John Astin facts for kids

John Astin
Quick facts for kids John Astin
	Astin in a 1977 publicity photo for; Operation Petticoat
Born	John Allen Astin ; March 30, 1930 (age 90); Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	Washington & Jefferson College Johns Hopkins University
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, television director
Years active	1957–present
Home town	Baltimore, Maryland
Television	The Addams Family; Night Court;
Spouse(s)	Suzanne Hahn (m. 1956–1972) ; Patty Duke (m. 1972–1985) ; Valerie Ann Sandobal (m. 1989)
Children	5, including Mackenzie and Sean Astin
Parent(s)	Allen V. Astin; Margaret Astin
Relatives	Alexander Astin (brother)

John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as a television director and voice artist.

He is especially remembered for starring as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (1964–1966), reprising the role in the television film Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977) and the animated series The Addams Family (1992–1993).

Astin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his directorial debut, the comedic short Prelude (1968).

Early years

Astin was born in Baltimore, Maryland. At that time, Astin and his family resided on Battery Lane in Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1952, after transferring from Washington & Jefferson College. He studied mathematics at Washington & Jefferson and then drama at Johns Hopkins.

Astin started in theater, making his first Broadway appearance as an understudy in Major Barbara, and also did voice-over work for commercials. His first big break in film came with a small role in West Side Story (1961).

Personal life

Astin has five sons, he is married to Valerie Ann Sandobal and lives in Baltimore. He practices Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International.

Astin currently teaches both acting and directing in the Theater Arts and Studies Department at Johns Hopkins University. 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. Astin can be seen singing and playing cowbell in a music video from JHU released in December 2009.

Filmography

Astin's film and television roles include:

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	The Pusher	Detective
1961	West Side Story	Glad Hand, Social Worker Leading Dance	American romantic musical drama film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
1962	That Touch of Mink	Mr. Everett Beasley
1963	Move Over Darling	Clyde Prokey	The picture was a remake of a screwball comedy film, My Favorite Wife (1940), with Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. In between these movies, a version entitled Something's Got to Give began shooting in 1962, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin, but was never finished.
1963	The Wheeler Dealers	SEC official	Released as Separate Beds in the UK
1967	The Spirit Is Willing	Dr. Frieden
1968	Candy	Daddy / Uncle Jack	Film directed by Christian Marquand based on the 1958 novel by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg, from a screenplay by Buck Henry.
1969	Viva Max!	Sergeant Valdez	Comedy film
1971	Bunny O'Hare	Ad	American comedy film directed by Gerd Oswald. Bette Davis was unhappy with the final film and sued AIP for $3.3 million in damages.
1972	Un secuestro de locura	Star	Spanish speaking film. Directed by Cy Howard.
	Evil Roy Slade	Evil Roy Slade
	Get to Know Your Rabbit	Mr. Turnbull
	Every Little Crook and Nanny	Vito Garbugli
	Wacky Taxi	Pepper
1973	The Brothers O'Toole	Michael O'Toole / Desperate Ambrose Littleberry
1976	Freaky Friday	Bill Andrews	American fantasy comedy film directed by Gary Nelson.
1985	National Lampoon's European Vacation	Kent Winkdale (host of "Pig in a Poke")	Originally given the working title Vacation '2' Europe. The second film in National Lampoon's Vacation film series.
1987	Teen Wolf Too	Dean Dunn	American comedy film The sequel to Teen Wolf.
1987	Body Slam	Scotty the car dealer	American comedy film directed by Hal Needham.
1988	Return of the Killer Tomatoes	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	A horror comedy film The second film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1989	Night Life	Uncle Verlin	A horror comedy film
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Janitor	American horror comedy film. The sequel to Gremlins. The film is a live action horror comedy film; however, Dante put effort into taking the sequel in new anarchic directions.
1990	Killer Tomatoes Strike Back	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	The third film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1991	Killer Tomatoes Eat France	Professor Mortimer Gangreen	The fourth film in the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes film series.
1993	Stepmonster	Minister	Direct-to-video film
1994	The Silence of the Hams	The Ranger	Italian: Il Silenzio dei Prosciutti Parody film of many popular thriller and horror films, notably The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho.
1994	Huck and the King of Hearts	Zach
1996	The Frighteners	The Judge	New Zealand-American horror comedy fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with his wife, Fran Walsh.
2006	What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole	Dr. Quantum	Voice
2015	Starship II: Rendezvous with Ramses	Professor Peabody

