Chas Addams: A Cartoonist's Life

by Linda H. Davis

“They’re creepy and they’re kooky,” is how the catchy theme song of The Addams Family described everyone’s favorite nonconformists–Morticia, Gomez, Lurch, Uncle Fester, Grandmama, Wednesday, and Pugsley. But for all the novelty of the sitcom based on Charles Addams’s groundbreaking New Yorker cartoons, Hollywood’s Addams family paled beside the cartoonist’s. “Not half as evil as my original characters,” sighed Addams.

Though the haunted-household cartoons developed a following among New Yorker readers long before the 1960s sitcom, and the Addams and their seedy Victorian mansion soon became recognizable types, the artist with the well-known signature “Chas Addams” remained an enigma. Called “the Bela Lugosi of the cartoonists,” Addams was the cartoonist everyone–even Hitchcock–wanted to meet. He was bedeviled by rumors. People claimed that he slept in a coffin, collected severed fingers sent by fans, and suffered bouts of madness that sent him to the insane asylum.

The true Addams was even more fabulous than the wildest stories and cartoons. Here was a sunny, funny urbane man, “a normal American boy,” as he called himself, with a dog who hated children and a taste for crossbows. While producing a unique body of work featuring lovingly drawn homicidal spouses, demonic children, genteel monsters, and an everyday world crosshatched with magic, Addams raced classic sports cars, juggled beautiful women (Joan Fontaine, Jackie Kennedy, and Greta Garbo, to name a few), and charmed everyone. But though his pursuits suggest lighthearted romantic comedy, Addams’s life had its sinister side. Far darker than anything Addams created with a brush was his relationship with a dangerous woman who forever changed his life.

In this first biography of the great cartoonist, written with exclusive access to Addams’s intimates and his private papers, we finally meet the man behind the famed cartoons and circling rumors. Here is his surprising childhood in New Jersey, the cartoon that offended the Nazis, the friend whose early death Addams long mourned. Here are his wives, the stories behind his most famous–and some of his most private–cartoons, and the Addams whom even his closest friends didn’t know.

With wit, humor, poignancy, and insight–enhanced by rare family photographs, classic and previously unpublished cartoons, and private drawings–Linda H. Davis paints an engaging and endearing portrait of a marvelous American original.

One of America’s most gifted biographers, Linda Davis has given us an engrossing, unforgettable portrait of the legendary New Yorker cartoonist. In Davis’s empathetic narrative and in accompanying cartoons, photographs, and drawings, the great artist lives again in all his eccentric brilliance,
ghoulish sense of humor, fecund love life, and warm and gentle humanity. Beautifully written and exhaustively researched, Chas A Cartoonist’s Life deserves to win every literary prize there is for best biography.--Stephen B. Oates, Paul Murray Kendall Professor of Biography and Professor History Emeritus, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst

“If you don’t appreciate martinis with eyeballs in them, this is not the book for you. For the rest of us here is an irresistible riot of a read, an exhilarating expertly mixed cocktail of words and images. Charles Addams’s life was crowded with women–famous women, smart women, witty women, garden-variety drop-dead beautiful women–but in Linda Davis he has truly met his match.” --Stacy Schiff, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Vera

“Seldom have we found as satisfying a fit of subject and author as this. Linda Davis has distilled years of research, travel and interviews into a rollicking and fascinating review of Addams’s astonishing life as artist, playboy and–from time to time–husband. We can all be grateful that Addams and Davis finally found one another.”--Harrison Kinney,
author of James His Life and Times

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Humor, History, Cartoon

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Batgrl (Book Data Kept Elsewhere) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an example of Books That Get Set Aside For A While Because I Become Annoyed With a Person Within. Currently Addams has divorced wife two, who seems absolutely horrible. But because she continues to harass him in various ways he signs over certain rights to his work to her. She is awful, he capitulates to her whims and then is still bullied about by her - ugh. I just had to put the book aside for a bit because I like the guy, but signing away what could make him money (which he needs) to someone both awful and annoying is really frustrating to read.

