The Munsters was an American television sitcom, depicting the home life of a family of horror movie monsters. Much of the humor derived from the fact that they did not have the slightest idea that they were in any way different from their neighbors. Comedy also came from their daily interaction with modern-day society, and the usual horrified or frightened reactions of those around them at their ghoulish appearance.

It first aired in black-and-white on the CBS network from September 24, 1964 to September 1, 1966 for 70 episodes, and continued in syndication thereafter. The Munsters was filmed in black-and-white, though the never-aired pilot episode was filmed at least partially in color. The fictional family lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights.

The family of characters

The Munsters

• Lily Munster (Yvonne De Carlo), a homemaker. A white streak in her hair recalls the monster's bride from The Bride of Frankenstein, as portrayed by Elsa Lanchester in the James Whale film. Lily's housekeeping duties often involve spreading garbage around the mansion and "dusting" via a vacuum cleaner operating in reverse so that it blows dirt about. Her maiden name is Dracula.
• Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne); bears a distinct resemblance to Universal Studios' version of Frankenstein's monster, as originally portrayed by Boris Karloff. In one episode, Lily outright states to Eddie that "Dr. Frankenstein" made Herman. For a man of 150, he behaves rather childishly, often throwing temper tantrums. He is employed as a gravedigger for the Gateman, Goodbury and Graves Funeral Parlor, having started out as a humble "nail boy." As of the second season, he and Lily had been married for one hundred years.
• Sam Dracula (Al Lewis), usually called "Grandpa" (often incorrectly "Grandpa Munster", even though he is Lily's father rather than Herman's); he is a mad scientist and keeps a laboratory in the cellar of the house. Various potions and magic spells that he devises there are central to many of the show's stories. He appears to be able to naturally transform into a wolf as well as a bat. He is at least 400 years old. Some episodes imply that he built Herman, normally to facilitate a joke.
• Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick); a typical all-American boy werewolf of elementary school age, aside from his green skin and pointed ears. His full name is Edward Wolfgang Munster.
• Marilyn Munster (Beverley Owen/Pat Priest); the daughter of one of Lily's sisters living with the Munsters through the entire series. Niece Marilyn is young, blonde and pretty, and the only member of the family that does not look like a horror movie monster. The family is vaguely ashamed of their relationship to such an "ugly" person, and even Marilyn is aware of her "plain-ness". She bemoans that she keeps scaring off potential boyfriends, having no idea that the youths are in fact frightened away by her family. She attends Westbury College. Although, as the daughter of Lily's sister, Marilyn would presumably have a different surname than the rest of the family, she is always referred to as "Marilyn Munster." The reason why Marilyn lives with her aunt and uncle instead of with her parents is not explained by the series. In one of the movies, she was the daughter of Herman's sister instead.

Their pets

• Spot an immense fire-breathing dragon. He lives under the stairs; a section of the staircase is hinged and opens up when one of the griffins on the balusters at the bottom is tilted back,whereupon Spot would breath fire while roaring like Godzilla .Spots' eyes glowed in the dark. Spot was, for the most part, not shown on camera.
• Igor a bat (or perhaps a transformed vampire) who lives in Grandpa's lab and assists with his work.
• Kittycat an average-sized black cat who roars like a lion.
• Charlie A Talking raven who lives in the cuckoo clock in the living room (usually voiced by Mel Blanc).
• Goldfish which devour food like ravenous piranhas.

Other relatives

• Charlie Munster Herman's twin brother
• Lester Dracula Lily's brother, a werewolf
• Uncle Gilbert otherwise known as the Creature from the Black Lagoon
• Uncle Boris and Aunt Mina never depicted, said to live in Death Valley

Other details

• George Barris built two vehicles for the show: "The Munster Koach", a hot rod built on a lengthened 1923 Ford Model T chassis with a custom hearse body, and Dragula (which inspired a Rob Zombie song by the same name), which was a drag car built to look like a coffin which Grandpa used to win back "The Munster Koach" after Herman lost it in a race.

• The original series began with Beverley Owen in the role of Marilyn; however, the actress reportedly did not want to do the series, having been compelled to do it under her contract with Universal Studios. After 13 episodes were filmed, she succeeded in arranging to leave the series, and the role was taken over by near-lookalike Pat Priest.

• Despite popular belief, Herman and Lily Munster were not the first television couple to share the same bed. That honor belongs to Mary Kay and Johnny, which aired in 1947. Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns were husband and wife in "real life." Samantha and Darrin Stephens of Bewitched were the first live-action TV couple, with the actors not married to each other in "real life," to sleep in a double bed. The episode in question, "Little Pitchers Have Big Fears," aired on October 22, 1964. The Munsters showed Herman and Lily first sharing a bed in the episode "Autumn Croakus" on November 26, 1964. The Brady Bunch, another oft-mentioned candidate, didn't even air until 1969. ^*

• Immediately after the show ended, the cast began filming a feature film, Munster, Go Home! (1966). Producers replaced Pat Priest with teenaged actress Debbie Watson.

• The first television movie, The Munster's Revenge (1981) reunited DeCarlo, Gwynne, and Lewis. Jo McDonnell and Casey Martell played Marilyn and Eddie.

• A revival of the show, The Munsters Today ran From 1988 to 1991. It featured John Schuck (Herman) Lee Meriweather (Lily), Howard Morton (Grandpa), Jason Marsden (Eddie), and Mary-Ellen Dunbar and Hilary Van Dyke (Marilyn). This time, the first Marilyn (Dunbar) only lasted one episode.

• Yet another cast appeared in the made-for-tv movies Here Come the Munsters (1995) and The Munsters Scary Little Christmas (1996). Yvonne DeCarlo, Al Lewis, Pat Priest, and Butch Patrick made a cameo together in the first of these as restaurant guests.

• Gold Key produced a Munsters comic book. When it first appeared, the Comics Code Authority still forbade the appearance of vampires in comic books. Lily and Grandpa were permitted without apparent objection.

• Many spin-off products were produced, including toys and several record albums.

• The show is often compared and sometimes confused with The Addams Family, which ran during the same two television seasons.

External links

• The Munsters DVD Official Universal Studios Site
• Celebrity Booking for The Munsters cast members
• Butch Patrick Official Website
• Portrait of The Munsters
• Open directory category for The Munsters
• Munsterland
• Munsters Trivia
• Munsters at TV Tome
• Munsters Today at TV Tome
• http://www.classictvhits.com/munsters/index.html
• Munster Memories
• Munster' Al Lewis dies at 95

1960s TV shows in the United States | CBS network shows | Fictional undead | Sitcoms | Fictional families | NBC Universal Television shows | Fictional eccentrics

The Munsters | Los Munsters | Les Monstres (série télévisée)