HomeBioWho Is John Astin? Meet American Veteran Actor and Director

Who Is John Astin? Meet American Veteran Actor and Director

You cannot talk about the Addams family and not talk about the patriarch, John Astin. This American actor and producer has been in multiple roles in Hollywood. Read below everything you need to know about this superb actor. 

John Astin
John Astin

John Allen Astin was born on March 30, 1930. He is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television, and film roles, primarily in character roles. 

He was born in Maryland to parents Margaret Lonnie and Dr Allen Varley Astin, who was the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

John attended Johns Hopkins University in 1952, studying drama but studying mathematics at first.

He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Johns Hopkins.

Just like every old actor, Astin started his career in theatre. He made his first Broadway appearance as an understudy in Major Barbara in 1954.

He also did voice-over projects for commercials. His first big break in film came with a small role in West Side Story.

During 1962–1963, John Astin had his first lead in a television series, the ABC sitcom I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster. Astin played Harry Dickens to Ingels’s Arch Fenster, as two trouble-prone carpenters. The series was one of the best slapstick comedy shows.

Although He is best known for starring in The Addams Family (1964–1966), as patriarch Gomez Addams, he has also done a few other roles with animation. He voiced the animated series The Addams Family (1992–1993). 

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Profile summary

NameJohn Astin
OccupationAmerican Actor and Director
Date of Birth30th March 1930
Age93 years
Marital StatusMarried
Place of BirthBaltimore, Maryland, USA
Height180cm
Children 5
Notable work

Known for his role as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (1964-1966) sitcom and voicing the animated series The Addams Family (1992-1993)

Breakthrough

Had his first lead in a television series, I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster (1962-1963), playing the role of Harry Dickens

Comedy

Known for his comedic talent, particularly in slapstick comedy shows

How old is John Astin

John Astin is 93 years old

John Astin’s height

john astin’s height

John Astin’s height is 5 feet 11 inches.

John Astin Spouse

Patty Duke and John Astin
Patty Duke and John Astin

John Astin had first married Suzanne Hahn in the year 1956 and divorced in 1972. They share three sons- David, Allen, and Tom

He and actress Patty Duke also married in 1972 and divorced in 1985. He had adopted a son- Sean, Patty’s son from an earlier reality. They also have another son named Mackenzie. 

Astin later married Valerie Ann Sandobal in 1989, and they live in Maryland. 

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Who Are John Astin’s Kids?

John Astin, the American actor and director, is known for his roles in various television series and films. While he gained popularity for his portrayal of Gomez Addams in “The Addams Family” from 1964 to 1966, he has also taken on other notable roles throughout his career. One of his early lead roles was in the ABC sitcom “I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster” from 1962 to 1963, where he played Harry Dickens alongside his co-star Arch Fenster.

Although John Astin’s professional accomplishments are well-known, information about his children is less widely discussed. However, he is the father of three children. Their names and further details about them are not readily available in the provided information.

John Astin Gomez

John Astin as Gomez
John Astin as Gomez

John Astin is best known for The Addams Family, a popular thrilling sitcom from 1964 to 1966, based on cartoons created by Charles Addams. 

Astin had starred as Gomez Addams, the head of the macabre family. This role happened to be his biggest. He later reprised the role of Gomez in the 1977 made-for-television film Halloween with the New Addams Family and voiced the role of Gomez in the animated series The Addams Family from 1992 to 1993. 

Astin also appeared as Grandpa Addams in the Canadian- American series in 1998- actor played the role of Gomez, Glenn Taranto. 

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John Astin Today

John Astin now
John Astin now

John Austin has been retired now since the year 2021. He was director of the Theater Arts and Studies Department and Homewood Professor of the Arts at John Hopkins University, which offers an undergraduate minor program.

Did you know that Astin was one of the few to earn a drama degree at Hopkins? He later went on to teach from 2001 to 2021. 

Devika Bhise revealed that he has been working with the university to create “The Astin Fund”, an endowed chair that would allow the theatre to be a major at Johns Hopkins University for undergraduates.

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John Astin movies

John astin as riddler
John Astin as the riddler

John has been in multiple film establishments, making him the kind of actor we love. Although this most popular role is as the patriarch of the Addams family, he is still known to do many more roles. 

He starred as the famous Professor Gangreen and as Professor Wickwire in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr

In 1996, he was featured in The Frighteners as The Judge, the ghost of an Old West gunslinger, 

He also has toured the one-man play Edgar Allan Poe: Once Upon a Midnight, written by Paul Day Clemens and Ron Magid.

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The Pruitts of Southampton 

John had joined the show for the second half of the 1966–67 season, playing Diller’s brother-in-law, Angus Pruitt.

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Batman

John had also played the Riddler in the second season of Batman and later returned for the third and final season.

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Operation Petticoat

He played submarine commander Matthew Sherman on the 1970s television series Operation Petticoat.

Murder she wrote

John Astin in Murder she wrote
John Astin in Murder she wrote

John Astin also made several appearances in the first two seasons of the popular thrilling mystery series Murder, She Wrote, as scheming real estate developer Harry Price. He later had the role of the sheriff. He ends up as the murderer in his last episode. 

