Theodore Crawford "Ted" Cassidy (July 31, 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA – January 16, 1979, Los Angeles, California, USA) was an American actor. Noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), and his deep bass voice. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and is best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He is also best known for voicing The Hulk.
Cassidy's unusual height gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles, such as Lurch on The Addams Family (in which, despite being an accomplished organist, he feigned playing the harpsichord).He also played the character named Thing (associate producer Jack Voglin would take over the "Thing" role in scenes with both characters). Though the character was intended to be mute, Cassidy ad-libbed his signature line, "You rang?". The subtle humor and the deepness of his voice was immediately a hit. Thereafter, it was a recurring phrase written into the script.
Cassidy would reprise the role of Lurch in later appearances. In the Batman episode "The Penguin's Nest" (1966), he appears during Batman and Robin's familiar climb scene up the side of a building, as a tenant who is playing the harpsichord prior to sticking his head out the window and speaking to Batman and Robin. He also voiced this character in an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972), which featured the family, as well as in the 1973 animated series adaptation of The Addams Family.
Concurrent with his appearances on The Addams Family, Cassidy began doing character voices on a recurring basis for the Hanna-Barbera Studios, culminating in the role of Frankenstein, Jr. in Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles series. He was the voice of Meteor Man in Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, as well as the hero in the Chuck Menville pixillated short film Blaze Glory, in which his already-deep voice was enhanced with reverb echo to give the character an exaggerated super-hero sound. Cassidy also voiced Ben Grimm (a.k.a. "The Thing") in The New Fantastic Four. Cassidy went on to perform the roars and growls for Godzilla in the 1979 cartoon series that Hanna Barbera co-produced with Toho; and was also the voice of Montaro in the Jana of the Jungle segments that accompanied Godzilla during its first network run. His was the basis for the sinister voice of Black Manta, as well as Brainiac and several others on Super Friends. Cassidy was the original voice of Metallus on Space Ghost from 1966 to 1968.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 
|
Frankenstone | The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone |
| 1978-1979 | 
|
Godzilla | Godzilla |
| 1973-1974 | 
|
Lurch | The Addams Family |
| 1967-1969 | 
|
Meteor Man | Birdman and the Galaxy Trio |
| 1966-1968 | 
|
Metallus | Space Ghost and Dino Boy |
| 1966-1967 | 
|
Frankenstein Jr. | Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles |