Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 â€" January 16, 1979) was an
American actor noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) 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 may be best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in
the mid-1960s. He is also known for narrating The Incredible Hulk TV
series.Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Irish
ancestry, and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. In his youth, Cassidy
was academically gifted and attended third grade at age six. During
his freshman year of high school, at age 11, Cassidy was on the
football and basketball teams.After graduating from high school,
Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, where
he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He transferred to
Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he played college
basketball for the Hatters and was active in the student
government.After graduating with a degree in speech and drama, he
married Margaret Helen Jesse in 1956, and they moved to Dallas, Texas.
His acting career launched when he worked as a midday disc jockey on
WFAA in Dallas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8,
playing Creech, an outer-space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars"
segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. He gave an in-studio report
from WFAA radio station on the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated,
and was among the first to interview eyewitnesses W. E. Newman, Jr.
and Gayle Newman.
American actor noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) 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 may be best known for the role of Lurch on The Addams Family in
the mid-1960s. He is also known for narrating The Incredible Hulk TV
series.Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Irish
ancestry, and raised in Philippi, West Virginia. In his youth, Cassidy
was academically gifted and attended third grade at age six. During
his freshman year of high school, at age 11, Cassidy was on the
football and basketball teams.After graduating from high school,
Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, where
he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He transferred to
Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he played college
basketball for the Hatters and was active in the student
government.After graduating with a degree in speech and drama, he
married Margaret Helen Jesse in 1956, and they moved to Dallas, Texas.
His acting career launched when he worked as a midday disc jockey on
WFAA in Dallas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8,
playing Creech, an outer-space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars"
segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. He gave an in-studio report
from WFAA radio station on the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated,
and was among the first to interview eyewitnesses W. E. Newman, Jr.
and Gayle Newman.
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