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"Enid: Where's the rest of him?
Wednesday: It's one of the great Addams family mysteries.
"
-Enid and Wednesday about Thing[src]

Thing T. Thing, referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in the The Addams Family. Thing is a disembodied hand who performs various useful functions for the family, a "handservant".

Biography[]

Thing, a mysterious, helpful, and charismatic creature often depicted as a severed hand, was based on New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams (aka Chaz Addams), as with most Addams Family characters. One of the earliest depictions showed a shocked mailman reacting to a sign posted on The Addams Family Mansion warning, "Beware of the Thing." In the book The Addams Family: An Evilution, which includes a comprehensive collection of all the Addams Family original cartoons, there is a chapter dedicated to Thing. In this chapter (and elsewhere in the book), there are several depictions of a fully formed Thing, head, body, hands, and all. Often drawn peeking out from closets and cabinets or tucked away in some other capacity (even and frequently being carried around in an animal crate, poking his face and fingers through the bars), it is tough to see all of Thing. Yet, in special cases, there is undeniable proof of his entire body: head, torso, legs, feet, arms, and, of course, hands. A caption-less illustration of the family running out from the house, across the street to the graveyard, even suggests Thing has not only 2, but 8 legs (pg. 35). The precise age of the original Thing is tough to pin down, sometimes looking younger than Pugsley, sometimes older than Granny, and even once smoking a pipe.

Among Thing's many useful functions are retrieving mail, lighting cigars for Gomez Addams, switching the channel on the Addams TV, holding Morticia Addams' wool while she knits, transforming grapes into wine in less than a minute, and flipping records on the phonograph (especially when Gomez and Morticia dance the tango). He rides in the glove box with the family on drives, and in one episode when Gomez appears in court, he emerges from his briefcase. Grandmama and Thing enjoy arm wrestling. In a flashback episode on how Gomez and Morticia met, it is uncovered that Thing has been with the Addams family since Gomez himself was a kid, proposing that Thing is the child of a prior age of hand-workers.

Morticia is always very appreciative of Thing's services, and her frequent "Why thank you, Thing" is one of the best known lines of the series. Thing cannot talk, but he does sometimes snap his fingers to attract attention, and is also able to communicate by signaling in Morse code, writing, or with the help of the manual alphabet. Visitors to the Addams Mansion may find this to be very unsettling; In some episodes, as a running gag, a visitor to the Addams household expresses her sincere gratitude to the family and enthusiastically shakes hands with everyone in attendance, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Addams! "Thank you, Mrs. Addams!" Thing then gives them a handshake. And thank you---" begins the visitor before recoiling in inarticulate shock, realizing who and what they have encountered, and leaving the premises.

In one episode, Morticia gets goosed, initially suspecting Thing, who had been nearby moments earlier. However, Gomez immediately appears and admits responsibility, explaining, "Thing just likes to hold hands."

The Original Addams Family Series[]

In the 1960s television series, Thing was usually played by Ted Cassidy, who also played the lugubrious butler Lurch, although in occasional cases where the two characters appeared in the same scene, Thing would be played by a crew member. Thing customarily emerges from a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams' mansion, although he occasionally emerged from behind a curtain, within a plant pot, or elsewhere. Since Cassidy was 6' 9", using him to depict Thing caused technical difficulties on the set of The Addams Family. He had to lay on his back and be wheeled on a trolley, below the line of sight of the cameras, and inserted his arm through the bottom of the box. Thing was usually a right hand, but Cassidy sometimes played him as a left hand, simply to see if anyone would notice. Thing is credited as "itself" at the end of each episode.

The New Scooby-Doo Movies[]

To be added

The Addams Family (animated 1973)[]

To be added

Halloween with the New Addams Family[]

He is played by Ted Cassidy.

The Addams Family (1991)[]

He is played by Christopher Hart.

The Addams Family (animated 1992)[]

To be added

Addams Family Values[]

He is played by Christopher Hart.

Addams Family Reunion[]

He is played by Christopher Hart.

