John Astin
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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. His many credits during this time period include 1974's Skyway to Death, and playing the dad in the original version of Freaky Friday. He directed and appeared in the TV movie Operation Petticoat. In the 1980's he landed recurring roles on both Murder, She Wrote and the sitcom Night Court. His marriage to Patti Duke ended in 1985, but Astin maintained a busy schedule appearing as a game-show host in National Lampoon's European Vacation, Teen Wolf Two, and Return of the Killer Tomatoes! As the 90s got under way he made two more Killer Tomatoes movies, appeared on the TV shows Mad About You and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and earned favorable reviews for his appearance in The Frighteners.
Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
MOVIES
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | BOX OFFICE | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | School of Life |
|
— | 2005 |
No Score Yet | El Planeta Zeta |
|
— | 2001 |
64% | The Frighteners |
|
— | 1996 |
No Score Yet | Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron |
|
— | 1995 |
No Score Yet | Runaway Daughters |
|
— | 1994 |
0% | The Silence of the Hams |
|
— | 1994 |
0% | Stepmonster |
|
— | 1993 |
No Score Yet | Huck & the King of Hearts |
|
— | 1993 |
No Score Yet | Killer Tomatoes Strike Back |
|
— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Killer Tomatoes Eat France |
|
— | 1991 |
No Score Yet | Killer Tomatoes Eat France! |
|
— | 1991 |
71% | Gremlins 2: The New Batch |
|
— | 1990 |
No Score Yet | Night Life |
|
— | 1990 |
0% | Return of the Killer Tomatoes! |
|
— | 1988 |
7% | Teen Wolf Too |
|
— | 1987 |
No Score Yet | Body Slam |
|
— | 1987 |
No Score Yet | Neat & Tidy |
|
— | 1987 |
20% | Mr. Boogedy |
|
— | 1986 |
34% | National Lampoon's European Vacation |
|
— | 1985 |
No Score Yet | Honky Tonk Freeway |
|
— | 1981 |
70% | Freaky Friday |
|
— | 1976 |
No Score Yet | Only with Married Men |
|
— | 1974 |
No Score Yet | The Brothers O'Toole |
|
— | 1973 |
No Score Yet | Get to Know Your Rabbit |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Evil Roy Slade |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Every Little Crook and Nanny |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Pepper and His Wacky Taxi |
|
— | 1972 |
No Score Yet | Bunny O'Hare |
|
— | 1971 |
No Score Yet | Viva Max! |
|
— | 1969 |
40% | Candy |
|
— | 1968 |
No Score Yet | The Spirit Is Willing |
|
— | 1967 |
No Score Yet | Move Over Darling |
|
— | 1963 |
No Score Yet | The Wheeler Dealers |
|
— | 1963 |
78% | That Touch of Mink |
|
— | 1962 |
92% | West Side Story |
|
— | 1961 |
TV
RATING | TITLE | CREDIT | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet |
As Told by Ginger
2000-2009
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Becker
1998-2004
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Hughleys
1998-2002
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The New Addams Family
1998-1999
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Murder, She Wrote
1984-1996
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Mad About You
1992-1999
|
|
|
91% |
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
1993-1994
|
|
|
82% |
Tales from the Crypt
1989-1996
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Night Court
1984-1992
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Webster
1983-1989
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
St. Elsewhere
1982-1988
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Diff'rent Strokes
1978-1986
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Facts of Life
1979-1988
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
CHiPs
1977-1983
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969-1976
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Partridge Family
1970-1974
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Night Gallery
1970-1973
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Odd Couple
1970-1975
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Bonanza
1959-1973
|
|
|
72% |
Batman
1966-1968
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Gunsmoke
1955-1975
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Wild Wild West
1965-1969
|
|
|
100% |
The Addams Family
1964-1966
|
|
|
82% |
The Twilight Zone
1959-1964
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Maverick
1957-1962
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
1991
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Charles in Charge
1984-1990
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
Taz-Mania
1995
|
|
|
No Score Yet |
The Addams Family
1993
|
|
|
Quotes from John Astin's Characters
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