:Ken Weatherwax

{{Infobox person

| name = Ken Weatherwax

| image = Pugsley Addams 1964.jpg

| caption = A 1964 publicity still for The Addams Family

| birth_name = {{nowrap|Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| birth_date = {{birth date|1955|9|29}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2014|12|7|1955|9|29}}

| death_place = West Hills, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery

| occupation = Actor

| spouse =

| yearsactive = 1964–1966, 1977

| family = Joey D. Vieira (half-brother)
Ruby Keeler (aunt)

}}

Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax (September 29, 1955 – December 7, 2014) was an American child actor best known for having played Pugsley Addams on The Addams Family.

Early life

Weatherwax was born in Los Angeles into a show-business family. His aunt was actress and dancer Ruby Keeler. Beginning in 1954, his half-brother, Joey D. Vieira, played Porky on the first three seasons of Lassie under the stage name of Donald Keeler. Ken Weatherwax's uncles were Frank and Rudd Weatherwax, Lassie's trainers and owners of the first dog to play the role.{{cite news |title=Ken Weatherwax, Pugsley on 'The Addams Family', Dies at 59 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/arts/television/ken-weatherwax-pugsley-on-the-addams-family-dies-at-59.html |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=December 9, 2014}}

Career

Weatherwax made his acting debut in the early 1960s when he was age 9, playing a boy named Chester in a commercial for Gleem toothpaste.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/219043744/ |title=Toothpaste to Witchery |first=Hal |last=Humphrey |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=January 17, 1965 |access-date=February 5, 2018}} He was cast as Pugsley Addams on The Addams Family. The program ran for two seasons from 1964 to 1966. After its cancellation, Weatherwax found he was typecast as Pugsley and lost interest in acting.

As Weatherwax matured, he lost his chubby physique. He entered the U.S. Army at age 17{{cite journal |last=Barnes |first=Mike |title=Ken Weatherwax, Who Played Pugsley on TV's 'Addams Family,' Dies at 59 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ken-weatherwax-dead-pugsley-addams-754825 |journal=The Hollywood Reporter |issn=0018-3660 |date=December 8, 2014}} and, at age 21, he reprised the role of Pugsley in the 1977 reunion film Halloween with the New Addams Family, although Pugsley was now shown as a tall, muscular character. He established a career behind the camera as a movie studio grip and set builder, and made occasional appearances at Addams Family-related events with former costar Lisa Loring, who had played Pugsley's younger sister Wednesday Addams on the show. The two remained lifelong friends.{{cite journal| title=Ken Weatherwax, Pugsley on 'The Addams Family', Dies at 59| url=https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/pugsley-the-addams-family-dead-ken-weatherwax-1201374159| journal=Variety| issn=0042-2738| date=December 8, 2014}}

Death

Weatherwax died on December 7, 2014, of a heart attack at his home in West Hills, California, at the age of 59.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-ken-weatherwax-dies-20141208-story.html |title='The Addams Family' star Ken Weatherwax dead at 59 |first=Ryan |last=Parker| work=Los Angeles Times |date=8 December 2014}} Via a crowdfunding campaign, the owner of Dearly Departed Tours & Artifact Museum raised the funds to have Weatherwax interred in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood in 2017.{{cite news | url=https://www.laweekly.com/on-halloween-a-deceased-child-star-gets-the-sendoff-he-deserves | title=On Halloween, a Deceased Child Star Gets the Sendoff He Deserves | first=James | last=Bartlett | work=LA Weekly| date=October 19, 2017}} A portion of his cremated remains are located at Dearly Departed Tours & Artifact Museum.{{Cn|date=March 2024}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1964–1966	The Addams Family	Pugsley Addams	64 episodes
1977	Halloween with the New Addams Family	Pugsley Sr	TV movie

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1964–1966

The Addams Family

Pugsley Addams

64 episodes

1977

Halloween with the New Addams Family

Pugsley Sr