The New Addams Family Series[]

For the 1998 revived series, The New Addams Family, where Thing is portrayed by Steven Fox. His classic box only appears in one episode of the series (the remake of "Thing's Romance"); in others, it is revealed that he lives in a closet that has been modified as his own little "house-within-a-house."

The Addams Family: A New Musical[]

An ensemble member plays his hand.

The Addams Family (2019)[]

In the 2019 film, Thing is able to evacuate due to Grandmama. The newly-married Morticia and Gomez decide to move to New Jersey, a place "no one would be caught dead in." There, Gomez, Morticia, and Thing find their "perfect" home in an abandoned asylum on a hill. They meet Lurch, an escaped mental patient whom they hit when Thing was distracted driving the car, and immediately recruit him as their butler. This version of Thing wears a wristwatch with a functional eye in it, allowing him to see and show some emotion.

The Addams Family 2[]

Thing wears a fingerless glove.

Wednesday Series[]

In the Netflix Wednesday (series), Thing has Frankenstein's monster-like scars.

Thing is first seen in "Chapter I: Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe" dropping out of the bottom of the Addams family car.

In fencing class, Thing is seen hiding behind furniture, keeping close to Wednesday without her seeing him.

After Wednesday goes and leaves the infirmary, Thing is seen hiding behind the watercooler.

In her dorm, Wednesday sits typing. Thing gets onto her bed and under her covers, but in the process makes noise alerting Wednesday. She finds him, and as he tries to get away, she grabs him. Wednesday then reveals that she knew that he was following her, as she could smell his hand lotion. Wednesday holds Thing down until he surrenders. She gives him the option of being locked in a drawer for the rest of the semester or pledging his loyalty to her. He chooses loyalty.

Thing is briefly seen in Wednesday's backpack. He hands her a nail file, and she uses it to open the window in the powder room and escape onto the roof.

While Wednesday plays her cello, Thing turns her sheet music. After she is done, he asks her if she feels better, to which she replies that she does not. Enid comes out onto the balcony, and when she sees Thing, she asks where the rest of him is. He drops from the music stand and goes back into the dorm.

Wednesday writes Enid's number on Thing and sends him to Tyler's house. Once at Tyler's house, Thing knocks on his window. Once the window is open, Thing enters Tyler's room, narrowly missing being hit with a baseball bat. After Tyler failed to hit him several times, Thing took the bat from him and threw it to the side. He then commands Tyler to sit down and call Wednesday. At being called a pet, Thing flips the middle finger up at Tyler.

Description[]

Thing's precise nature was never revealed, and it is unknown whether he had once been attached to a human body or whether he had originated as an independent creature. It is clear, however, from the television show that Thing was not unique. In episode #38, "Morticia Meets Royalty," Princess Millicent von Schlepp arrived and produced an elaborate box from which a distinctly feminine hand (played by Carolyn Jones) emerged. Thing promptly fell in love. The female Thing has an actual name, Lady Fingers, and, in episode #23, it is found that Thing, too, has a full name: "Thing T. Thing," the "T" standing for "Thing." At least one other Thing appears on-screen: when Lady Fingers leaves Princess von Schlepp's service, she is replaced by "Esmeralda," a rather hideous old female claw with jewels and nasty black pointy fingernails. In the episode "Thing is Missing", a picture was shown supposedly of his parents. The picture only showed male and female hands holding hands. It would appear that "Things" are common among the family's associates.

In the films, thanks to advances in special effects, Thing (performed by Christopher Hart) is able to emerge and run on his fingertips, much like a spider.

Personality[]

He can change vacation plans as he causes them to go to Niagara Falls instead of Salem in the cartoon Addams Family sequel.

Thing bonds with people he finds to be loyal, aside from Family Addams members, as he did with Enid Sinclair in the Wednesday series. On the other hand, he may be snarky and rude, giving obscene gestures to people who insult him, as seen when Tyler Galpin called him Wednesday's pet. During the course of the show, Thing is also very polite at following orders from companions for certain tasks, but when mistreated, he gets desperate, such as when Wednesday tells him to follow Weems, who used her shapeshifting to impersonate Rowan Laslow, but lose the trail, which disappoints Wednesday, and he provides his service to Enid, to whom he opens up his feelings towards being mad at Addams for not treating him as a person. Afterwards, he reads a magazine on Enid’s bed, where Wednesday tries to apologize, but instead he ignores her and shows emotional blackmail until she explains herself, which works as she tells him there’s a prophecy of her being responsible for dooming Nevermore, which she has to prevent, and Thing pats his hand on hers, showing deep care in standing by her side to help.

