Cousin Itt
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Cousin Itt is a member of the fictional Addams Family in the 1964 television series. Unlike the other characters, Cousin Itt was not created by cartoonist Charles Addams, but by producer David Levy, though he did appear in Addams' cartoons from time to time after the TV series premiered.
Itt Addams is the cousin of Gomez Addams, and is arguably the most enigmatic member of The Addams Family. He is a short being whose entire body is completely covered with (and perhaps comprised entirely of, like Gossamer in Warner Brothers animation) long, straight (though sometimes curly or shaggy) hair that starts at the crown of his head and extends to his feet. His hair color changed throughout the years but in the 1998 Addams Family TV series his hair color was blond. He usually wears sunglasses, a derby hat, and gloves. He speaks in a high-pitched gibberish language which the other members of the family can understand but is incomprehensible to others. The Addamses find nothing odd about Itt's appearance, and in one episode of the series, Gomez was surprised by the idea that other people could not understand Itt's speech.
Cousin Itt was never a regular character in any incarnation of the family. He did not live in the mansion with the main characters, although he made frequent guest appearances when he would visit them. In this way, he was a recurring character, though not a main character. Although known to spend time in the chimney, Itt has his own room in the mansion, furnished in proportion to his size and with a low ceiling. He is depicted as a carefree bachelor with an extravagant lifestyle, and is renowned among the Addamses for his many female companions. He had an on-again/off-again relationship with Morticia's sister Ophelia.
In the 1960s television series, Cousin Itt was played by actor Felix Silla and had a "voice" created by sound engineer Tony Magro. In one episode, Cousin Itt took elocution lessons and developed a (dubbed) voice with a mellifluous, mid-Atlantic accent; this voice did not survive into future episodes.
In the second animated series from Hanna-Barbera, Itt's voice was done by Pat Fraley. In this series, Itt worked for the US Government as a powerful super-spy, who was nicknamed by the kids as "Agent Double-O Itt". Itt was also the leader of a gang of bikers called the Haircurllers.
In the movie, The Addams Family (1991), Cousin Itt had an affair with Margaret, the wife of Tully, the corrupt lawyer trying to get his hands on the Addamses' money. In the sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), Margaret and Itt are married (as Tully is dead after being buried alive by Pugsley and Wednesday) and have a baby (a miniature version of Itt), aptly nicknamed "What" (his wife says that it was the first words out of the obstetrician's mouth upon seeing the baby. What's actual name was never revealed). Itt was portrayed in the movies by John Franklin, aside from Addams Family Reunion, where he was portrayed by Phil Fondacaro. His appearance in the movies is largely unchanged, although his hair is straighter and his voice is squeakier than in the TV series.
Cousin Itt is known as "Tío Cosa" (Uncle Thing) in Latin America.
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