Lisa Loring, who played the original Wednesday Addams on TV, dies at 64

The actor was best known for her role as the sweet but eccentric daughter in 1960s TV show The Addams Family.

Lisa Loring played the first on-screen Wednesday Addams. Picture: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Actor Lisa Loring, best known for portraying Wednesday Addams in the 1960s show The Addams Family, has died aged 64.

A representative for the family said she died on Saturday surrounded by her family.

“She brought to life one of the most iconic characters in Hollywood history that is still celebrated today,” the representative said.

“She will be missed dearly.”

Lisa Loring in Los Angeles in 2016. Picture: Kathy Hutchins/Zuma Press/WSJ

The cause of death was a stroke, according to a family friend who shared the news on social media.  The sitcom was the first screen adaptation of the single-panel cartoons by Charles Addams and was later developed into movies and other media.

The character has gained new popularity thanks to the hit Netflix Inc. series titled Wednesday, which stars Jenna Ortega as a teenage version of Wednesday Addams.

Lisa Loring appeared on The Addams Family from 1964 to 1966. Picture: Everett Collection/WSJ

The series, which features Wednesday attending the mysterious boarding school Nevermore Academy, co-stars Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in 1991 film The Addams Family and the 1993 sequel Addams Family Values.

 A viral dance scene from the Netflix series, set to the 1981 The Cramps song Goo Goo Muck, borrowed some of Loring’s original steps from the 1960s show.

Wednesday has been in Netflix’s top 10 most-watched programs for the past nine weeks, according to the streaming provider.

Lisa Loring with the first Gomez Addams, John Astin. Picture: Everett Collection/WSJ

Lisa Loring with Ken Weatherwax (playing her brother Pugsley) holding a stuffed animal. Picture: Getty Images

After appearing on The ­Addams Family from 1964 to 1966, Loring acted in a short-lived sitcom The Pruitts of Southampton, and had roles in several made-for-TV movies in the 1970s.

She played a grown-up Wednesday Addams in the TV film Halloween With the New Addams Family in 1977 and later joined the soap opera As the World Turns.

Several stars of the Netflix ­series Wednesday acknowledged Loring’s death on social media, including Ricci and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who plays Morticia Addams on the show.

Luis Guzman, who stars as Gomez Addams on the Netflix ­series, tweeted a tribute, saying: “You set the stage for a Beautiful Wednesday”.

The Wall Street Journal