13 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Munsters,’ Plus Who Is Still Alive!
At a time when the family sitcom was a mainstay of television — mom, dad and kids living in a nice house in the suburbs with minor disruptions providing wholesome laughs — The Munsters was a spin on the familiar, a happy suburban family composed of benign monsters. The Munsters premiered on Sept. 24, 1964, and was produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver, when there was strong pedigree for a successful half-hour comedy. Initially, ratings were solid and the series received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series; but then Batman came along, and ruined everything.
Who Is Still Alive?
The Munsters boasted an amazing cast that included Fred Gwynne (d. July 2, 1993), Yvonne De Carlo (d. Jan. 8, 2007), Al Lewis (d. Feb. 3, 2006) and Beverly Owen (d. Feb. 21, 2019) who are all sadly gone, but Butch Patrick (71), who played Eddie, is still alive and well, and hits up the convention circuit with his Dragula and Munster Koach. Check out any of his upcoming appearances out here. Pat Priest (88), who played Marilyn, is also still alive and well. She has occasionally been known to do conventions with Butch, but has recently retired from doing so. If you are on Facebook, there is a wonderful fan group community that often has updates on the two and Munsterfanatics.
Bobby Bank/WireImage
Now, Here are 13 things you (probably) didn’t know about The Munsters.
1The Opening Credits Spoofed Another Family Show
The first season’s opening credits were an outrageous parody of the opening credits of The Donna Reed Show, which always began with Donna lovingly handing out lunches to her departing family members as they left the house one at a time. Lily Munster did the same thing.
21313 Mockingbird Lane Was on a Famous Lot
The residence Herman, Lily and the rest of the family called home was part of several well-known series. Their house was also seen on Leave It to Beaver, and in later years, it was used in Coach and Desperate Housewives, among others.
3The Show Had a Pioneer in Makeup Effects
Everett Collection
Legendary makeup artist Bud Westmore, who helped Mattel design the makeup look for Barbie in 1959, was responsible for the appearance of the characters on the series. The Munsters was just one of Westmore’s hundreds of credits. He also pioneered many makeup effects and designs for Universal monster movies.
4Remember When They Visited Marineland?
If you watched The Munsters on April 18, 1965, you saw a special episode of the series that no one would see again for more than 30 years. The Easter special, which saw the family visit Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California, to get a new pet for Eddie, never aired again and was thought lost, until a copy was donated to the Paley Center in New York in 1997.
5The Tale of Two Marilyn’s
Everett Collection
Beverley Owen, a natural brunette, played Marilyn Munster in the first 13 episodes (she quit the show in order to get married; when she originally signed on, she assumed it would quickly flop). She wore a wig and her hairline was covered up by a headband. Pat Priest, who played Marilyn for the remainder of the series, is a natural blonde, so there was no need for a wig or headband.
6Rumored Spinoffs
NBC came close to airing a series that was a dark reimagining of the ’60s sitcom, called Mockingbird Lane. They developed it in 2012 and aired a pilot in October of that year, but decided to pass on ordering it to series. There is another darker reimagining called 1313 in the works too.
7Eddie Was Almost Another Famous Child Star
Everett Collection
Future Lost in Space star Bill Mumy was the original choice to play Eddie, but his parents wouldn’t let him, as they weren’t fans of the makeup he’d have to wear. He did, however, guest star once, in the episode “Come Back, Little Googie.”
8The Original Idea Can Be Traced Back to 1943
Animator Bob Clampett, best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., presented an idea about a family of comical monsters to Universal. However the project didn’t go anywhere until 20 years later, when a similar idea was pitched to Universal by two Rocky & Bullwinkle writers, Allan Burns and Chris Hayward. The pilot script was called Love Thy Monster.
9Spot was Never Fully Spotted
As many youngsters do, Eddie had a large reptile for a pet, which lived under the stairs. Spot’s body was never seen and a full body was never built. Only his head could be seen, and when the staircase opened, often combined with him breathing fire, his tail section was occasionally visible. In Mockingbird Lane, Spot was shown in his full appearance.
10The Raven Had a Famous Voice
The uncredited voice of Charlie the Raven, the sentient bird that lived in the mansion’s cuckoo clock, was provided by Mel Blanc, the king of voice actors (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, among many others). There were a few times when Blanc was unavailable and someone else filled in, but in many instances he’s the one repeating “nevermore” and making smart-aleck comments.
11The Pilot Was Cast Much Differently
There were two major cast replacements before the first episode aired. A short pitch episode shown to CBS and its affiliates featured Joan Marshall as Phoebe (instead of Lily) and Nate Derman as Eddie. It was decided that Marshall looked too similar to Morticia Addams and Derman was too “nasty” as Eddie, so both were replaced. CBS announced the series before Yvonne De Carlo and Butch Patrick were even cast.
12It Had Not One but Two George Barris Customs
Everett Collection
The family vehicle cost a tad more than your average ride. The “Munster Koach,” designed by Tom Daniel and built by auto customizer George Barris, was a hot rod constructed on a lengthened 1926 Ford Model T chassis with a custom hearse body. It was 18 feet long and cost nearly $20,000 to build, or close to $200,000 in today’s dollars.
13Did the Caped Crusader Get The Munsters Cancelled?
Batman killed The Munsters. At least, that is one plausible theory, one shared by Butch Patrick. Starting in early 1966, ABC’s Batman provided direct competition, airing in the same time slot on Thursday nights. Ratings for The Munsters dropped, leading to a quick cancellation. “Batman just came along and took our ratings away,” Patrick lamented. Egad!
Remind
Where Are They Now? Child Stars and Teen Idols
June 2024
What happened to those teen idols and child stars we swayed to, swooned over and watched as they grew up (while we grew up as well)?
Buy This Issue