The Secret Life of Felix Silla Cousin Itt The Addams Family Hidden Facts
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- In this video documentary, Cool Classics digs deep into the hidden life of, stuntman, stunt double and actor Felix Silla. From his first appearance on Bonanza as a Leprechaun, to his help creating the character Cousin Itt on the Addams Family TV Series. How about his time on the television show, Bewitched, or his playing Twiki on the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century series? Don't forget his time on Battlestar Galactica plying Lucifer.
Did you see him in Indianan Jones and the Temple of Doom?
How about him playing three different Ewoks in Star Wars Return of The Jedi.
Don't forget about him on Star Trek as a Talosian or in the movie, The Planet Of The Apes. - Zábava
Mr. Silla, wife Sue, and family were neighbors when I was a youth in the 1970's. He was kind and gave us kids the "time of day" when other adults thought kids should be seen and not heard. My Mom would often babysit his daughter Bonnie. This past April, I was touched when I heard of his passing. He will always be an example of how if you can find your gift here in the USA, you can build a nice life.
I am glad you found this video :)
Thank you for adding your piece. Isn’t it great how these little bits of information are shared and we all get to feel like we knew him, but you actually did! Sounds like he was a true human being! Some folk think only of themselves and treat others like trash. I avoid those people like the plague. But it’s so refreshing to hear of these truly nice people. 🙂
You my friend are a very lucky individual to have known Felix Silla and his family...I'm jealous as hell...I wish I could have had Cousin Itt as a neighbor.
@@godfreymccammon4531 A small regret, I was so young, 8-11 years old. You do not have questions then that you would have liked to ask years later...We grew up in some great times.
!
Cousin Itt may have been on only 19 times but he made such a huge impact you would think he was on a majority of the Addam's Family episodes. Now that's the result of great acting and character building
My brother in i loved it,when itt showed up
Kind of like Paul Lynde on Bewitched, such a memorable character it seemed like he was on more than he was.
He probably shed enough hair that it seemed like he was in every episode.
Wow! If we didn't have cousin It, idk what we would do!!❤ I truly loved his character!
Enjoyed show but I really loved the Munsters
He was a friend of mine. He used to come into my store all the time....We would talk for hours all the time, about his career and my life. I was so sad when he died. I miss him very very much. He was a very kind sweet man. Sad....
You are lucky to have gotten to hang out with him :)
@@CoolClassics agreed
I am both jealous of your experience and curious about your shop
Felix Silla was a wonderful man. I assisted at a booth at a convention where he appeared in Idaho. We went out to dinner afterwards. We kept in touch through Facebook. A true gentleman and I'll miss him.
That's a great story!
Wow fun!
Awesome!!!
Felix was an awesome gentleman , met him at a superbowl party of a mutual friend lived as normal life as it could get and just to think he didn't have a car to go and audition to driving a caddy all over Vegas...miss you felix!🌞
I worked with Felix on Batman Returns back in 1992. He played one of the Emperor penguins.
What a nice guy! He had fascinating stories.
Added fact, Tweaky's voice was Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and most of the rest of the most famous Warner Bros. characters.
This is an interesting story in of itself. 👍🙏☮️
I would have never thought about Felix Silla, but found his story very interesting. He was in an amazing amount of shows.
I met Felix at a star trek convention. We talked for an hour. He had a very interesting life. He gave me selfie with him and a picture of him & Doug Jones in the movie "The Legend of Galgameth". It seemed like he knew everyone.
You are very lucky to have spent that time with him :)
The part where he met the other actors playing Ewoks made me cry. He is an inspiration and hero to so many! Awesome job again!😃
Did not realize he was in so many TV and movies. Itt was always one of my favorites. He will always be remembered
I didn't know Felix Silla had so many acting roles. His work was quite extensive. I didn't know he recently passed and he was 84, God blessed his life.
Your videos are always kind and respectful, in addition to being very interesting. 😎
Glad you like them!
Janet - well said! He "compliments" everybody with understanding they 'had a life.' Ups, downs - but always respectful. Very cool.
I appreciate these character biographies. So much we don't know about the people we thought we knew.
My (late) father was born in Abruzzo late in 33- It was a small town, and now I wonder if my father (who came to the usa a the year before felix) and felix ,may have known each other. I'll never know. Man, you dig up the coolest classic material. Thanks for posting!
Such a small world!
Wild how you found the video.
@@CoolClassics not so small..i wouldn't want to have too paint it !!
He was an amazing person as well!
I loved his work!
