You rang? Ted Cassidy biography ‘Lurching Forward’ released

PHILIPPI, W.Va. (WBOY) — The authorized biography of actor Ted Cassidy was released to booksellers on Friday.

Cassidy, who was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Philippi, West Virginia is perhaps best-known for his role as Lurch, the butler on “The Addams Family.”

“Lurching Forward: Ted Cassidy’s Early Life from Cradle to Creature” by biographer Christofer Cook is available on Amazon .

Cook has been writing the book over the course of the last four years, and it chronicles Cassidy’s life from birth through the broadcast of the final episode of The Addams Family.

There’s a heavy focus on Cassidy’s formative years in Barbour County.

“I have to be honest with you, that’s some of my favorite parts to write about,” Cook told 12 News. “Because I was able to listen to 1930’s and 1940’s music while I was imagining what it might have been like to have lived in small-town Appalachia, you know, during the 1930s—during the Great Depression.”

The book includes a foreword by Cassidy’s son, Sean, who appeared in costume and make-up at last year’s LurchFest in Philippi as “Son of Lurch.”

A limited number of copies of the book will be available purchase at an official launch party the night before LurchFest 2024 . The book launch will happen on Aug. 2 at 6:30 at the 17 North Event Center on Main Street in Philippi .

Cook and Sean Cassidy will be on hand to autograph the books, meet and greet and take photos with fans.

The fourth annual LurchFest will be held in Philippi on Saturday, Aug. 3.

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