Felix Silla, The Addams Family's Cousin Itt, dies at 84

The Hollywood Reporter

The 3-foot-11 actor, who died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, famously played the mumbling Cousin Itt, known for his floor-length hair and bowler hat, on the 1960s ABC comedy. He went on to star as robot sidekick Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Although Silla appeared in 17 episodes of The Addams Family, Cousin Itt became his most famous role since the show lived for decades in reruns. In a 2014 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Silla said his costume was originally made with human hair. "All the guys on the set smoked," he said. "They just dropped their butts and stepped on them. The producers worried that I might step on a smoldering cigarette and go up in flames. They gave me synthetic hair, which was flame-retardant."