Thanks for your tribute to Felix. In 1972 I was a student at Florida State University majoring in theatre. The university partnered with a professional theatre company to produce the musical, Halloween starring Jose Ferrar, Barbara Cook, Dick Shawn and four little people, Felix Silla, Billy Barty, Tommy Madden and Emory Souza. The producer, director and composer had all been involved with the Broadway production of Man of La Mancha along with lead actor Jose Ferrar. We all thought this would be a hit. Halloween premiered t FSU in May 1972, ran for 2 weeks and then went on to Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope Pa, ran for one week and never opened on Broadway. A victim of the critics. In September of 2021 I attended Dragon Con, a multigenre convention which feature the Walk of Fame where actors sign autographs and chat with attendees. I have been attending since 2007 and had seen Felix sitting next to Gil Gerrard. I had downloaded the Halloween program from the 1972 FSU production, showed it to Felix and he laughed. He said he remembered it very well, his agent came to him with two opportunities, one was Halloween and the other was playing the part of Mordecai in the Clint Eastwood movie "High Plains Drifter". The part went to Billy Curtis who had played a Munchkin in Wizard of Oz. The film grossed 15.7 million and Halloween lost money. I believe Felix's comment was That's Show Biz.
Seemed like just a great guy that led a wonderful life and worked very hard. It's amazing how many movies and shows he was in and never really knew it was him. Glad this video shows all he did and that he lived a long, full life.
Thanks for making this. People like Felix should be remembered.
I agree :)
What a lovely tribute to Felix. I'm currently binge watching The Addams Family TV episodes; and Cousin Itt never fails to make me laugh😆🕶 and smile. Rest In Peace Felix 🙏
💜🙏
Oh my goodness, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the massive amount of work that you put into this treasure trove! Got to say that Felix had quite a special woman in his wife; sticking with him after the confession?...what a woman!
I just subscribed to you last night because I find your voice soothing and your manner of speaking is just so personable, as if in the room carrying on a casual friendly conversation and it's perfect for me to wind down. Thanks for these great memories and I have a feeling I'll be binge watching you for quite a while!
Mister Silla was a proper LEGEND.
He will be sorely missed.
Thank you for the in depth research and heart warming tribute. 🙏
This was Amazing because I have seen this man in every show portrayed in this video and never knew his name but I loved his acting. What a great career he had and I hope many people watch this video he deserves to be honored for the great actor he was.
That was great to find out how many awsome shows and movies he was in. I never even considered these roles were all the same person.
Same. I was clueless about it how it all worked and who they were.
I personally never met him, however my aunt used to babysit his children (in the late 70's/ early 80's) when he lived in the valley and she lived in Atwater/ Silverlake. I fwd your video to her just now. 💖 BTW, great job on your videos, research and broadcasting. You are awesome, you don't SPEED TALK. 💕
Very Cool! I wonder what extra info your aunt has to offer? Come back and leave another comment if you hear anything 😁
@@weatherboi ... Yes. Typo. I'll edit. Thanks.
Your videos are super cool and you look for the best about each one
Thank you for sharing with us
Wow! Now I know I have seen this actor multiple times; apparently, he was on every show I watched as a child. And I LOVED cousin Itt! Now I have to go back and watch these shows. That was an amazing story!!!
Amazing how his family had no idea what a life he would get to live and loved him and prepared him, just in case.
I remember him. Thanks for sharing.
Well said
Thank you so much for posting this! Felix Silla was a dear friend of mine...a very talented but extremely modest gentleman who was always full of fascinating stories about his unique Hollywood career.
True story- on many occasions- when we would meet up around the country for breakfast, lunch, or dinner- patrons at other tables would inevitably notice him and sometimes pick up the check for us, in which case Felix would inevitably invite them over to thank them. They would then say how much they loved him in "The Wizard of Oz"! (Felix, of course, was only two years old in 1939 and never appeared in "The Wizard of Oz".. lol). Felix would always get such a kick out of that!😊
To those of you on this message board who have left such nice comments- thank you!❤ Felix loved entertaining people and I know he would have been so appreciative of your kind thoughts.
Doug Kincaid
I love your story! Thank You for sharing it with us! 💜💜
He is MY GUY!! Nice work Mr Silla, thank you.
What an interesting man! I had no idea of how often I had been seeing him in so many shows. I just love his story and the love you have for these people when you share. Thank you so much!
I was thinking the same thing. It's odd, to love a man, that played a character, (Itt) but to see this, and know the remarkable life he led, really warms my heart...
