Ken Weatherwax, the actor who played Pugsley on ABC's "The Addams Family," died over the weekend in California, a family member has confirmed. He was 59.
Weatherwax's niece, Shanyn Viera, confirmed his death on Facebook Sunday.
The actor's family reportedly plans to hold two funerals, one for fans and
one for family, according to TMZ.
"Thank you so much for all the awesome messages for the passing of my uncle Pugsley," Viera wrote in another Facebook post Monday. "That means a lot to me and my family. It's going to be a public thing for the public and then we are going to do to a private thing for just the family! He was my only uncle!! Now he is looking down and smiling and laughing and snapping his fingers to his theme song."
Weatherwax played Pugsley, the pudgy, insect-eating son of Gomez and Morticia Addams in the series than ran from 1964-66.
He reprised his role for the 1977 NBC Halloween movie "Addams Family" and also worked as a grip and set builder in Hollywood. Weatherwax and his family had several Hollywood connections.
His aunt, Rudy Keeler, was a dancer and actress who performed in the musical "42nd Street," and his uncle, Rudd Weatherwax, was
Lassie's trainer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A brother, Joey D. Vieira, played Porky Brockway on a "Lassie" TV series and had small parts in such films such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in 1986 and "The Patriot" in 2000.
Weatherwax said in a 2007 Fox News interview that, while he felt fortunate to land "The Addams Family" role, finding work in Hollywood was difficult after the series ended because of
typecasting, according to the BBC News. He added in the interview that he was teased in school about the character's name.
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