Charles Samuel Addams

7 January 1912 - 29 September 1988

Biography

 
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1912

  • Born January 7 to Grace M. Spear and Charles Huey Addams in Westfield, NJ

1929

  • Graduates from Westfield Senior High School

  • Attends Colgate University, Hamilton, New York

1930

  • Attends University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1931

  • Attends Grand Central School of Art, New York City

1932

  • Sells his first spot sketch to The New Yorker magazine

1933

  • Sells his first drawing to The New Yorker magazine

1940

  • Illustrates But Who Wakes the Bugler? by Peter DeVries for Houghton Mifflin Company

1942

  • Publishes his first anthology of drawings Drawn and Quartered with Random House, Inc.

1947

  • Publishes his second anthology of drawings Addams and Evil with Random House, Inc.

1950

  • Illustrates Afternoon in the Attic by John Kobler for Dodd, Mead & Company

  • Publishes his third anthology of drawings Monster Rally with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1954

  • Publishes his fourth anthology of drawings Homebodies with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1957

  • Publishes his fifth anthology of drawings Nightcrawlers with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1959

  • Publishes his compilation book Dear Dead Days with G.P. Putnam’s Sons

1960

  • Publishes his sixth anthology of drawings Black Maria with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1961

  • Donates 39 finished and preliminary drawings to the Museum of the City of New York

1962

  • Donates 33 preliminary drawings to the Museum of the City of New York

  • Drawn and Quartered is re-released by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1964

  • The Addams Family television series premiers on ABC

  • Publishes his seventh anthology of drawings The Groaning Board with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1965

  • Monster Rally is re-released by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1967

  • Publishes The Chas Addams Mother Goose with Windmill Books, Inc.

1970

  • Publishes his eighth anthology of drawings My Crowd with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1976

  • Publishes his ninth anthology of drawings Favorite Haunts with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1980

  • Receives Honorary Doctorate from University of Pennsylvania

1981

  • Publishes his tenth anthology of drawings Creature Comforts with Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1983

  • Receives Honorary Doctorate from Southampton College, Southampton, New York

1984

  • Participant in A Year at the New Yorker exhibition at the National Academy of Design, New York City

1988

  • Dies during the morning of September 29 in his car in front of his apartment at West 54th Street in New York City

POSTHUMOUS

1991

  • The Estate of Charles Addams publishes The World of Charles Addams with Alfred A. Knopf.

  • Tee Addams donates 70 Addams drawings to The New York Public Library, New York City

  • The Addams Family movie released by Paramount Pictures

1992

  • The Charles Addams Gallery on the third floor of The New York Public Library is dedicated for “permanent rotating exhibition of Addams works from their collection” (NOTE: Removed from service in 2000)

1993

  • Addams Family Values movie released by Paramount Pictures

1999

  • Formation of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation

2002

  • The Foundation publishes an updated version of The Charles Addams Mother Goose with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

2004

  • The Foundation and the Children’s Museum of the East End inaugurate the Charles Addams Festival: Cartooning for Kids

2005

  • The Foundation publishes Chas Addams Half-Baked Cookbook: Culinary Cartoons for the Humorously Famished with Simon & Schuster

2006

  • The Foundation publishes Chas Addams Happily Ever After: A Collection of Cartoons to Chill the Heart of Your Loved One with Simon & Schuster

  • Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life by Linda H. Davis is published by Random House, Inc.

2009

  • The Addams Family: A New Musical opens in Chicago for out-of-town tryouts

2010

  • The Foundation publishes The Addams Family: An Evilution with Pomegranate Communications, Inc.

  • The Addams Family: A New Musical opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City

2011

  • The Addams Family: An Evilution is published in Japanese and in Italian

  • Addams Family Musical launches North American tour

2012

  • Addams Family Musical (A Familia Addams/Los Locos Addams) launches South America tour to Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Mexico

  • Theatrical Rights Worldwide, NYC represents Addams Family Musical for non-equity licenses

2013

  • Addams Family Musical launches USA/Asia tour

2016

  • The Addams Family: An Evilution is published in French

2017

  • Addams Family Musical launches United Kingdom tour

  • Addams Family Musical opens in Paris

2018

  • Comic-Con presents Charles Addams with Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award San Diego, California

2019

  • MGM releases The Addams Family animated film worldwide

  • The Foundation publishes Addams’ Apple: The New York Cartoons of Charles Addams with Pomegranate Communications, Inc.

2020

  • NPR Education and Playbill Magazine report Addams Family Musical as Number One musical performed by US high schools for the past five years (Number 2 in 2018)

  • Charles Addams inducted into New Jersey Hall of Fame

  • Westfield, NJ continues its third year of AddamsFest activities and virtual events through October

  • The Foundation presents a bronze bust of Charles Addams to his birthplace Town of Westfield, NJ in celebration of its 300th Anniversary