Biography

John Astin has performed Edgar Allan Poe - Once Upon Midnight to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences in sit-down runs in several U.S. cities. This is his first tour of the play, which he hopes will help to enhance and deepen interest in and respect for Poe's brilliance and versatility. Astin said recently, “I feel that Poe, through his own tortured existence, gained deep insight into the nature of the universe, along with an intense love and appreciation for life itself. Through this play I want to share that impression with others.”

Mr. Astin is, of course, best known as Gomez Addams, television's lovable, slightly crazed patriarch of the original Addams Family series, the myriad repeats of which have led to the frequent reference to Mr. Astin as a "pop-culture icon." Gomez remains one of his favorite TV characterizations, along with Buddy Ryan in Night Court and the title role in Evil Roy Slade.

Mr. Astin's early training was in Shakespeare and other classical dramatists. He appeared in the original New York companies of The Threepenny Opera, James Joyce's Ulysses in Nighttown, and Charles Laughton's memorable production of Shaw's Major Barbara. Other favorites include Fagin in Oliver!, Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Sir Joseph in H.M.S. Pinafore (his most recent NY appearance), Henry Saunders in Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Tenor, and a highly praised characterization of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol.

Among Mr. Astin's films are West Side Story, That Touch of Mink with Doris Day and Cary Grant, The Wheeler Dealers, Move Over Darling, Candy, Viva Max, Pepper, Get to Know Your Rabbit, The Brothers O'Toole, Freaky Friday, European Vacation, Nightlife, Gremlins II, Stepmonster, Huck and the King of Hearts, Peter Jackson's The Frighteners, and Betaville, (to be released in 1999) an adventure in the 21st century in which he portrays the President of the United States.

Mr. Astin received an Acadamy Award nomination for Prelude, a short film which 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. His voice is popular on radio and in animation series. Mr. Astin served for four years on the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America West, and is active in community affairs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Mr. Astin was born in Baltimore and grew up in Washington, D.C. He received a degree in Drama from John Hopkins University and did his graduate work in English literature at the University of Minnesota. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Valerie and is the father of five sons and one almost two-year-old granddaughter, of whom he is intensely proud.

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