Then at the Poe Cup, he aids in helping the Blackcats by triggering the defensive on their boat and following orders from Enid to distract other competitors. When Kent almost tips the boat over, he swims underneath to punch Kent in the face, leading them to victory.

Thing has a heartfelt effort in caring for the two young girls, as when Enid suggested that Wednesday shouldn’t wear the dress she first wore in arriving at Nevermore, she should buy a new one for the Rave'N, and he agrees with a thumbs up. When Wednesday runs into Tyler, he gets desperate when hearing she was going to the dance with Xavier, and Thing briefly emerges out of her bag, attempting to engage in a conversation with her only to be told not to, so he instead writes a note as an invitation for Tyler to find in the tip jar from Wednesday, who later that night realized he wrote it in genuine and sweet language for Wednesday to accept going with him, and the disembodied hand also bought a black dress for her to wear.

Thing’s caretaking skills for both Wednesday and Enid are very parental-like as he plays a good matchmaker (i.e., when going on a field trip, Enid was hoping to get an assessment with Ajax, so he took a peek into his task, which Wednesday informed her to successfully ask him on a date. On the other hand, when Tyler asked Wednesday on a date to Crackstone’s crib, he waved goodbye to her knowing she was in denial about liking him.)

He can be a bit perverted most times, as when Wednesday was about to change into the new dress, he leans forward on the rail of her bed only to turn another direction once she tells him not to watch, which he does after taking a short peep but completely looks away, and after Enid’s first "wolfing out," she transforms back to human form, totally nude and covered with the blood of her injuries, to hold her hand in comfort, more concerned about supporting her being in pain, which shows gentlemanly behavior towards female privacy and dignity.

Even doing the same for their friends, as when Wednesday asked for him to watch over Eugene after he was hospitalized, he did exactly that, and when Xavier was in handcuffs, he released him out of sympathy.

Thing also happens to hold a grudge over certain situations, like when Fester visits, he angrily grumps towards the latter for a previous job that went wrong, which he claims wasn’t his fault, only to have the disembodied hand lunge and strangle his throat until Wednesday orders him to stop.

Powers / Abilities / Weaknesses[]

Powers[]

To be added

Abilities[]

  • Sentience - Thing has a very high level of intelligence, is independent and occasionally aggressive.
  • Pantomiming - Thing is unable to emit any sound, only communicating through mimic.

Weaknesses[]

To be added

Relationships[]

Lady Fingers[]

Thing meets Landyfingers

Lady Fingers is a handmaiden, as well as the counterpart and fiancé of Thing. She accompanies Princess Millicent von Schlepp (aka Aunt Millie), when the latter visits the Addams family. She falls in love with Thing, but is separated from him when Millicent goes to a hotel. She mopes and droops until she is fired. However, her replacement, Esmeralda, turns out to be a thief, and she soon gets her job back. Millicent is planning a round-the-world trip, but Thing will wait for her and give her an engagement ring.

Her father used to be Millicent's footman.

Pinky[]

Pinky is Curly Addams' disembodied hand, presumably Thing’s ancestor.

Gomez Addams[]

Gomez Addams and Thing (2022) 001

Thing has been with the Addams family since Gomez was a child, as Thing is the son of the earliest generation of hand-servants.

Wednesday Addams[]

"Who did this to you? Knife from behind the back. Cowards. I promise that whoever did this to you will suffer. And it will be slow, long, and excruciatingly painful."
-Wednesday to Thing[src]

Thing and Wednesday Addams (2022) 003

Wednesday treats him like a member of her family. She also shows that she has a close relationship with him. Thing acts as her loyal sidekick and assistant in her investigation to find out who is responsible for all the crimes. Right when she realizes Thing suffered an attack and was mortally wounded, she storms out to Fester and pleads with him to save her friend, and after getting safe, she cries a little, relieved that she hasn't lost Thing, and she promises him that she will get revenge and will make the responsible party pay for what he did to Thing.