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Maverick	Joe Lambert	Episode: "The Town That Wasn't There" (S 4:Ep 3)
1961	The Twilight Zone	Charlie	Episode: "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (S 2:Ep 23)
1962	Ben Casey	Nat Morris	Episode: "Preferably, the Less-Used Arm" (S 1:Ep 29)
1962–63	I'm Dickens, He's Fenster	Harry Dickens	Main role
1964–66	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Main role
1967	The Pruitts of Southampton	Rudy Pruitt	Main role The show was based on the novel House Party (1954) by Patrick Dennis. It was ABC's futile attempt to turn female stand-up comic Phyllis Diller into a sitcom comedian very much in the style of Lucille Ball.
	Batman	The Riddler	Episodes: "Batman's Anniversary" "A Riddling Controversy"
	The Wild Wild West	Count Nikolai Sazanov	Episode: "The Night of the Tartar"
	The Flying Nun	Father Lundigan	Episode: "Flight of the Dodo Bird"
	Gunsmoke	Henry Haggen	Episode: "Hard Luck Henry" (S 13:Ep 7)
1968	Death Valley Days	Jesse Martin	Episode: "The Gold Mine on Main Street" (S 16: Ep 20)
1969	Bonanza	Abner Willoughby	Episode: "Abner Willoughby's return" (S 11:Ep 13)
1971	The Odd Couple	Beau Buffingham	Episode: "Oscar's New Life" (S 1:Ep 21)
	Night Gallery	Jonathon	Episode: "Pamela's Voice" (S 1:Ep 13)
	Night Gallery	Randy Miller	Episode: "Hell's Bells" (S 2:Ep 29)
1972	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "Death of an Elephant" (S 12:Ep 23)
1972	Night Gallery	Munsch	Episode: "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" (S 3:Ep 2)
1972–73	McMillan & Wife	Sykes	Episodes: "The Night of the Wizard" (S 2:Ep 1) "Cop of the Year" (S 2:Ep 3) "Two Dollars on Trouble to Win" (S 2:Ep 7)
1973	The Partridge Family	Sydney Rose	Episode: "The Mad Millionaire"
	Circle of Fear	Fred Colby	Episode: "The Graveyard Shift"
	Insight	Guest Star	Episode: "Truck Stop" (S 13:23)
1974	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "The One-Armed Man" (S 15:Ep 20)
1974	Only with Married Men	Dr. Harvey Osterman	Made-for-TV Movie
1975	The Dream Makers	Manny Wheeler	Made-for-TV Movie
1975– 1979	Welcome Back, Kotter	Museum curator	Recurring role
1976	Police Story	Dr. Milford	Episode: "Firebird" (S 3:Ep 18)
1977	Halloween with the New Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Made-for-TV Movie
1977–78	Operation Petticoat	Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Sherman	Main role
1978	Insight	Guest star	Episode: "Second Chorus" (S 18:Ep 31)
	The Love Boat	Dave, The Hermit	Episode: "Marooned" (S 2:Ep 1)
	Fantasy Island	Charles D. Preston	Episode: "The Beachcomber / The Last Whodunit" (S 2:Ep 3)
1984	The Facts of Life	Vito Miles	Episode: "The Summer of '84" (S 6:Ep 1)
	Diff'rent Strokes	C.W.	Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go" (S 7:Ep 1)
	Murder, She Wrote	Ross Hayley	Episode: "Hooray for Homicide" (S 1:Ep 4)
	Night Court	Kenny	Episode:"Inside Harry Stone" (S 2:Ep 9)
	Simon & Simon	Uncle Ray Simon	Episode: "Revolution #9 1/2" (S 4:Ep 12)
1985–86	Mary	Ed LaSalle	Main role
1985	Riptide	Baxter Bernard	Episode: "Baxter and Boz" (S 2:Ep 13)
	Otherworld	Akin	Episode: "Mansion of the Beast" (S 1:Ep 7)
	Murder, She Wrote	Harry Pierce	Episodes: "Joshua Peabody Died Here... Possibly" (S 2:Ep 2) "A Lady in the Lake" (S 2:Ep 7) "Sticks and Stones" (S 2:Ep 10)
1986	Mr. Boogedy	Neil Witherspoon	Made-for TV movie
1986–90	Night Court	Former Mental Patient Buddy Ryan	Recurring role
1987	St. Elsewhere	Kevin	Episode: "Visiting Daze" (S 5:Ep 14)
	The Charmings	Jack/The Devil	Episode: "The Witch is of Van Oaks" (S 2:Ep 3)
	Webster	Uncle Charles	Episode: "Simple Gifts" (S 5:Ep 12)
