Felix Silla obit

Felix Silla Dies: Cousin Itt On TV’s ‘The ‘Addams Family’ Was 84

 

He was not on the list.

Felix Silla, best known as the gibberish-spouting Cousin Itt on the 1960s TV sitcom The Addams Family, died today from pancreatic cancer. He was 84 and died in Las Vegas, according to a tweet from Gil Gerard, who costarred with him on the 1979-81 NBC series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Silla donned a full-body hairpiece, sunglasses and a bowler hat to achieve the role of Cousin Itt, who could only be understood by members of the Addams Family, thanks to his strange mumbling. The role was one of several where Silla’s face went unseen, including appearances as robot Twiki on Buck Rogers and as a hang-gliding Ewok in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi.

One role where he could be seen was as the villain Litvak, who took on George Segal’s Sam Spade Jr. in The Maltese Falcon sequel The Black Bird (1975).

Born in Italy, Silla was just under 4 feet tall and weighed a scant 70 pounds. He came to the US in 1955 and toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a trapeze artist and tumbler. He came to Hollywood in 1962 and worked as a stuntman.

His skills and slight stature led to a number of roles, including the Gig Young-Shirley Jones comedy film A Ticklish Affair, the Bonanza episode Hoss and the Leprechauns, and in the Star Trek pilot The Cage in 1965. He played a goblin and a troll on an episode of Bewitched. He was Dink on Spaceballs and a creature in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.

He later appeared in Planet of the Apes (1968), Demon Seed (1977) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). He did stunt work in a number of big pictures, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, The Golden Child and Batman Returns (1992), among many other films.

On TV, he was a regular performer for Sid and Marty Krofft on H.R. Pufnstuf and Lidsville.

Silla debuted on The Addams Family in 1965 in an episode where a zookeeper wanted to put him in a cage. The character was created by a producer and was not in the Charles Addams cartoons that were the inspiration for the TV series. Cousin Itt’s voice was also not Silla – instead, it was provided by sound engineer Tony Magro in post-production.)

He went on to appear as Cousin Itt 17 times on the show, which became a fan favorite largely in its endless syndication run.

Silla provided the voice of Mortimer Goth from the video game The Sims 2 in 2005.

In part due to his short stature of 1.19 m (3 ft 11 in), he often doubled for children in such movies as The Towering Inferno, The Hindenburg, and Battlestar Galactica. Between movies, he frequently appeared in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, night clubs with his own musical combo, The Original Harmonica Band. in 2005, he had a small role in indie film Characters.

Felix Silla was born in the small village of Roccacasale, Abruzzo, Italy. He trained as a circus performer and came to the United States aged 18, in 1955, touring with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. His multiple talents as a bareback horse rider, trapeze artist, and tumbler brought him to Hollywood, where he became a stuntman, starting with the Gig Young–Shirley Jones vehicle, A Ticklish Affair.

Survivors include his wife, Sue, whom he married in 1965, and their children, Bonnie and Michael. No memorial plans have been announced.

Production          Role

Planet of the Apes           Baby Gorilla

Little Cigars         Frankie

Black Bird            Litwak

Batman Returns                Emperor Penguin

The Jungle Book                King Louie

Spaceballs           The Dinks

House   Little Critter

Meatballs Part 2               Meathead

The Brood           Creature

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century                Twiki

Demon Seed      Baby

Kentucky Fried Movie     Crazed Clown

SSSSSSS                Sam Lee

Point Blank         Bellhop

She Freak             Shorty

The Adventure of Galgameth      Baby Galgameth

Return of the Jedi             Ewok

Poltergeist          Stunts

Towering Inferno             Stunts

Earthquake         Stunts

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!        Stunts

A Ticklish Affair Stunts

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Stunts

Howard the Duck             Stunts

When Time Ran Out        Stunts

               

Production          Role

E.T.         Stunts

Addam's Family                 Cousin Itt

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century                Twiki

H.R. Pufnstuf     Puppet

Red Skeleton      Boy Scout

Married With Children   Alien

Jerry Lewis Show              Various

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark          Creature

Matt Houston    Robot

Dukes of Hazzard              Visitor

Hotel     Robot

Imogene Coca Show        Comic Relief

George Burns Show         Robot

The Monkees    Circus Clown

Bonanza               Leprechaun

Sonny and Cher Show     Various

Jonathon Winters Show                 Living Plant

Bewitched           Troll and Goblin

Paul Linde Show               Man in Raisin Costume

 

Commercials

Commercial        Role

McDonalds          Birdie

Jack in the Box   Customer

Vons Market      Christmas Elf

T.W.A.   Christmas Elf

Schwinn               Christmas Elf