I'll come back and finish it, because Addams and his art has always been a favorite topic for me, and the book has been great until this point. But I am not the type to enjoy spending time with "divorce angst." I realize most folks find this the juicy real-life gossip stuff, but I would rather not read more of his making bad business decisions which Foreshadows Bad Things in the Future. Will be picking this up again when I'm more in the mood to deal with this.

Some weeks later:
So the above was my blurb after setting the book aside for awhile. Now that I've finished I have to add that I did think the book was wonderfully researched and gave a really clear view of what Addams was like. It was because I completely liked the man so much that I really, REALLY hated his wife - #2, Barbara Colyton, as she was known after she married the next husband after her divorce. Oddly her next marriage didn't make her any less controlling of Addams, probably because he was a continued source of money for her, and she was a greedy person. She was also one of those sort of people who surround artists and try and take credit for their work - the "well, they'd never have been anything without my help and inspiration" type of person.

I might be hesitant to believe how awful she was if the book wasn't so thoroughly documented and if I didn't remember reading in multiple other articles and books before this about the difficulty with "the Addams estate" and Hollywood in issues dealing with the Addams Family (television show, cartoons, and films, repeated issues). It was never Charles Addams that was the problem - it was his representative, Colyton, that had unreasonable demands.

Anyway, I should have just churned on through the parts with her in it. In fact in the future I'll probably just go right into my new mode of attack: Killing Them Off Via the Index. This is where I head to the end of the book, find the last occurrence of the person in the index, and skip ahead to read of their death. Yes, all the nice people have often died off by that too, but the horrible person's awfulness is at an end. And in this case I'm pretty sure that the family of her post-Addams husband didn't have any great love for her either. (It sounds as though she cleaned out all their family antiques, not to mention had the family estate signed over to her rather than the husbands former children. Lovely woman, huh.)

So now that I've gone on and on about Colyton, let's focus on the proper person - Addams. The book is best at describing his work, what it meant to him, how he worked, and how he enjoyed it. The cartoons that aren't in the book are described such that you easily have a mental image of them - or you recognize them from having seen them in the past. The author cites interviews in print and video, and many, many conversations, which are all carefully footnoted and documented.

While I really enjoyed - and felt I got to know - Addams, this is very much a "warts and all" book. It doesn't sugar coat things like how Addams was with women and his continual pursuit of them. But even with those warts, I can't help but liking Addams, and being delighted with his weird sense of humor. He was said to be charming and his dark humor that somehow wasn't morbid - and the stories in the book really back this up. I was glad that, with marriage number three plus his work and friends, it seems he finally had some time to be happy. (Grrr, yes I'm still annoyed at wife two.)

As usual, some quotes. I should add here that I've always delighted in blaming my decorating style on Addams, which will explain some of the choices:

p. 12 "The Addams dwelling at 25 West Fifty-fourth Street was directly behind the Museum of Modern Art, at the top of the building. It was reached by an ancient elevator, which rumbled up to the twelfth floor. From there, one climbed through a red-painted stairwell where a real mounted crossbow hovered. The Addams door was marked by a "big black number 13," and a knocker in the shape of a vampire.

...Inside, one entered a little kingdom that fulfilled every fantasy one might have entertained about its inhabitant. On a pedestal in the corner of the bookcase stood a rare "Maximilian" suit of armor, which Addams had bought at a good price ("a bargain at $700")... It was joined by a half-suit, a North Italian Morion of "Spanish" form, circa 1570-80, and a collection of warrior helmets, perched on long stalks like decapitated heads... There were enough arms and armaments to defend the Addams fortress against the most persistent invader: wheel-lock guns; an Italian prod; two maces; three swords. Above a sofa bed, a spectacular array of medieval crossbows rose like birds in flight. "Don't worry, they've only fallen down once," Addams once told an overnight guest. ...