1988	Charles in Charge	Uncle Joe	Episode: "Pickle King of New York" (S 3:Ep 14)
1988	Webster	Uncle Charles	Episode: "Rich Man, Poor Man" (S 6:Ep 13)
1989	The Saint: The Blue Dulac	George Lafosse	Made-for-TV Movie
1990	Attack of the Killer Tomatoes	Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen	Main role
1991	Eerie Indiana	Radford	Recurring role
	Taz-Mania	Bull Gator	Recurring role
	Father Dowling Mysteries	Manager of Gun Club	Episode: "The Priest Killer Mystery" (S 3:Ep 16)
	They Came from Outer Space	Neville Nessen
	Tales from the Crypt	Nelson Halliwell	Episode: "Top Billing" (S 3:Ep 5)
1992–93	The Addams Family	Gomez Addams	Main role Animated series based on the eponymous comic strip characters. Voice The series' development began in the wake of the successful 1991 Addams Family feature film. It was the second-to-last Hanna-Barbera-produced show to premiere on ABC.
1993	The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Professor Wickwire	7 episodes
1994–97	Duckman	Terry Duke Tetzloff	Recurring role
1994	Bonkers	The Mole	Episode: "Stressed to Kill" (S 3:Ep23)
	Burke's Law	Guest Star	Episode: "Who Killed Alexander the Great?" (S 1:Ep 6)
	Mad About You	Himself	Episode: "Up All Night" (S 2:Ep 23)
	Step by Step	George Humphries	Episode: "The Ice Cream Man Cometh"
1995	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Additional Voices	Recurring role
	Murder, She Wrote	Fritz Randall	Episode: "Film Flam" (S 11:Ep 6)
	Step by Step	George Humphries	Episode: "The Flight Before Christmas"(S 5:Ep 11)
1996	The Nanny	The Plastic Surgeon	Episodes: "Your Feets Too Big" (S 3:Ep 20) "Tattoo" (S 4:Ep 9)
1997	Homeboys in Outer Space	Rhymer	Episode: "The Adventures of Ratman and Gerbil or, Holy Homeboys in Outer Space" (S 1:Ep 21)
	Johnny Bravo	Scientist 1/Blind Man	Episode: "Jumbo Johnny / The Perfect Gift / Bravo, James Bravo" (S 1:Ep 10)
	Pinky and the Brain	Grover Whalen	Episode: "Mice Don't Dance" (S 3:Ep 11)
1998	The New Addams Family	Grampapa Addams	Episode: "Grandpapa Addams Comes to Visit" (S 1:Ep 16)
1998	Recess	Supt. Skinner	Episode: "Kids in the Mist" (S 1:Ep 12)
1999	Recess	The Judge	Episode: "The Story of Whomps" (S 2:Ep 11)
	The Hughleys	Guest star	Episode: "Storm o' the Century" (S 1:Ep 17)
	The New Addams Family	Grampapa Addams	Episode: "Fester and Granny vs. Grandpapa Addams" (S 1:Ep 40)
	The Wild Thornberrys	Bangaboo	Episode: "The Great Bangaboo" (S 1:Ep 17)
	Recess	Supt. Skinner	Episodes: "The Spy Who Came in from the Playground" (S 4:Ep4) "Prickly is Leaving" (S 4:Ep 11)
2000	The Strip	Orson Bates	Episode: "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" (S 1:Ep 9)
2000	Becker	Richard Wilson	Episode: "All the Rage" (S 2:Ep 15)
2001	As Told By Ginger	Dave Bishop	Episodes: "Blizzard Conditions" (S 1:Ep 14) "Piece of My Heart" (S 2:Ep 3)
2004	Higglytown Heroes	Santa Claus	Episode: "Twinkle's Wish" (S 1:Ep 12)
2005	School of Life	Stormin' Norman Warner	Made-for-TV Movie
2006	My First Time	Himself	Episode: "Something About Mary" (S 1:Ep 1)
2007	Higglytown Heroes	Santa Claus	Episode: "'Tis the Season to Be Ducky / Bingo Bongos" (S 3:Ep 18)
2017	Justice League Action	Uncle Dudley	Episode: "Captain Bamboozle" (S 1:Ep 49)

Images for kids

Astin and Carolyn Jones as Gomez and Morticia Addams in The Addams Family 1964
The handprints of John Astin in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
I'm Dickens He's Fenster cast 1962
John Astin and Marty Ingels, I'm Dickens He's Fenster 1962
Addams Family main cast 1964
John Astin and Carolyn Jones, Addams Family 1965
Addams Family Halloween 1977