AS THE WORLD TURNS Vet Lisa Loring Dead at 64

There’s sad news in the daytime community this morning as another soap veteran has passed away. Lisa Loring, who played Margo and Craig’s younger sister, Cricket, on AS THE WORLD TURNS in the early 1980s, has died at the age of 64 after having a stroke. As Loring’s daughter, Vanessa Foumberg, told Variety, her mom “went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hand.”

According to Loring’s close friend, writer Laurie Jacobson, the actress suffered a massive stroke as a result of smoking and high blood pressure. “She had been on life support for three days,” Jacobson shared on Facebook. “Yesterday, her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed last night.”

The former child star is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams on THE ADAMS FAMILY, the iconic dark comedy sitcom that ran from 1964-’66. Loring was just six years old when she was cast as the braided young daughter of the creepy clan, but her portrayal of the death-obsessed little girl set the stage for other young actresses to play the character in the decades to come (including Jenna Ortega in the hit Netflix series WEDNESDAY). “She is embedded in the tapestry that is pop culture, and in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams,” added Jacobson.

When THE ADDAMS FAMILY ended after two seasons, Loring appeared on several television series in the years that followed, like THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E, FANTASY ISLAND, and BARNBY JONES. In 1980, she was cast on ATWT as part of the new Montgomery family and recurred on the soap for three years as Margo and Craig’s troublemaking younger sister. Loring’s last acting credit was in the 2015 horror flick Doctor Spine.

Loring is survived by two daughters, Vanessa and Marianne. Our thoughts are with her family and friends during this difficult time.