Thanks for bringing all this out and making justice to a man that clearly enjoyed his work, his life, and his family. Even under of ton of synthetic hair, during not many of The Adam´s episodes, and all his ulterior work, he managed to project it and make many people happy, mostly children like myself. RIP, Mr Silla, well done!
3:45 The two shorter kids are Billy Mumy and Peter Robbins (the 1960s voice of Charlie Brown)!
I knew Felix. My dad introduced me when we ran into him one day shopping while I lived in Vegas. Very nice man. Was a great experience. RIP me. Silla
I remember watching this episode as a child. Loved it.
I loved this episode! I had no idea Cousin Itt was played by such a dynamic person!!
You do such a thorough job with your videos. I LOVED cousin it, and had no idea all the other roles he had. What an amazing life. Thank you for sharing your talents.
Thank you so much!
I had the pleasure of working with Felix on a Rescue 911 episode ("Go-kart Mishap"), and he was just delightful. We had a lot of fun that day riding around in go-karts and talking and laughing. I was so sorry to hear of his passing. What a gentleman!
Woah! Was he stunt doubling for the kid? Here is a clip I found
czcams.com/video/jXLyaTKzTAo/video.html
@@CoolClassics yes, he was doubling the boy for the riding scenes. I was doubling the girl, but when I took the actual hit on the tires, it was a doll in the seat with me, which was good because I took it a little too hard!
I LOVED cousin It. All these actors made the show wonderful. A lot of us looked forward to seeing this show. Thanks to these folks, we had good memories.
REALLY GOOD STUFF! I esp. liked the perspective and insight into how he got his start, transitioned from Ringling Bros to stand-in work for child actors...and more. Thanks for the work.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I LOVE your videos! They are so thoroughly researched and packed with interesting facts! I love learning about actors in movies and on TV. Thank you for all the work you do putting these together! 😊❤
As a kid, I never thought about who played It, I just wished I had a cousin It... I'm very grateful to be given the opportunity to feel some serious respect for this Actor! Another great video, thank you.
Lol, I love the scene where Richard Decon is conversing with Cousin Itt
I used to see the Barnum & Bailey Circus pass my house every year traveling from state to state. You could see all the different colored wagons on the train cars. They even had passenger trains. It was cool to see what the trains looked like back years ago. They sure were a lot more fancier back then too. I'll always love cousin It. I've always wanted to see who was underneath all if that hair. He had a amazing life...!! Thank you for sharing this video with us. Very cool !!
This is a wonderful tribute. You have added another dynamic to watching those shows again:) What a great character Felix was.
What a superb tribute to Felix Silla!
I first saw him in Buck Rogers but I have come to see his name in the credits of many other shows, before and after BR.
He left a fine legacy and brought joy to many people!
Thank you for this.
He was in the Twiki costume, but in the first season the character was voiced by Mel Blanc.
I’ve watched a number of interviews with Felix - he was quite a character. I’ve always thought that the Addams Family sound engineer could have pulled off Cousin Itt’s voice just fine if he’d ever thought to bring Felix in, and worked with him in the ADR studio to develop the character’s voice that way. Your piece on Felix is superb! You asked for suggestions on who else you could do one of these videos of yours on, and I immediately thought of the late Bob May - best known for portraying on screen the Robot on Lost In Space You’ll find Bob has quite an interesting background like Felix. The American Archive Of Television did a full length interview with him not long before his death which has been uploaded here on CZcams in brief segments. I think if you dig into researching that delightfully funny guy in even as much depth as you gave here to Felix that you will find the entire process quite enjoyable!
Wow what a wonderful life and career this guy had.
About the only thing he didn't do was play a munchkin in The wizard of Oz.
Thanks for posting, love your videos.
But he was in "Under the Rainbow" which was loosely based on "The Wizard of Oz" movie.
Considering that the Wizard of Oz came out in 1939, Felix Silla would have only been two years old!🙂
Thank you for such an informative and heartwarming presentation. It really is amazing just how many different shows and films Felix appeared in and the characters that he portrayed are, even to this day, still memorable to those of us who remember the original series or films! Of course, as others will no doubt agree, my favourite character that he played was Cousin Itt from The Addams Family! When I was a teenager in the mid 70’s, my mate had long blonde hair…..and, of course, my father used to call him Cousin Itt! Thanks for all the fantastic memories, Felix. Happy days!
I enjoy how you narrate. Brings back great memories. You give light and appreciation to people considered background players.
Excellent. I would have never known about Mr. Silla without this video even while I watched almost every show shown here. I enjoyed this.
Cousin It was ALWAYS my favorite character in The Adams Family series. Thank you for bringing to light Felix Silla. Before this video I had no idea. Thanks!
