A few actors have taken on the role of Lurch, The Addams Family‘s long-suffering Butler, over the years, most famously Ted Cassidy, who played the original incarnation of the character for the classic “Addams Family” TV series. The (mostly) silent servant, a Frankenstein-like man, was always there at the pull of a noose, ready to take care of any humorous needs Gomez, Morticia, Fester and the gang had at any given moment. Lurch was a role the late Cassidy would go on reprise a decade later in “The Addams Family” animated series in the 1970s.
It was of course cartoonist Charles Addams who originally created Lurch on the page, potentially inspired by Boris Karloff’s role as a similar butler character to a strange family in James Whale’s The Old Dark House. The 1932 classic was released several years prior to the creation of The Addams Family later in the 1930s, the film cut from a very similar oddball cloth.
In the wake of Ted Cassidy, Lurch was played on screen by “Twin Peaks” and Gerald’s Game actor Carel Struycken in the 1990s live-action films The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values, and he returned for 1998’s lesser-known Addams Family Reunion. The other main characters in the family, however, were replaced for that third installment in the series.
More recently, Conrad Vernon has been voicing Lurch in MGM’s animated The Addams Family movies, but the character will be returning to the world of live action in Tim Burton‘s upcoming series for Netflix, which is simply titled “Wednesday.” This time around, it will be Romanian actor George Burcea stepping into Lurch’s massive shoes, confirmed by a recent report.
Tim Burton with actor George Burcea who will be playing the character of ‘Lurch’. pic.twitter.com/YA3qfcwfuw
— Tim Burton Daily (@TimBurtonDaily) December 5, 2021
Who is George Burcea, you ask? From his IMDb bio, “George Valentin Burcea is a Romanian film and theatre actor. He was born on January 15, 1988 in Eforie Sud, Romania. He graduated from National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in 2015. In 2012, he played his first role in the movie A Month in Thailand. Other notable roles include Comrade Detective (2017), Singh Is Bliing, (2015) and Say Yes (2018).” In his early 30s, Burcea is just about the same exact age as Ted Cassidy was when he took on the role of Lurch, which is interesting to note.
Over on IMDb, George Burcea is credited as Lurch for episodes 1 and 5 of “Wednesday,” which suggests that perhaps he won’t be a constant presence throughout the series. With “Wednesday” mostly focusing on Wednesday Addams and her time at Nevermore Academy, it sounds like the show will be taking us out of the house and away from the rest of the family.
That said, additional “Wednesday” casting lets us know that Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley and Thing will appear in the series, and you can learn more about “Wednesday” right here.
“Wednesday” is described as “a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.” It’s said to follow…
“Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships.”
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (“Smallville”) are writing and showrunning. Burton is directing.