Enid Sinclair[]

Thing and Enid Sinclair (2022) 002

During the course of the show, Enid and Thing become close friends and are seen and mentioned doing nails for each other, doing makeup tutorials, and communicating with each other very often; she can even understand his sign language. At the end of the season, she makes him promise to keep in touch. When he goes to inform her of Wednesday being kidnapped by Laurel Gates and Tyler, Enid takes Thing with her into the woods until the blood moon begins to transform her into her full wolf form, which frightens him a bit before he goes off to free Xavier. Then later, after defeating Tyler, Thing crawls in the woods and goes over to hold Enid's hand in comfort, as her first time turning back to human caused her muscles to ache painfully before off-screen she could find and cover up with her coat to slowly walk back to the school alone.

Xavier Thorpe[]

Xavier Thorpe and Thing (2022) 001

They do not have much of a relationship, but Thing might remember the Addams family going to his godmother’s funeral, so he helps free him out of the police car to help Wednesday fight the resurrected Crackstone at Nevermore Academy.

Quotes[]

"Uncle Fester: He's gone, Wednesday.
Wednesday: No, he’s not. Thing. If you can hear me… if you die, I will kill you."
-Chapter VII: If You Don't Woe Me By Now

Appearances[]

Appears In[]

TV Series[]

The Original Addams Family Series


The New Scooby-Doo Movies

The Addams Family (animated 1973)

  • Season One
    • "To be added"

The Addams Family (animated 1992)

  • Season One
    • "To be added"
  • Season Two
    • "To be added"

The New Addams Family Series

Wednesday Series

Films and Other[]

Mentioned In[]

To be added

Etymology[]

  • Thing - To be added

Trivia[]

  • According to Wednesday, he uses hand lotion of neroli and bergamot.[1]
  • In Spain the character is called 'Cosa' (the literal translation of Thing) and in Latin America, Dedos.
  • In Brazil, he is named 'Mãozinha' meaning "little hand".
  • At first, Thing was shown living in a box. It wasn't until the first movie that thing could escort himself...which allowed Thing to be more expressive. In the CGI movies, Thing wears what looks like a wristband...allowing him to be even more expressive.
  • In 1992, Thing visited the cast of Step by Step on ABC's Saturday Morning Preview Special. He is played by Gregg Binkley.
  • On Wednesday, he is shown covered in Frankenstein-like scars.
  • The Thing is a disembodied hand (which has several precedents in the aforementioned book). So the question must be asked, "why remove the rest?" The choice to go this direction in the movies and films was probably one of viewer sensitivity as it is a lot easier to look at a silly little drawing of a strange person's head poking out of a crate and much more difficult to look at a real live human being in the same situation. It's also likely aesthetics, memetics, and artistic license played a role, given how visually striking the disembodied hand is (especially in Wednesday).

Other Hands[]

On the 1960s TV series, two similar hands were introduced in the episode "Morticia Meets Royalty":

  • Lady Fingers: a female "handmaiden" who was the servant of Cousin Millie, also known as Princess Millicent von Schlepp. When Millicent came to visit, Thing and Lady Fingers fell in love. Lady Fingers later returned in the 1977 Addams Family Halloween special and the 1998 series revival.
  • Esmeralda: another female hand hired by Millicent after firing Lady Fingers. Esmeralda turned out to be dishonest, and Millicent rehires Lady Fingers.

In the episode "Thing Is Missing", Gomez and Morticia find a portrait of Thing's parents, a male hand and a female hand. The 1990s revived series implied the existence of other hands as well.

In The New Addams Family episode "The Tale of Long John Addams", Uncle Fester's look-alike great-great-great-great-uncle Curly's hand is severed and lives on as Pinky, presumably Thing's ancestor.

External Links[]

Gallery[]

References[]

The Addams Family Main Characters
Gomez AddamsMorticia AddamsUncle FesterGrandmamaWednesday AddamsPugsley AddamsLurchThingCousin Itt
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