Tale of Two Bigfoot
Ted Cassidy is probably best known for the role as Lurch, the faithful butler on the television series The Addams Family. Cassidy, with his very deep voice also voiced dozens of cartoons for Hanna-Barbera Studios. He also narrated the opening for the TV series The Incredible Hulk during the first two seasons.
While most of the people my age have fond memories of Cassidy as Lurch, some of us in the Bigfoot community, also recognize him for his role as Bigfoot in the Six Million Dollar Man TV shows.
Standing at 6 foot 9 inches tall, Cassidy was a good fit to play the role of a bigfoot. The Six Million Dollar man episodes, staring Lee Majors, who just happens to be from my area, attempted to explain Bigfoot as being an alien robot.
There does seem to be come confusion around who played Bigfoot in The Six Million Dollar man episodes. Was it Cassidy or was it Andre the Giant? Well, it was both!
"The Secret of Bigfoot" was actually broken down into two episodes. Part one originally aired on February 1st, 1976 and part two on February 4th, 1976. The Bigfoot in those shows was played by wrestling super star Andre the Giant (André René Roussimoff). Stand at around 7 foot 5 inches tall and being as big as a mountain, Roussimoff made a great Bigfoot.
Sometimes, people credit Andre the Giant for the later Six Million Dollar episodes in which Cassidy played the role of Bigfoot.
Episode "Bigfoot V" aired on October 9th, 1977 and featured Ted Cassidy as Bigfoot. The storyline, which continued the alien theme, picked up with Bigfoot being left behind by his alien creators and while attempting to adapt to living on Earth, goes on a rampage.
Next up was, "The Return of Bigfoot Part 1" where a splinter group has formed and are using Bigfoot to commit robberies. The Bigfoot once again was played by Ted Cassidy and the show aired on September 19th, 1976.
Then there was The Bionic Woman cross over episode entitled "The Return of Bigfoot Part 2" which aired on September 22nd, 1976. This was a marketing attempt to get viewers to watch season 2 of The Bionic Woman. The Bigfoot in this episode was once again played by Ted Cassidy.
Both men, Cassidy and Roussimoff, made great bigfoot characters. While they shared many similarities in size, success and as roles playing Bigfoot, the two men also share a couple of rather ominous similarity.
Both men died at the ripe old age of 46 years old. Cassidy died in 1979 following complications from open-heart surgery. Andre the Giant died in 1993 of heart failure. Two giants, both die of heart problems and at the same age.
Sometimes, I wonder if the theme of the Bigfoot episodes etched into our minds that Bigfoot was connected to aliens, or outer space? There are many in the Bigfoot community that adhere to the theory of Bigfoot being an alien, maybe this is where the idea was planned? But I guess that is a topic for another day.
As for The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman series, I can remember watching them as a kid. I even had some of the action figures from the show. These were great series for the time and many of us fondly remember them. I think they made impacts on a lot of people who are now around my age.
Hope you enjoyed the post and the little stroll down memory lane.
Thanks
~Thomas~
This
post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the
cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto
Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of
unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild
land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.
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My husband and I were out star gazing last night in Down east Maine,the Harrington area around 9:30 ,and saw an unidentified flying object flying then stop mid stance and just hover there for quite some time. Not sure what to think of what we saw, but it was pretty cool to see as a former skeptic turned believer.
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