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Night court

You may remember this role of his- he played Buddy, the eccentric mental patient, who often ended his conversations with a big smile and the phrase,”…but I’m feeling MUCH better now!”.

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Mary

John Astin played the regular role of Ed LaSalle on the sitcom Mary during the 1985–86 television season.

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Taz-Mania

Other than films relating to the Addams family, he also voiced the character Bull Gator on the animated series Taz-Mania. He was on this for 121 episodes.

John Astin also guest starred on numerous television series, including appearances on Duckman, Jack Palance’s ABC circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth, and a 1967 episode of Gunsmoke as Festus Haggen’s cousin Henry.

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John Astin recognition 

It only makes sense that a notable actor who has been in many shows and films will be recognized. 

Astin received an Academy Award nomination for a short film that he wrote, produced, and directed- Prelude

He was later nominated for an Ace Award for his work on Tales from the Crypt and received an Emmy Award nomination for the cartoon voice of Gomez on ABC-TV’s The Addams Family.

Other roles John Astin has been involved in;

  1. The twisted tales of Felix the Cat for 60 episodes
  2. Pinky and the brain
  3. Harrison Bergeron as Golf announcer
  4. Runaway daughters as Fred
  5. Duckman for three episodes
  6. Eerie, Indiana, as Radford
  7. Nightlife as Verlin Flanders
  8. Teen Wolf too, as Dean Dunn

john astin as the Riddler

John Riddler as riddler

John Astin took over as riddler in the second season due to Frank Gorshin asking for a pay rise for the second season.

The Riddler is a villain who has been through a lot of trauma because he has a lot of violent tendencies.

Frank had felt that he was the star of the first season by being the most prominent villain of that season and also being nominated for a bafta with his role as Riddler. 

However, his request was denied, and the producers had hoped that he would return after they changed his storyline. Frank did not give in, and the role was given to John Astin.

Many say that Frank was a better riddler. John Astin was not as popular as Frank in the role of Riddler, but he still performed well in his role. 
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Patty Duke and John Astin

Patty Duke
Patty Duke

Although Patty Duke and John Astin divorced, they remained good friends. Patty was a very popular Hollywood actor like her ex-husband. She was also a mental health advocate. During her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

She had been married four times- Harry Falk (1965- 1969), Micheal Tell (1970-1971), John Astin (1972- 1985), and (m. 1965; div. 1969) Michael Pearce (m. 1986) 

She and Astin worked together. she also took his name professionally, becoming “Patty Duke Astin”.

Patty was a mental health advocate and often suffered from various things, especially during her marriages.

Patty Duke died on March 29, 2016, from sepsis from a ruptured intestine at the age of 69.

She had a mental health foundation named the Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative. Her body was cremated.

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John Astin’s Net worth

John Astin’s net worth is $6 million. which he earned  as an American actor and director, 

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Sean Astin DNA controversy

Sean Astin, the son of actors Patty Duke and John Astin, found himself at the center of a DNA controversy. There were rumors circulating about his biological father, with some speculating that it might not be John Astin. However, the controversy was put to rest when DNA tests confirmed that Sean Astin’s biological father was Michael Tell resolving a mystery that had captured the nation’s headlines two decades earlier.

Sean Astin
Sean Astin

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FAQS about John Astin

Are any of the original Addams Family still alive?

John Astin is the only surviving member of the Addams family. Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday, died in January 2023. Blossom Rock, who played Grandmama Addams, died in 1978 at age 82, while Lumbering Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch and Thing (the hand), died after open-heart surgery in 1979 at 46. Former leading lady Jones who was also in Batman and Wonder Woman, died of cancer in 1983. Former child actor. Jackie Coogan, who played Uncle Fester, died of a heart attack in 1984 at 69. Weatherwax died in 2014 died at the age of 59 of a heart attack. Felix Silla, who played Cousin Itt on the show, died in 2021 from pancreatic cancer.

is john astin still alive?

Yes, John Astin is still alive. 

Is Gomez Addams Latino?

The humorous character is often depicted as being of Castilian extraction and Spanish ancestry. His ancestral land is in Spain. 

How old is John Astin from The Addams Family?

John Astin is aged 93.

How many times was John Astin on Night Court?

John Astin appeared in the series for over eleven episodes in two roles. He played the recurring part of Buddy, Harry’s biological dad’ and also as Kenny in the episode “Inside Harry Stone”.

How much is john astin worth

John Astin is an American actor who has a net worth of $6 million. 

Oluwatoyin Odunuyi
Oluwatoyin Odunuyihttps://linktr.ee/ToyinAjua
Oluwatoyin Eria-Ajua Odunuyi resides in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria. In 2020, she received a BSc in Mass communication from Caleb University and specialized in print journalism. Toyin loves to write romance novels because she is obsessed with living in a never-ever-land and often lives through her books. She presently owns a 5-year blog called "An Inclusive Kind world" where she speaks on Autism and society's role in pushing for awareness and inclusion.