Google Celebrates Addams Family Creator in Grim Doodle

Google celebrated the work of famed cartoonist Charles Addams, creator of the Addams Family. Over the weekend, it featured a Google doodle with the main members of the family and the Google logo letters, of course.

Addams worked as a cartoonist for his entire life and first created the characters that the world would grow to love in a series of cartoons for The New Yorker starting in 1938 and running until 1988, 50 years later.

The family went on to conquer other mediums, starting with a TV show in the 60s and later an animated one, and continuing with full length movies, video games and even a Broadway musical.

"Of the thousands of works Charlie published in his 55 years of cartooning, only 150 were devoted to the group of characters who became known as The Addams Family," H. Kevin Miserocchi, executive director, Tee and Charles Addams Foundation, wrote in a guest post talking about the man that inspired the Google doodle.

"But the perfectly off-center humor behind these characters won worldwide adoration even before they became the television and film family we know today," he explained.

"Even for those who never had the thrill of knowing the classy gentleman behind this unique art, Charlie’s family continues to capture the hearts of new generations of cartoon aficionados. We hope today’s doodle inspires you to seek out more of his work," he added.

Thanks to Google's new doodle site, there is also the opportunity to find out the story behind the doodles. Previously, Google only published a blog post for very special doodles.

Now, most of them have at least a small story about why they're important and how Google created them. Doodles have become more elaborate over the years and many Google users have come to welcome the distraction. What's more, they're all an invitation to discover.