The Addams Family's Creator Was Old-School Pete Davidson

Wednesday is currently a smash hit over at Netflix – and even if you haven’t watched the show yet, there’s a very good chance you’ve seen that video of Jenna Ortega dancing to The Cramps at least several thousand times by now.

But of course, there would be no Wednesday without Charles Addams, the legendary cartoonist who first created the crew of weirdos that eventually became known as The Addams Family. We’d like to take a moment to talk about Addams – not for his contributions to art or pop culture, but for his formidable dating history. 

These days, famous cartoonists aren’t typically known for hooking up with glamorous movie stars, hence why Scarlett Johansson has never been romantically linked to Garfield creator Jim Davis. But, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Addams’ macabre illustrations made him a major star, and he got his Thing in the Cousin Its of some hugely famous women. Yup, Charles Addams was basically the Pete Davidson of his day.

In addition to marrying several women who, perhaps not coincidentally, resembled his character of Morticia Addams, as described in the biography Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life by Linda H. Davis, Addams later became involved with legendary actress Greta Garbo and also Joan Fontaine, the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, while also “seeing at least four other women.”

Addams also became more than a little friendly with “the world’s most famous widow”: Jackie Kennedy, soon-to-be Jackie Onassis. Addams explained his relationship with Jackie by claiming that he was “a big friend of the Kennedys” While neither of them were ever exclusive to each other, they clearly spent a lot of time with each other; Jackie was a big fan of his cartoons, remarking “ I love Puglsey and Lurch, but my favorite is Morticia.” During one trip together, they stopped at a hotel for dinner. When the waiter told Addams that his date looked “just like Jackie Kennedy,” he simply responded: “A lot of people tell her that.” 

At the very least, Addams’ life is a good counter argument to anyone who tells you that sketching goth-y doodles isn’t a pathway to romancing the rich and famous. 

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