That was fascinating and so enjoyable! The things you take for granted and never give a second thought to! He’s so lucky that that guy gave him a lift to his first ever Hollywood audition was crucial in his career. It’s good that he acted for so long and kept busy with work. What a rich and rewarding life he had. But such a shame about his 46year old son. It’s very hard to see your kids die before you do. And now I have all this wonderful trivia to chat to people about. Thank you for doing, and sharing your research. ❤️
AMAZING Silla was in my childhood favorites. Now, I'm gonna be looking for him. You know, Twiki was voiced by the man of a thousand voices. Mel Blanc. RIP Mr. Silla
A lot of good old memories.
Feel good memories about shows that made us feel good.
Thanks for sharing your “memories” with us.
Wow, this was such an interesting video! I can remember seeing him in most of the clips you showed. It’s wonderful that he had such a long career & I’m sure he was very loved by his family & many friends.
All of your videos are so good. I really appreciate all the time & research you put into them.
Thanks so much.🏆 You deserve an award! 👏👏👏
Thank you so much!
What a great story. Buster Brown (Ed Ansley) was a customer at The JC Penney where my grandma worked. I got to meet him when I was in Kindergarten.
Ditto.
@@mistergrandpasbakery9941 lucky!
I loved Hoss and the leprechauns that was hilarious..when Hoss and little Joe where yelling Yooo Hooo it was so funny,,I loved this episode
That was a cute scene when they were all giggly :)
Wow this guy had such a career. He started out a performer and later moved up the media ladder to a A list performer. I pretty much watched the majority of these shows and it's a surprise to see he was always there right in front of me. I always got a kick out of "Cousin It".
I'm 68 truly enjoyed the video, this will open my eyes when I watch the old video and sitcom.😊
What a great story. Just to show you how people use their differences and turn it into gold. A truly motivated man.
This was a nice look & I was honored to meet & speak with Felix.
Thanks Felix for the joy, laughter plus; the hard work that you've done... R.I.P. 😢
These stories are great, I work from home full time as a programmer and often have these running on another monitor for entertainment. I grew up watching a lot of these shows
LIVE on TV so it's like visiting old friends.
😁👍
What an amazing man! I had no idea the show/ movies he was in! Very interesting facts on his life! Thank you for your enlightening on this mans life!
What an amazing life and career! May he rest in peace, and live forever in fannish history.
This guy should also be an inspiration to every man who lacks confidence to talk to women because they think they're too short. Good episode.
SHOWS THAT BEING TRUE TO HIS CRAFT WAS HIS IDEA OF SUCCESS AND HE WAS THAT GOOD AT IT I HAD NO IDEA WHO HE WAS SO THANKS FOR THAT ONE.
That was so interesting! Thanks for all the clips you put into your videos. You do a fantastic job!
I’m 49 and I actually remember watching Buck Rogers because of Felix Silla. I honestly didn’t know I loved all of those shows because he was in them. I loved all the parts he played. I remember that episode where he played a leprechaun. The reboot of course. I’ve always loved Cousin it, Twiki, the Ewoks, and all of those aliens that he played. And honestly I felt like I’ve seen that troll before on that episode of bewitched. 🤔 too me he was a icon.
Adding Cousin Itt was a turning point in the series and they should have kept it going longer. Itt was a fan favorite.
Wow I never knew he played in so many things! What a man. I always liked cousin Itt. I don't even think I have to watch the whole 28 minutes I got down to almost 20 minutes and I just think it's amazing that he played in so many things! And you just passed away last year! Rest in peace Felix ❣️ you were loved by many and did a great job!
I had the pleasure of meeting him at a horror convention some years back (2014 - 2016? I forget the exact year). I was only able to chat a short while with him but he was a fascinating guy and a total gentleman to everyone who came to his table.
WOW! GREAT VIDEO
I can't believe how many movies and tv shows I watched, with him in them. Amazing life for Mr. Silla❗Thank you for all of the memories‼️
5:50 is quite possibly the cutest little “man-giggle” I’ve ever heard. 🤣💗👍
🤣💜
So interesting. Well done. 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
It’s amazing how prolific a career he had. Thank you another great video
What a career. I had no idea. He was the most successful of the Adams Family cast. Thanks for posting.
