Actress Lisa Loring, known to TV fans as Cricket Montgomery on As the World Turns and the original Wednesday Addams on The Addams Family, has died. She was 64.
Lisa Loring — In Memoriam
The actress’s death, after suffering a stroke, was reported on Facebook by her friend and historian Laurie Jacobson. “It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend, Lisa Loring,” Jacobson posted. “[Four] days ago she suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and high blood pressure. She had been on life support for 3 days.
“Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night,” Jacobson added. “She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams. Beautiful, kind, a loving mother, Lisa’s legacy in the world of entertainment is huge. And the legacy for her family and friends — a wealth of humor, affection and love will long play in our memories. RIP, Lisa. Damn, girl…you were a ton of fun.”
Loring was born Lisa Ann DeCines on February 16, 1958, in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, a United Nations Trust Territory. Her parents both served in the United States Navy. They divorced shortly after her birth.
From The Addams Family to the Montgomery Clan
After spending part of her childhood in Hawaii, Loring and her mother moved to Los Angeles, where she began acting. Loring landed the role of the comically solemn Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family sitcom, which starred Carolyn Jones (Myrna Clegg, Capitol) as Morticia and John Astin as Gomez. In 1980, Loring debuted as Cricket Montgomery, Lyla’s daughter, and Craig (Scott Bryce) and Margo’s sister, on As the World Turns.
Cricket had a few romantic entanglements, including one with Eric Hollister (Peter Reckell, who plays Bo Brady on Days of our Lives). A few years later, Cricket moved to California with her husband Ernie Ross, last appearing on ATWT in 1984. Curiously, the character of Cricket appeared to drop from people’s memories. She was rarely mentioned, and Cricket did not return either for her mother Lyla’s (Anne Sward) wedding to Casey (Bill Shanks) in 1987 or to support Lyla after Casey’s death in 1990. In 2008, Margo (Ellen Dolan) was seen having a brief one-way phone call with Cricket on the occasion of Margo and Tom’s (Scott Holmes) 25th wedding anniversary.
Lisa Loring — Addams Family Reunion
In the late 1980s, Loring continued to act, appearing in slasher films Blood Frenzy, Iced, and Savage Harbor. The actress was married four times; her first husband was Farrell Foumberg, her second was actor Doug Stevenson (ex-Lee Sentell, Search for Tomorrow), then, she wed adult film actor Jerry Butler, and, lastly, she got hitched to Graham Ritch. In 1997, Loring reprised her role of Wednesday, reuniting with several of her former castmates in the TV movie Halloween with the New Addams Family.
Loring’s death has come at a time when her Addams Family character has experienced a resurgence with the Netflix series Wednesday, which stars Jenna Ortega in the title role.
The actress is survived by her two children, Vanessa Ann Foumberg and Marianne Stevenson. Soap Hub sends condolences to Loring’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.
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