# Ken Weatherwax
**Ken Weatherwax** (Kenneth Patrick Weatherwax; September 29, 1955 – December 7, 2014) was an American child actor best known for playing [Pugsley Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pugsley-addams), the son of Gomez and Morticia, on the ABC television comedy *The Addams Family* from 1964 to 1966[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ken-weatherwax). After the series ended he found few acting jobs, served in the U.S. Army at 17, and spent most of his working life behind the camera as a motion picture studio grip[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1955, Los Angeles; December 7, 2014, aged 59, of a heart attack[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ken-weatherwax) |
| Signature role | Pugsley Addams on *The Addams Family* (ABC, 1964–1966, two seasons, 64 episodes)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ken-weatherwax) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/) |
| Cast at age nine | A nine-year-old fourth grader when cast; the role marked his series-TV debut after toothpaste commercials and a *Wagon Train* appearance[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html) |
| Later Addams roles | Voiced Pugsley in the 1970s animated series; played Pugsley Sr. in the 1977 TV movie *Halloween with the New Addams Family*[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html) • [5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2014/12/08/Ken-Weatherwax-Pugsley-from-TVs-The-Addams-Family-dies/2011418085395/) |
| Behind the camera | Worked roughly 30 years as a studio grip and set builder; retired in the mid-2000s for health reasons[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/) |
| Family | Half-brother of actor Joey D. Vieira (Porky on *Lassie*); nephew by report of 1930s musical star Ruby Keeler and of Rudd Weatherwax, trainer of the first television Lassie[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html) |
## Pugsley and The Addams Family
*The Addams Family* was built on the single-panel *New Yorker* cartoons of [Charles Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-addams), and it premiered on ABC the day after *Bewitched* in September 1964, running two seasons[6](https://device.report/m/b09788dff08212ca401a0f3790df4415c573e78ea11e8084d1b07447164e78df.pdf). Weatherwax played Pugsley, the oldest child, usually seen in a striped shirt and shorts[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-ken-weatherwax-dies-20141208-story.html). On television the character was less sinister than in Addams's cartoons: a jovial inventor who built a disintegrator gun, a computer, and a robot[8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/ken-weatherwax-child-actor-who-found-roles-difficult-to-come-by-after-playing-pugsley-in-the-1960s-series-the-addams-family-9922231.html). The show was never a critical success, but its finger-snapping Vic Mizzy theme song kept the characters familiar long after cancellation[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-ken-weatherwax-dies-20141208-story.html).
Weatherwax came to the role through a show-business family: a contemporary trade profile described him as following in the footsteps of his older half-brother, who played Porky on *Lassie*, and noted that the Pugsley job was his series debut after appearances in many commercials[4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf). His earliest acting work was a Gleem toothpaste commercial, in which he played a boy named Chester[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/).
## After the series
When the show ended in 1966, typecasting limited his options. In a 2007 interview with [Fox News](https://www.edgepedia.org/fox-news)' Bill O'Reilly he said, "Frankly, I didn't deal with it very well. I was kicked out of about six or seven schools and ended up in the service at the age of 17"[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html). He did return to the character twice: voicing Pugsley in a 1970s animated series and appearing as the adult Pugsley Sr. in the 1977 television movie *[Halloween with the New Addams Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween-with-the-new-addams-family)*[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html).
His main career thereafter was technical. He worked as a grip, a lighting and rigging technician, on Hollywood productions for about 30 years, and as of 2002 had spent ten years as a set builder on movie lots[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/). He told ABC News in 2006, "I like it on the other side of the camera just fine"[2](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html).
## Death
Weatherwax died of a heart attack on December 7, 2014, at his home in California, at age 59; the death was reported by his half-brother Joey D. Vieira and his niece Shanyn Vieira[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ken-weatherwax) • [9](https://time.com/3624820/pugsley-addams-family-ken-weatherwax/). Reports differ on the location: the Los Angeles Times and IMDb place his home in West Hills, Los Angeles, while UPI, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post give Box Canyon, California[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/) • [5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2014/12/08/Ken-Weatherwax-Pugsley-from-TVs-The-Addams-Family-dies/2011418085395/). His family told TMZ they planned two funeral services, one private and one for fans[5](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2014/12/08/Ken-Weatherwax-Pugsley-from-TVs-The-Addams-Family-dies/2011418085395/).
## References
1. [Ken Weatherwax, Television Academy bios](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/ken-weatherwax)
2. [Ken Weatherwax dies at 59; actor was Pugsley on 'The Addams Family', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ken-weatherwax-20141210-story.html)
3. [Ken Weatherwax, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915797/)
4. [Who's Who in Television No. 15, World Radio History archive](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/Who%27s-Who-in-Television-No-15.pdf)
5. [Ken Weatherwax, Pugsley from TV's "The Addams Family," dies, UPI](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2014/12/08/Ken-Weatherwax-Pugsley-from-TVs-The-Addams-Family-dies/2011418085395/)
6. [Prime-Time Television (encyclopedia entry, device.report)](https://device.report/m/b09788dff08212ca401a0f3790df4415c573e78ea11e8084d1b07447164e78df.pdf)
7. ['The Addams Family' star Ken Weatherwax dead at 59, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-ken-weatherwax-dies-20141208-story.html)
8. [Ken Weatherwax obituary, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/ken-weatherwax-child-actor-who-found-roles-difficult-to-come-by-after-playing-pugsley-in-the-1960s-series-the-addams-family-9922231.html)
9. [The Actor Who Played the Son on The Addams Family TV Series Has Died, Time](https://time.com/3624820/pugsley-addams-family-ken-weatherwax/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Child and youth screen performers › Child performers born before 1986*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license