John Astin | 03/30/1930 | 91

John Astin became renowned by playing mainly wacky and eccentric characters on television programs over several decades. He is probably most acclaimed for portraying Gomez Addams in the ’60s version of The Addams Family.

After making his Broadway debut and providing his voice to many TV commercials, Astin’s big break came in the 1961 movie West Side Story. With the help of fellow actor Tony Randall, he also began to appear in comedy shows throughout that decade. From 1964 to 1966, he won his most memorable role, Gomez Addams, and subsequently performed the voice work for that same role in the ’90s animated re-make of the show. Outside of The Addams Family, Astin was a regular cast member in other prolific TV series. He had acting credits in the 1967 Batman TV series The Riddler. He also appeared in Murder, She Wrote, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, and Night Court.