Ted Cassidy unusual character roles. His most famous role was Lurch on "The Addams Family" (in which he feigned playing the harpsichord). He also played the character named Thing (associate producer Jack Voglin would take over the "Thing" role in scenes with both characters). Though the character of Lurch was intended to be mute, Cassidy ad-libbed his signature line, "You rang?" The subtle humor and the deepness of his voice was immediately a hit. Thereafter, it was a recurring phrase written into the script. Cassidy would reprise the role of Lurch in later appearances. In the "Batman" episode "The Penguin's Nest" (1966),
Steve Austin (character) did not hesitate to use his powers to kill if necessary. Yet in the TV pilot, Austin is initially hesitant to work for the OSI because, he says, "I don't want to kill people," although he appears to do just that in the subsequent mission. After the show's first season, however, Austin was usually not shown killing anyone. In Caidin's novels, Austin's superior is OSO chief Oscar Goldman. Goldman was replaced by another character, Oliver Spencer, in the TV pilot film, but appeared in the regular series. The relationship between the TV version of Austin and Oscar was much friendlier