<P> In the 1960s television series, Thing--strictly speaking, a disembodied forearm, since it occasionally emerged from its box at near - elbow length--was usually played by Ted Cassidy, who also played the lugubrious butler Lurch . The two characters occasionally appeared in the same scene (in which case Thing would be played by a crew member, notably assistant director Jack Voglin). Thing customarily emerged from a series of boxes, one in each room in the Addams' mansion, and the mailbox outside . It occasionally emerged from behind a curtain, within a plant pot, or elsewhere . </P> <P> In the later films, thanks to advances in special effects, Thing (played by Christopher Hart) is able to emerge and run on its fingertips, much like a spider . In Addams Family Values Thing is shown driving a car into Debbie, in order to rescue Uncle Fester . After this, Fester gets into the car and Thing drives them off to the Addams Family Mansion, albeit erratically, frightening Fester in the process . This is also true for the 1998 series, The New Addams Family, where Thing was played by Canadian magician / actor Steven Fox, who hails from Toronto . Its 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 its own little "house - within - a-house". </P> <P> Since Cassidy was 6' 9" (2.06 m) tall, using him to depict Thing caused great technical difficulties on the set of The Addams Family . In many scenes he lay on his back on a wheeled 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 it as left, simply to see if anyone would notice . Thing is credited as "itself" at the end of each episode . </P> <P> In the musical, Thing only appears in the beginning, when he opens the curtain . He is played by a member of the ensemble . In the tour version, Pugsley carries it on a pillow at Wednesday's and Lucas's wedding, while it holds the ring . </P>

How did they film thing in the addams family
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