“A good night sleep”
(Portrait of Uncle Fester)
37″ x 24″ x 38″
Ceramic, light, and nails
1999
Private collection, Sacramento, CA

Details

Evaluating the portrait busts of television personalities, one could only conclude
that Tony’s taste in sitcoms was vast and cultivated. A Good Night Sleep is an electrified
portrait of the character of Uncle Fester from the playfully macabre half-hour
television show, The Adams Family (1964 to 1966 with sixty-four episodes produced).
Tony was drawn to recreate Uncle Fester in clay because he was ghoulishly
funny, good hearted, and quirky. He holds a dynamite detonator in his hands to
indicate his fondness for blowing up toy trains with Gomez, the show’s star. Tony
has embedded actual nails into the clay that protrude from Uncle Fester’s back
to represent the character’s habit of sleeping on a bed of nails. And the lit bulb in
Uncle Fester’s mouth serves as the beacon of the portrait and refers to his uncanny
ability to electrify light bulbs when inserted in his mouth.