Everywhere one looked in the apartment, something caught the eye. A rare papier-mache and polychrome anatomical study figure, nineteenth century, with removable organs and body parts captioned in French, protected by a glass bell. ("It's not exactly another human heart beating in the house, but it's close enough." said Addams.) A set of engraved aquatint plates from an antique book on armor. A lamp in the shape of a miniature suit of armor, topped by a black shade. There were various snakes; biopsy scissors ("It reaches inside, and nips a little piece of flesh," explained Addams); and a shiny human thighbone - a Christmas present from one wife. There was a sewing basket fashioned from an armadillo, a gift from another.

In front of the couch stood a most unusual coffee table - "a drying out table," the man at the wonderfully named antiques shop, the Gettysburg Sutler, had called it. ("What was dried on it?" a reporter had asked. "Bodies," said Addams.)..."

p. 281 "...On their first day in the new house, Addams had gotten up in the dark. From the surrounding swamp came bloodcurdling screams - the sound of possums mating, Tee later speculated, though it was perhaps a fisher, the dark-colored marten who stalked the wetlands, rooting rabbits from their nests. Addams returned to bed. "Someone is murdering babies in the swamp," he said. "Oh darling," came the sleepy reply from the pillows, "I forgot to tell you about the neighbors."

"All my life I wanted to live in one of those Addams Family houses, but I've never achieved that," Addams had recently told a reporter. "I do my best to add little touches," he said. ...Still, he conceded, "it's hard to convert a ranch-type house into a Victorian monster." "

p. 291-292 "...He had been pleased to learn that some critics had described his characters as "repulsively demonic [yet] constantly coping in appropriate ways with everyday situations."

"I think that's right," he said, smiling. "They're just getting along.

On the other hand he was tired of people focusing on the black side of his humor. "I'm sick of people calling it macabre," he had told Drue Heinz. "It's just funny, that's all." "

[Joseph Mayet · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re like me and a big fan of the Addams Family, this book will be a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, Charles Addams was an interesting, eccentric person, but this book is about affairs, him being a pushover to his ex-wives, and how he got ideas from other people. The author’s writing style and humor is definitely suited to an older generation (I’m 37). I really had to force myself to finish this book.

[Brett Dulle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is author Linda H. Davis's attempt at an authoritative biography of Charles Addams, the New Yorker cartoonist most famous as the creator of a family of charming ghouls named after himself that have appeared in movies and tv shows. While I doubt a better biography of the man will ever come out, or another one at all, I have some issues with the book.

1. As other reviews have pointed out, quite a bit of the book deals with Addams's sex life, however there is a noticeable lack of details. The dirtiest it gets is telling us that Addams did not like rough sex. While a serious biography should not be titillating, without some real tangible details the discussion of Addams's sex life amounts to a repetition of this simple formula: women adored Addams and so Addams had many lovers. This is not very interesting to read and oversimplifies the man.

2. I do not think I've read a more complementary, or at least uncritical biography of a man before. It's not just the women, nearly everyone one in the book is overly complementary of Addams. Addams was the nicest guy, the dearest friend, he was good with kids, he was humble, he was witty, he was intelligent, etc. I feel again that this reduces the man to a “nice guy” caricature. Consider the situation involving his abusive and manipulative second wife Barbara Colyton, dubbed “Bad Barbara”. In this relationship Addams is depicted purely as a victim and his friends and lovers continually have to ponder why he let himself get abused time and again by her. Perhaps Addams gentle nature could in another light be seen as weakness. It is also funny that the book discusses “Bad Barbara” cheating on Addams and how much it hurt him, and yet is quiet on whether Addams cheated on her. There is good reason to suspect he did cheat as well considering the book informs us that he cheated on every other wife and girlfriend he had. Not that it would really matter even if it was mentioned since quite literally no woman in the book has a problem with Addams’s philandering. What's worse is that Addams led a truly charmed life. Addams's one goal in life was to become a New Yorker cartoonist, which he achieved only a few years after graduating high school. Outside of the abuse he received from his second wife "Bad Barbara", his life mostly consisted mostly of dinner parties in Manhattan and yacht trips to Spain.

