Ken Weatherwax facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ken Weatherwax
A 1964 publicity still for The Addams Family
Born	Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax (1955-09-29)September 29, 1955 Los Angeles, California
Died	December 7, 2014(2014-12-07) (aged 59) West Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	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.

Biography

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.

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. 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. He entered the U.S. Army at age 17 and, at age 21, he reprised the role of Pugsley in the 1977 reunion film Halloween with the New Addams Family. 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 until Weatherwax's death.

Death

Weatherwax died on December 7, 2014, of a heart attack at his home in West Hills, California, at the age of 59. The staff at Dearly Departed Tours & Artifact Museum raised the funds to have Weatherwax interred in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood in 2017. A portion of his cremated remains are located at Dearly Departed Tours & Artifact Museum.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Ken Weatherwax para niños