Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester, also known as Fester Addams, is a member of the fictional Addams Family. He was played by Jackie Coogan in the original television series, by Christopher Lloyd in the two feature films, and by Patrick Thomas in the direct-for-video film Addams Family Reunion. Finally, Michael Roberds played Fester in The New Addams Family. In the Broadway musical, the part was originated by Kevin Chamberlin, with Brad Oscar taking over on March 8, 2011.

Character

Uncle Fester is a completely hairless, hunched, and barrel-shaped man with dark, sunken eyes and often a deranged smile. He always wears a heavy, full-length fur coat. Fester was derived from a character drawn by cartoonist Charles Addams, although these were single page cartoons, with no stories or character names. Nevertheless, the character is recognizable in a number of cartoons, both by his appearance (bald, stooping, sunken eyes) and behavior (e.g. turning the shower to a special "scalding" setting, feeding his garden plants blood plasma, and releasing an eagle on the neighbor's homing pigeons). While he is occasionally seen with the rest of the family, particularly on anthology covers, he is also seen on his own more often than the others. He is sometimes indicated to live in a small shack surrounded by wrought-iron fence.

Uncle Fester (author)

Uncle Fester is the nom de plume of Steve Preisler, author of such controversial books as Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture, and Silent Death.

Biography

Preisler gained underground fame after publishing his first book Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture in the early 1980s. He says that he got the nickname "Uncle Fester" from his college years, since he was very well known for producing explosives, and blowing things up, like the character in The Addams Family.

Preisler is an industrial chemist working in an electroplating factory he calls "the rat hole." In his spare time, he writes books. Preisler graduated in 1981 from Marquette University with a Chemistry & Biology degree. Two years later, he was arrested for methamphetamine possession and was sentenced to probation. He was arrested again in 1984 for methamphetamine charges, and put in the Waupun Correctional Institution. He says that the arrest was over a few grams of methamphetamine, but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) brought back credit card information saying that he had been buying large quantities of ephedrine, which is a precursor for methamphetamine.