Pugsley from "The Addams Family" dead at 59

NEW YORK - Ken Weatherwax, who played the child character Pugsley on "The Addams Family" television series in the 1960s, has died. He was 59.

Weatherwax died of a heart attack at his Box Canyon, California, home over the weekend, said Joey D. Vieira, his half brother. Weatherwax's body was found on Sunday.

Pugsley, the son of Gomez and Morticia, was a member of the family of macabre oddballs in the television series, which aired on ABC from 1964 to 1966 with its familiar, finger-snapping theme song.

He stayed in show business after he grew up, although on the other side of the camera. Weatherwax worked as a grip on the sets of several Hollywood productions, said Vieira, a former actor himself who played the character Porky in the original "Lassie" series.

Weatherwax retired a few years ago for medical reasons, Vieira said.