3.Some might argue that these are just the facts of Addams’s life, however I would argue that Addams’s story could have been filled out a bit more analysis of Addams’s work. A biography should really sell the reader on the importance of it’s subject. This book does not do this. While there is some analysis of his cartoons, this mostly takes of the form of noticing common themes in his cartoons, the significance of which is undercut by the much repeated fact that Addams generally did not come up with his own cartoon ideas but worked on ideas given to him by gag writers and other cartoonists. There is not an attempt to chart Addams place in cartoon history or explain why he might be considered one of the greats, there is not really any comparison between his work and those of his contemporaries, nor is there much discussion of his influence on other cartoonists outside of those who also dealt with dark humor. The result is make Addams achievements seem a bit shallow. For her part Davis avoids making any bold claims about her subject herself. Compare this to the Peter Arno biography by Michael Maslin where the book’s subtitle is “THE NEW YORKER’S GREATEST CARTOONIST.”

4. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this book, Davis’s dirty secret, is that this book is not very original. I was surprised by how much of the basic structure, many of the anecdotes, and even analysis of the cartoons comes straight from the Dwight MacDonald article, “Charles Addams, His Family, And His Fiends”. The main difference is that MacDonald’s article is better written, more concise, and even open to criticism of Addams. I would honestly recommend reading MacDonald’s essay over reading this book. The article can be found at The ReporterThis book is author Linda H. Davis's attempt at an authoritative biography of Charles Addams, the New Yorker cartoonist most famous as the creator of a family of charming ghouls named after himself that have appeared in movies and tv shows. While I doubt a better biography of the man will ever come out, or another one at all, I have some issues with the book.

1. As other reviews have pointed out, quite a bit of the book deals with Addams's sex life, however there is a noticeable lack of details. The dirtiest it gets is telling us that Addams did not like rough sex. While a serious biography should not be titillating, without some real tangible details the discussion of Addams's sex life amounts to a repetition of this simple formula: women adored Addams and so Addams had many lovers. This is not very interesting to read and oversimplifies the man.

2. I do not think I've read a more complementary, or at least uncritical biography of a man before. It's not just the women, nearly everyone one in the book is overly complementary of Addams. Addams was the nicest guy, the dearest friend, he was good with kids, he was humble, he was witty, he was intelligent, etc. I feel again that this reduces the man to a “nice guy” caricature. Consider the situation involving his abusive and manipulative second wife Barbara Colyton, dubbed “Bad Barbara”. In this relationship Addams is depicted purely as a victim and his friends and lovers continually have to ponder why he let himself get abused time and again by her. Perhaps Addams gentle nature could in another light be seen as weakness. It is also funny that the book discusses “Bad Barbara” cheating on Addams and how much it hurt him, and yet is quiet on whether Addams cheated on her. There is good reason to suspect he did cheat as well considering the book informs us that he cheated on every other wife and girlfriend he had. Not that it would really matter even if it was mentioned since quite literally no woman in the book has a problem with Addams’s philandering. What's worse is that Addams led a truly charmed life. Addams's one goal in life was to become a New Yorker cartoonist, which he achieved only a few years after graduating high school. Outside of the abuse he received from his second wife "Bad Barbara", his life mostly consisted mostly of dinner parties in Manhattan and yacht trips to Spain.

3.Some might argue that these are just the facts of Addams’s life, however I would argue that Addams’s story could have been filled out a bit more analysis of Addams’s work. A biography should really sell the reader on the importance of it’s subject. This book does not do this. While there is some analysis of his cartoons, this mostly takes of the form of noticing common themes in his cartoons, the significance of which is undercut by the much repeated fact that Addams generally did not come up with his own cartoon ideas but worked on ideas given to him by gag writers and other cartoonists. There is not an attempt to chart Addams place in cartoon history or explain why he might be considered one of the greats, there is not really any comparison between his work and those of his contemporaries, nor is there much discussion of his influence on other cartoonists outside of those who also dealt with dark humor. The result is make Addams achievements seem a bit shallow. For her part Davis avoids making any bold claims about her subject herself. Compare this to the Peter Arno biography by Michael Maslin where the book’s subtitle is “THE NEW YORKER’S GREATEST CARTOONIST.”

4. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this book, Davis’s dirty secret, is that this book is not very original. I was surprised by how much of the basic structure, many of the anecdotes, and even analysis of the cartoons comes straight from the Dwight MacDonald article, “Charles Addams, His Family, And His Fiends”. The main difference is that MacDonald’s article is better written, more concise, and even open to criticism of Addams. I would honestly recommend reading MacDonald’s essay over reading this book. The article can be found at The Reporter 1953-07-21 here

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 b 197. A thoroughly and well researched life of the New Yorker magazine cartoonist, Charles Addams. I've collected the books published by Charles Addams since I was first introduced to them in the 1970's and enjoy reading through the cartoon collections. It was interesting to read his life's story and see the events that managed to wend their way into his artwork. Many parts of his life made me very sad, with tentative chuckles thrown in here and there.

[Jerry James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very interesting guy! Addams’ circle of friends was amazing, but you don’t get much a sense of HIM in here, because it focuses on those friends and gossip about his many loves (just as the author’s descriptions of his cartoons also weirdly focus on everything but the humor).

I hope I find a better biography of him someday.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so well-researched and written: Addams, um, got around.
His biographer seemingly interviews EVERYONE, so you do get personal details.
Highly recommended.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first rate look into the life of Charles Addams (1913-1988)

This book does a superb job of informing the reader of the unique, varied life of Addams, his formative years, his career, and legacy!

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating man. We should all live our lives as true to ourselves as he did.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite appearances, Charles Addams, the cartoonist, apparently was a very nice guy - people say when you talked to him about your troubles, he really listened and cared. But he was always interested in oddball stuff. Like collecting crossbows, or building a suit of armor. When he was 12 he wrote to the curator of arms and armor at the Met asking how to go about it. The curator informed him that apprentice knights had to put in 7 years at an armorer's shop before they were allowed to make their first suit. So he made a longbow instead.
He collected odd things like false teeth and cat mummies and after he became famous, people sent him more that he just added to his collections.
I enjoyed this biography a lot, though parts were hard to read. His second marriage was to a woman who had some kind of psychological hold over him. She made him sign over rights to his artwork, rights that she controlled even after they divorced. The New Yorker's lawyers fought her on his behalf but she managed to relieve him of a lot of money and property, seemingly with his cooperation. It was very strange. It was good to find out that he had a very happy third marriage.
Aside from that, it's interesting to see how his talent developed, drawing cartoons in the Army with his best friend Sam Cobean (who also became a New Yorker cartoonist but died tragically young) and how the Addams Family cartoons and then TV show came about. Naturally, the second wife tried to stop that deal if she couldn't get money from it, but luckily for all of us, she didn't succeed. There's also a lot of interesting New Yorker gossip, always a favorite subject of mine. I was surprised to find that it was William Shawn who instituted the policy of cartoonists drawing only their own ideas, instead of the collaborative slush pile policy Harold Ross had liked. I'd thought that Art Spiegelman made that policy change. Many of Addams' cartoons were based on ideas someone else had thrown into the slush file, and in my opinion his execution of them was what made them great.

[Scott Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biographer has clearly done a great deal of research, but I wish that she had shared more primary texts with readers. She often quotes very briefly from letters, memos, and interviews. I would have liked to have read some of them more completely. Of course she provides copious notes but it’s not the same thing.

The biographer seems to be overly preoccupied with Addams as a lover. He certainly seems to have had relationships with a great many women. Perhaps it was one of the things that defined him after all.

Addams was one of those New York personalities who seemed to know everyone and attend all the best parties. He hung out with Jackie Onassis, Truman Capote, and Ernest Hemingway, and had relationships with Joan Fontaine and other well known celebrity women.

