Carel Struycken is a talented Dutchman who is an iconic actor, as well as a musician, composer and photographer. Carel has mainly played the roles of giants, due to his exceptional height – 7ft or 2.13m – and often silent roles, such as Lurch in “The Addams Family” for which he is best known. Carel’s impressive height is due to a disease called acromegaly, which is caused by overproductive growth hormones and can lead to enlarged hands, feet, height and facial features. There are plenty of mysteries surrounding the Dutch actor, and a lot about the gentle giant that many people don’t know.

Here’s an introduction to the life and fame of every kid’s favorite giant, Lurch, or rather, Carel.

Early life and family

Carel was born as a Dutchman and makes his birthplace in The Hague, Netherlands. He was born on July 30, 1948, so in 2020 he will celebrate his 72nd birthday. Nothing is widely known about his relatives as the identities of both his parents remain a mystery, but it is known that Carel has a younger brother named Peter.

Peter is a renowned artist who received the 2012 Heineken Prize for the Arts from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for his work.

When Carel was four years old, his family moved to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. While there, Carel composed several Caribbean waltzes, which was a great achievement for a 15-year-old. At the age of 16, Carel returned to The Hague to attend secondary school.

Educational background

When Carel finished high school, he continued his education at the Amsterdam Film School and graduated from the director’s course. After this, Carel traveled to the US to attend the American Film Institute of Los Angeles, where he studied for another year. It was during this time that his acting talent emerged.

Career

Carel’s introduction to the silver screen in 1978 happened through a strange coincidence. While walking the Hollywood and Vine corner in Los Angeles, Carel was approached by a woman who said she was looking for someone like him to cast in a movie. Carel was identified as an actor due to his impressive height, but rather than being offended, he accepted the role and made his screen debut in the musical “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. His career took off from there and he landed a second role in the crime series “Hunter”.

Almost two years later, Carel landed his second role in a big movie titled “Die Laughing” which was released in 1980, but it wasn’t until the 90s that Carel got real recognition when he starred in the hit series “Star Trek: Next Generation” as ‘Mr Holmn’.

However, throughout the 1980s, Carel starred in several movies, including the 1984 slasher horror “The Prey” and other titles such as “The Witches of Eastwick,” followed by an appearance in the sixth season of the TV medical drama series “St. . Elsewhere” in 1988.

In 1991, he landed the role of Lurch for the “Addams Family” movie premiere, and later reprized the role for the sequels “Addams Family Values” and “Addams Family Reunion.” He also starred in 1993’s “Journey to the Center of The Earth,” which is not to be confused with the later adaptation starring Brendon Fraser.

In 1997, Carel was seen in the iconic movie “Men in Black”, playing the longtime friend of the ‘Arquillian’ race, who met Rosenburg, the Arquillian alien who owned the cat Orion. He also acted in television series, such as ‘Charmed’, ‘Star Trek Voyager’ and ‘Cold Case’.

His latest film is a Stephen King sequel to ‘The Shining’ which came out in 2019 and was titled ‘Doctor Sleep’.

Carel has also appeared in music videos, such as in Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio”, as well as Korn’s music video for their song “ADIDAS”.

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Carel loves photography and practices it in his spare time. He also influences a photography blog with co-writer Josh Korwin.

Carel specifically takes spherical panoramic photos, which allow the viewer to view an event or landscape over a full 360 degrees. He shares these pictures on his own devotee website.

Furthermore, Carel is an enthusiastic gardener and vegetarian. He moved from the Netherlands and now prefers to live in the US.

Relationships

Carl is married, but he has kept the identities of his wife and family a secret and successfully concealed them from the public. He has two children, but names have not been released. They are now adults and both his son and daughter went into medical careers.

Physical Characteristics

• Date of birth: July 30, 1948
• Hair Color: Used to be black, but has since turned gray and he is balding
• Eye Color: Blue
• Height: 7ft 0ins (2.13m)
• Weight: unknown
• Vital Statistics: Suffers from acromegaly
• Shoe size: unknown
• Lion
• Nationality: Dutch/American
• Ethnicity: white

Net value

Carel’s success as an actor has given him a net value estimated at an impressive $3 million as of 2020.

, Wikipedia