
Legendary mechanic Jim McGee works on the Bugatti while Charles Addams looks on. Watermill, NY., 1978. Photo by H.R.Krause. Used with permission from the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation.
By Pete Vack
Read Part I, Charles Addams and His Cars, 1948-1960
In 1960, Charles Addams was about to embark upon the most lucrative years of his career as a cartoonist, even having enough spare cash to renew car insurance.” By 1964 his income had almost tripled and the “Addams Family” was just making its debut on nation-wide TV. Like never before, Addams, an otherwise “normal boy” from New Jersey, would be able to enjoy both his cars and his freedom.
After two years of racing the Alfa 8C2300 (see Driving the 8C2300) around eastern Long Island, Addams began looking for a Bugatti. Already well known by Vintage Sports Car Club of America (VSCCA) members, Addams was an active member in the nascent club, and even though he rarely sallied forth to events at Lime Rock or Thompson, Connecticut, he seldom missed a vintage meet at

Addams, left with Ken Purdy (glasses and white hair) at the annual meeting of the American Bugatti Club at Le Chanteclair, circa 1960. Photo from the collection of Ralph Gross and first published in My Two Lives.
[Read more…] about Charles Addams: The Bugatti Years, 1960-1988