Overall, the biography paints Addams as a colourful, jovial character who was very well-liked and probably not very savvy in business. As meticulously as this seems to have been researched, I feel like it only scratches the surface. I think there are more stories to tell about the man who gave us so much laughter.

[Jeffrey Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful biography of one of my favorite artists of all time. Charles Addams certainly led an extraordinary life. He was quite the ladies man in mid-twentieth century New York. He was married three times and his second wife looms over the last two-thirds of his life like the dragon lady she is portrayed here. This biography is not a candy-coated valentine to Addams, rather it is a rich and loving portrait of the man warts and all. Such a wonderful talent and so eccentric in real life as well; here is a man who cannot stop himself laughing at funerals. I get that part though, the overt and smothering solemnity of those occassions cause me, at times, to want to laugh. I'm so glad Linda H. Davis wrote this book. I'm so glad it caught my eye in Largo Public Library as I glided down the Biograhy shelves towards books about George Carlin. I feel blessed to have found this book and to be able to read it.

[Bear Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine example of a work that is not perfect, but perfect for me. In the final chapters I was openly weeping at the details of Addams’ remembrances from those who knew him. I can only hope we all aspire to be so well regarded by the people in our lives.

I have my quibbles with the book - the biggest being that it felt like the majority of the 1960s were glossed over. I had to flip back to a prior chapter to make sure I hadn’t accidentally skipped something as it seemed to suddenly be 1973 when I last remembered it being 1967 or so. But given how obviously well researched this biography is, it’s totally possible (and reasonable to assume) that there was just a gap in the available material.

But overall I loved it. There was just enough detail to keep me turning the pages and by the end of it, I wanted another book that zeroed in on specifics (such as Addams’ thoughts on art and technique).

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a serviceable biography. Yes, it helped me get to know the man that created the Addams family in much more detail. The only problem being that his life outside of the actual cartoon/tv show was just not that interesting to me. Turns out he was eccentric as you would expect and also a total playboy that was so likable that all the women in his life were pretty much ok with all the other women in his life. While I loved hearing some of the details about his dark humor, interests, examples of his cartoons, and how he was always ready with a deathly Grimm one liner, I was not so into his actual personal life and his exploits with all of his women that the majority of this book seemed to be about.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I remember the joy of sneaking upstairs to the adult section of the library, going to the 740s in the non fiction shelves and picking through the comic books there. There was Calvin and Hobbs, For Better or For Worse, Peanuts, Garfield, The Far Side and all the political cartoon collections and so on. There was also one large black hard cover book by 'Chas Addams,' which I loved to pull down and pour through. That books gone now but this one was there in its place, so I picked it up and gave it a chance.

Charles Addams was a cartoon artist for the New Yorker and the creator of his famous family. I enjoyed learning more about him and his art, but my favourite bit was seeing the different cartoons through out.

[Vivienne Strauss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm quitting at page 202. I have always laughed uproariously at Addams' cartoons and thought I would be inspired by his process. I loved the beginning part of the book; his childhood, getting his start at The New Yorker. While it was super interesting to learn of all the other contemporaries he was friends with- writers, artists, actors, wives of Presidents, etc. Finding out that he basically slept with all of them (at least the female portion) made me wonder if he beat Warren Beatty's bedding record? Perhaps there was even some overlap. Either way, I'm quitting now and hopefully I can still enjoy his cartoons.

The writing was good, just no longer interested in knowing more about the subject.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles was a weird interesting man. The type of guy smoking a cigar surrounded by woman talking about gravestones...well before the Addams Family came around. He had money but seemed very bad at managing it. Basically he was Gomez. Neat to learn he was a major dog lover. I read the audiobook so having all the cartoons described was a tad odd. I have seen most of them throughout the years. I do not "get" New Yorker cartoons. They all seem not funny on purpose. I give mad props to trying to detail the crazy life Charles lived, would have enjoyed a bit more about his thoughts on his own legacy of everyone's favorite kooky family.

