor, Director, Writer
  • Active: '60s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Viva Max!, That Touch of Mink, The Frighteners
  • First Major Screen Credit: That Touch of Mink (1962)

Biography

American actor John Astin was the son of Dr. Allen V. Astin, director of the National Bureau of Standards. Evidently inheriting his intellectual bent from his father, Astin was a voracious reader and mathematician, at one point in his high school career mastering an entire semester's worth of study in one evening (that's his story, anyway). A part in the senior play at Johns Hopkins University (where he was majoring in math) cemented his desire to act, and in 1952 Astin did graduate work in dramatics at the University of Minnesota, where he appeared in 40 plays in and around the campus, played the violin, and gambled incessantly (and badly). With $100 in his pocket, Astin headed to New York, where he did janitorial work in theatres until securing a role in the off-Broadway Threepenny Opera for a princely $15 per week. Better money came Astin's way when he started doing voice-over work for animated commercials; in 1961 he extended his acting skills to films in a small but memorable part as a smarmy social worker in the Oscar-winning West Side Story. In 1962, Astin was teamed with Marty Ingels on the blue-collar sitcom I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, which despite a loyal following failed to garner ratings. The show did, however, establish Astin as a reliable laugh-getter, leading to a more successful run as Gomez Addams, the macabre but passionate paterfamilias on The Addams Family. This series ran from 1964 to 1966, after which Astin spent a great deal of time touring the country in theatrical productions - often living out of a van, a lifestyle he seemed to thrive upon. Joining Astin during his barnstorming days was his second wife, actress Patty Duke, who called herself Patty Duke Astin for the duration (Astin and Duke raised a son, Sean Astin, who grew up to become a popular film actor in his own right). The marriage ultimately dissolved due in part to Astin's bohemian point of view, though while the union lasted both Astin and Duke were tireless workaholics who were rarely without acting gigs. John Astin hasn't had a steady TV series since "Operation Petticoat" in the late 1970s, but he is still much in demand on TV and in regional theatres - and as of 1994, he was still playing Gomez Addams con brio on a Saturday-morning Addams Family cartoon series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: John Astin
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
John Astin
Born John Allen Astin
March 30, 1930 (1930-03-30) (age 79)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation actor
Years active 1957–present
Spouse(s) Suzanne Hahn (1956–1972)
Patty Duke (1972–1985)
Valerie Ann Sandobal (1989–present)

John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.

Contents

Life and career

Early years

Astin was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Margaret Linnie Mackenzie and Dr. Allen Varley Astin, who was the director of the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology).[1] He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1952, after transferring from Washington & Jefferson College. He initially studied mathematics at Washington & Jefferson then became a drama major at Johns Hopkins; he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Johns Hopkins.

Career

Astin started in theatre, doing voice-over work for commercials. His first big break came with a small part in West Side Story in 1961. At this time, he also guest starred on the ABC sitcom, Harrigan and Son, starring Pat O'Brien. In 1962–1963, he starred with Marty Ingels in the sitcom I'm Dickens, He's Fenster, which aired thirty-one episodes in a single season. From 1964–1966, he starred in The Addams Family as Gomez Addams, the head of the macabre family. He appeared in the TV show The New Addams Family as Grandpapa Addams in 1998, with the role of Gomez Addams played by Glenn Taranto.

Astin also played the Riddler on ABC's Batman during Frank Gorshin's second season departure. (Gorshin came back for the third season.) He played submarine commander Matthew Sherman in the 1970s TV series "Operation Petticoat." He also made a notable appearance in popular mystery show Murder, She Wrote, as the villainous Sheriff Harry Pierce. He had a recurring role on the sitcom Night Court as Buddy, eccentric former mental patient and the stepfather of lead character Harry Stone. He also played the regular role of Ed LaSalle in the short-lived Mary Tyler Moore sitcom Mary during the 1985–86 television season. He guest starred on numerous television series too, including Jack Palance's ABC circus drama, The Greatest Show on Earth and Duckman (TV Series).

Astin received an Academy Award nomination for Prelude, a short film that he wrote, produced, and directed. He was nominated for an Ace Award for his work on Tales from the Crypt, and received an Emmy nomination for the cartoon voice of Gomez on ABC-TV's The Addams Family. He also voiced the character Bull Gator on the animated series Taz-Mania. Astin served for four years on the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, and has been active in community affairs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

He has continued to work in acting, appearing in a string of Killer Tomatoes films as Professor Gangreen and as a professor in The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. He also has toured the one-man play Edgar Allan Poe: Once Upon a Midnight, written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid. In a December, 2007, Baltimore Examiner interview, Astin said of his acting experience:

“ We all struggle, and I had plenty of that, but I've had a great time. I've done hundreds of TV shows and 30 to 40 movies, and I love acting. I'm very happy having done the Poe. That's been really terrific.[2] ”

Teaching

Astin currently teaches method acting and directing in the Writing Seminars Department at Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater. Commenting on his dual career, he said in 2007, "I don't know one major university that has a known actor teaching every day."[2] He hopes to re-establish a drama major at the university, noting that he is one of only a handful to earn a drama degree from Hopkins.

Personal life

He has five sons, of whom three David, Allen, and Tom were with his first wife, Suzanne Hahn, and two (Sean Astin and Mackenzie Astin) with his second wife, actress Patty Duke. John legally adopted Sean when he married Patty. John Astin is currently married to Valerie Ann Sandobal and lives in Baltimore.[2]

His younger brother, Alexander Astin, is a professor emeritus at UCLA. He has five granddaughters: Alexandra, Elizabeth, Isabella, Sedona and Jaya.

Filmography

The handprints of John Astin in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

References

  1. ^ "John Astin Biography". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/John-Astin.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-17. 
  2. ^ a b c Jessica Novak (28December 2007). "Johns Hopkins' leading man". The Baltimore Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/a-1126509~Johns_Hopkins__leading_man.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-28. 

External links

v • d • e
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Films
Attack (1978) • Return (1988) • Strike Back! (1990) • Eat France (1991) • Remake (TBA)
Cast and Crew
John Astin • John De Bello • Costa Dillon • Steve Lundquist • Stephen Peace
Video Games
Other



This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Astin".  Read more

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