John Astin's Real Name: John Astin
John Astin → John Astin
Quick answer: The actor is known professionally as John Astin. TV Guide gives the birth name John Allen Astin and the birthplace Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins University independently records his career, including a 1952 graduation and the later role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family.
Real name and early life
Independent publishers identify him under the professional name John Astin. TV Guide gives the birth name John Allen Astin, places the birth in Baltimore, Maryland, and says he studied mathematics at Washington & Jefferson College before joining the drama program at Johns Hopkins University, from which he graduated in 1952. The Johns Hopkins University Gazette independently says he majored in drama at Johns Hopkins and graduated in 1952, then started in theater on Broadway after graduation.
Career highlights
TV Guide says he is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, later starred in the one-man play Once Upon a Midnight as Edgar Allan Poe, and later appeared in The Frighteners. The Johns Hopkins University Gazette independently says he is best known for Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, that his first big break in film came with a part in West Side Story in 1961, and that he received an Academy Award nomination for Prelude, a short film he wrote, produced, and directed. TV Guide independently records a 1969 Oscar nomination for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects, and a later 1993 Daytime Emmy nomination. The Gazette says he returned to Johns Hopkins in 2001 to teach acting and directing and to revitalize the undergraduate program in theater arts, and that the theater in the Merrick Barn was named the John Astin Theatre at a December 3, 2011, event marking his 10-year anniversary of teaching, acting, and directing at the university. TV Guide independently records that the Merrick Barn theater was renamed the John Astin Theatre in his honor in 2011, and that he later taught a Contemporary Theatre course at Johns Hopkins for the Theatre Arts and Studies Program, of which he was the director.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up John Astin or John Allen Astin are looking for the same actor, including the later Addams Family work most often associated with his name. Search traffic often uses the professional name John Astin in many later television series title lookups of the professional name.
FAQ
What is John Astin's real name?
He works professionally as John Astin. TV Guide gives the birth name John Allen Astin.
Where was he born?
TV Guide places the birth in Baltimore, Maryland.
Which later television role is most often cited?
Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, according to TV Guide and the Johns Hopkins University Gazette.
Which later university honor is cited here?
The naming of the John Astin Theatre in the Merrick Barn at Johns Hopkins University in 2011, according to the Johns Hopkins University Gazette and TV Guide.