[Michael Rudzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Addams has always been one of my favorite cartoonists, and this biography only added to my appreciation.

As far back as I can remember, his comics have made me cackle with delight. I probably saw the Addams Family TV show first; it was so much better than the Munsters, which had its own charm, but not the slightly twisted outlook on life.

I found most of his comic collections at either the used bookseller at the local flea market, or at used book stores a bit later. There are many of his comics featured in this book, but the real treat is getting to know the man behind them.

[Diane C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew almost nothing about Charles Addams as a person, even while deeply enjoying his cartoons. As well as the films and tv show that resulted from his work. He was an amiable, highly creative person who had little idea of how to have a relationship with a woman, altho he liked women and loved to fool around with them too, be married to them. This is also some of the history of New York, The New Yorker and other writers from the early to mid 20th century. I loved this book, it's a well researched bio of an imperfect man who enriched our lives by making the macabre humourous and witty.

[Bob Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Chas Addams cartoons for many years. Now I know more about the man behind the Addams Family. The author did a lot of research talking to people who knew Addams. We "meet" his wives, girlfriends (and a few famous ones in that mix), his friends and coworkers. And there are a number of his cartoons spread throughout the book. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

[Erika Jost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite entertaining and well-written. Felt a little harsh on Barbara Colyton, the second wife, whom the man himself seemed to hold in high regard. Loved the investigation of specific inspiration for some of the cartoons.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

iPad. Interesting read, with lots of tidbits and name dropping. Unless you're familiar with players of old, you are going to miss all the references. I am in my fifties but I'm not knowledgeable of all involved. Get your Google out.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

a lot of fairly boring stuff .... not enough illustrations, though. I guess I'll have to look for his collected works.

[Shannon Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little dry in places, but an excellent biography of an unusual man.

[Westley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting man.

[Kimberly Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off rather interesting, and I enjoyed reading about the creation of the Addams Family...but most of this book was about all the women he was dating and sleeping with. And boring.

[Estott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

Good, but the reviews covered the material better. Mostly about his highly active love life and his wives , who definitely merit coverage

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely biography that only occasionally get carries away by the vast tide of stories about the subject. While I cannot speak to its accuracy, I got a sense of a person.

[Melissa Gloss · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful book that I got for 2 dollars. So much information. Never even thought about the creator of the Addams family which is one of my favorite movies

[Drake McCrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be honest I was expecting for Addams to be more macabre and less playboy but regardless he lived an interesting life which made for a quick fun read.

[Daniel Hiland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first one-hundred pages are fascinating. I'd always wanted to know more about how one of my favorite cartoonists got his start, and this book delivers. The author also gives a lot of in-depth information about some of the more famous works Addams composed, as well as verification of the rumors about his home furnishings and peculiar tastes. Along the way, we're given an interesting look inside Life at the New Yorker magazine of old. The details about C. A's involvement with the Addams Family TV show are interesting, as well. As an added feature, the author supplies a generous helping of illustrations, for those new to Charles Addams.

But around Chapter Ten the trouble starts- and it's called Barbara Barb. From then on, my estimation of Charles A sinks and continues to descend, as he kowtows to B.B., unwilling to stand up to her unacceptable behavior and legal machinations for decades (as if she had blackmail material she was willing to share with the media, should Charles threaten to fight back). And then there are the multiple affairs through the years, resulting in a case of TMI about Mr. Addams' libido. One has to expect some warts with any honest biography, but Addams' philandering (bordering on the pathological) becomes the over-riding focus of much of the book. I started skipping sentences, then paragraphs, then entire chapters. By the time he supposedly found the true love of his life (if Tee really was), I no longer cared what happened to Mr. Addams, or that dog of his.

For those who want to know pretty much everything about Charles Addams, this is the book for you. But for people like me who are more interested in the artistic aspects of Addams' work, much of this book is an unnecessary foray into areas I'd rather not know about.