It's wonderful to hear all these comments. Cousin Itt is such an indelible character and has given me and millions so much joy. I love that character so much. I can't get over the ingenuity and cleverness of the Addams family and Felix was a huge part of it. This video was incredibly well done. What a full, resourceful life Felix had. I wish I could have talked to him. I wish he would have been interviewed before he died. I wish the media would pick up on these things and honor people with an interview so that when they die they can be honored. Felix deserved that. It is amazing how much work he did and how hard he worked his whole life and the great, diverse experiences he had. I'm so glad this video could honor him. Aside from being such a good performer and actor Felix seemed to be so genuine and down to earth. And with a lovely family. I honor him so much.
WOW, what an amazing life he had never knew cosin It was in so may movies and shows! This is a great documentary thx 4 sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it
What an amazing person! Thank you for this video. Every generation needs people that inspire them, and this is such a good example.
Holy moly, as a kid with a born on date of 1971, I didn't realize I saw a lot of his movies. I loved Cousin It as kid.
Same year I was born
It great to see that some interesting and lesser well known actors get an acknowledgement of their work . love cousin itt .
Can you do a video on Doris Day. I adore her. thanks
Wow! I seen all but two of those shows! I never guessed that he was several of my favorite characters. Thanks for sharing his remarkable life with us💙
Thanks for this amazing video. I grew up with all of these fantastic fun tv classic shows. The Addams Family is one of my all time favorites and cousin Itt is the best. RIP sir you are mised.
I never knew who played Cousin Itt! Lol. It's a favorite character of mine for decade. What a guy and what a lufe!🌺😊❤
What a sweet, lovely video! You hear so many stories of stars with tragic endings, I'm glad that Felix had a long and happy life. I have a friend who is a little over 5 feet tall, and she has hair that grows past her feet. One year for Purim, she brushed her hair forward, put on a bowler hat, gloves, and high top sneakers. Nobody knew who she was! She didn't speak for the first half of the party. I remember seeing her and thinking "Wow, that's a pretty expensive costume. That hair looks so real!" My friend's hair grows like crazy, so she donates about 3 feet of it every 6 months for children with cancer. Yes, that's right - 3 feet of hair in 6 months!
I've just found your channel this year. What a delight! Nostalgia for sure, but your channel is more than that to me and those like me. It is a respite at the end of a long day amid a new world that I no longer recognize. Keep up the great work! Thank you for preserving these beautiful people and artists.
I think you are getting the same feelings from my videos, that i get out of making them 😁
I'm in my 60's his video's hit me the same way it get's to you.. so many memories, And he post things that I didn't know ..
Amen to that! Miss the simpler days
Most of what I watch on tv is MeTV...Memory television....because I can NOT stand so much of the pukefest you get on most of tv these days.
@@jasonfrew2394 I don't know if you're from my generation but if you're not you should be, we watch the same things.... For the same reasons!
I watched a lot of TV back then This guy was a big part of my childhood I have seen everything he has ever been in
Wow!!!...all I can say...had no idea he played in all those movies and tv sitcoms...thanks for sharing...truly enjoyed it!
Wow! Not a single dull moment. It's always so fascinating to see the behind the scenes moments, as well as all the esoteric insights like the Steven Spielberg admission. Thanks for the great job you do!
These documentaries are so interesting!
I watched all of these shows as a kid and had no idea of the true talent of the actors and actresses.
Thank you so much ^^
I watched every week, waiting to see Cousin It (along with Thing). So fun to see all favorites. Thank you 😃
Like I said, this is my new favorite channel. You both like these people, and view them as regular people. The truth, but no muck raking. Admiration, but no idolization.
Felix is an awesome actor. They live forever.
I always enjoy your videos! This one really is special to me to find out the man behind Cousin It. And then to find out what a long and interesting career he had and his fulfilling family life makes everything wonderful. Thank you very much for researching all of these details, providing excellent clips, and just doing an all around fantastic and entertaining job!
Thank you very much, Cool Classics, for uploading this video of Felix Silla so that I can see it whenever I want to see it.
Please have a nice day today. ©®
September 21, 2022 @ 2:55 pm ©®
Thank You Socorro!
Have a Fantastic Day! 😁👍
Felix was a friend and I really miss seeing him every year in Las Vegas. He was a feisty guy and really funny. To know him was to love him.
3:45
Little kid on the left side is a very young Billy Mummy before he got lost in the solar system .
Billy Mumy was found again by the Minbari apparently and was on Babylon 5.
Yes I loved cousin IT and wow all the work he did. I loved that Star trek 2 part episode. Bewitched was wild. Thanks for sharing.
These shows are my fondest childhood memories. I didn’t watch much tv but they were wholesome cute, funny and nice just plain nice.
Great video. He was an important actor and kept very busy. Who knew he had so many roles? Wonderful. 👍😊