On September 24, 1964, millions of Americans all welcomed the creation of this benign monster family. The Munsters was a huge hit right away thanks to its great characters. Its satirical tone was a great criticism of the wholesome family subgenre of television. The show was on air for only two years but it found success in syndication later on. It’s been five decades since they last released an episode if you can believe it. We can’t think of a better time to reminisce about the show than the present.
Let us now take a look at some interesting facts about this short-lived but well-loved series.
Grandpa and Herman Worked Together Before The Show
Al Lewis and Fred Gwynne were both in Car 54, Where Are You? It was a comedy TV show that was on the air from 1961 until 1963. They starred in it before working together on The Munsters and this must be why they had such great chemistry together!
Grandpa and Herman Worked Together Before The Show
The Raven Had Another Voice Actor
Bob Hastings was a radio, film, and television actor known for his work in animated cartoons. Best known for playing Elroy Carpenter in McHale’s Navy, he also lent his voice to The Raven when Mel Blanc was busy with other voice acting work.
The Raven Had Another Voice Actor
Herman and Lily Sharing A Bed Was Historic
Well, the Cleavers certainly would not approve of Lily and Herman Munster sharing a bed together. They actually became one of the first couples on television to show this, causing controversy at the time. It was a pretty big deal, though they got a pass because they weren’t quite humans.
Herman and Lily Sharing A Bed Was Historic
The Munster Koach In Real Life
Tom Daniel designed the Munster Koach for only $200! From then, the producers got in touch with George Barris to get it built at Barris Kustoms. Tex Smith began working on it but it was ultimately finished by DickDean. A 1926 Ford Model T chassis was the base and it was lengthened using a custom hearse body. Overall, the vehicle was 18 feet long!
The Munster Koach In Real Life
The Drag-U-La Needed A Custom Coffin
Grandpa’s car, the Drag-U-La, was made out of a real coffin. It was purchased in North Hollywood under the table as a death certificate was necessary to buy one. While the vehicle was only featured in one episode of the show, it appeared in the end credits of every other show in the second season. It was also designed by the Munster Coach designer, Tom Daniel.
The Drag-U-La Needed A Custom Coffin
No Other Vampire In Comics
In 1954, the Comics Code Authority outlawed vampires from comics which is not surprising considering the strict codes on media back then. Gold Key Comics, however, was not a member of the body and produced a 16-issue Munsters comic from 1965 until 1968. The first issue continues to be one of the most valuable works published by Gold Key Comics.
No Other Vampire In Comics
Three Family Members Played By Fred Gwynne
Did you know that Fred Gwynne had three roles in the show? Apart from Herman Munster, he also played the twin brother Charlie Munster and Frankenstein’s rejected creation Johann. Well, that’s definitely one way to ensure there is a resemblance in a fictional family.
Three Family Members Played By Fred Gwynne
Grandpa Was Younger Than Lily In Real Life
Al Lewis AKA “Grandpa” played the role of Lily Munster’s father. However, he was actually only a year younger than Yvonne De Castro! Good acting and great makeup can really do wonders for an actor.
Grandpa Was Younger Than Lily In Real Life
Why It Was Filmed In Black And White
One theory was that it was due to the stringy studio that did not want to spend money on shooting in color. Back then, color films and TV shows were becoming more popular but a major equipment upgrade was necessary. According to the others, however, the studio felt like a color version would scare off young kids. The pilot episode was filmed in color but the rest of the episodes were in black and white.
Why It Was Filmed In Black And White
Beverley Owen Played Marilyn Munster In Episodes 1 to 13
Marilyn Munster stays with the Munsters throughout the show, though they never explained why. The striking blonde has parents in Transylvania and she looks like a “normal”, a condition the family treats with disgust. She is devoted to family, especially Grandpa and Uncle Herman. Owen played the character for the first 13 episodes of the show and the actress quit acting altogether after this.
Beverley Owen Played Marilyn Munster In Episodes 1 to 13
Beverley Owen Now
After playing Marilyn Munster, she got married to The Munsters writer and producer, Joe Stone. She later appeared in the 1964 Western movie Bullet for a Badman opposite Audie Murphy. From 1971 to 1973, she starred in Another World before she retired from TV. She has since appeared with the Cambridge Theatre Company, given birth to two daughters, and got her master’s degree in 1989.
The Herman Munster Costume Got Very Hot
Fred Gwynne was accustomed to spending hours getting his hair and makeup done, though the costume was apparently so hot he nearly overheated! Apparently, a stagehand needed to get an air compressor to help cool him off. Even then, the temperature inside the costume could still be too much.
The Herman Munster Costume Got Very Hot
The Guy Behind The Frankenstein Set Built Grandpa’s Lab
The special effects technician on the show was none other than Kenneth Strickfaden. Apart from Grandpa Munster’s lab, he built the set for the 1931 film Frankenstein. After the hit movie, he went on to become the top electrical special effects expert in Hollywood. Overall, he has helped design over a hundred films
The Guy Behind The Frankenstein Set Built Grandpa’s Lab
Herman Munster
Don’t be fooled by his appearance. Herman Munster is actually a good-natured and lovable goofball. He is the father of the family and he has lived for numerous centuries. He tends to throw tantrums that he begins with animal-like roars. Fred Gwynne played him to perfection and it might even have been his greatest role ever.
Herman Munster
Fred Gwynne And His Later Career
Gwynne kept acting after the show wrapped up and only stopped after his death at age 66 in 1993. He was typecast until two years after The Munsters, something he ended by landing a part in Arsenic and Old Lace. He later enjoyed a successful acting career full of television, movies, and mini-series projects. Some of these include Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny.
Fred Gwynne And His Later Career
Lily Munster
Lily is the mother of the Munster family and she is also close to Marilyn whom she treats like her own kid. She provides the voice of reason in the ridiculous family and plays mediator during the squabbles between Grandpa and Herman. She is the foil to Herman Munster and this makes her a great matriarch in the family.
Lily Munster
Yvonne De Carlo And Her Later Career
De Carlo had been active in the industry until 1995, though her career did not survive that long after Lily Munster. After the cancelation of the show, she played Lily in the film Musters, Go Home! After everything, she also appeared in low-budget Western flicks Hostile Guns and Arizona Bushwhackers. You can also catch her in The Power, Catch Me If You Can, Little Me, and The Barefoot Executive.
Yvonne De Carlo And Her Later Career
Grandpa
Al Lewis portrayed Grandpa, De Carlo’s onscreen father. Also called Count Sam Dracula, he runs a lab in the basement of the family home. His potions and spells result in the plot lines of many episodes as well as trouble with his son-in-law. He spends a lot of time-fighting with Herman although they are closer than you would think.
Grandpa
Al Lewis And His Later Career
Lewis launched his acting career with the TV show The Big Story back in 1953. He also worked on Car 54, Where Are You?, Route 66, and Naked City. He later portrayed the wizard Zalto in The Lost in Space episode called “Rocket to Earthy” and had minor parts in The World of Henry Orient and Pretty Boy Floyd. He did not mind the typecasting even though he was generally hired for grandfather roles. He passed away in 2006.
Al Lewis And His Later Career
Eddie Munster
Eddie is your regular all-American boy, though he happens to be a werewolf with part vampire blood. He is more werewolf than vampire, though he does sleep in a chest of drawers as well. He goes to elementary school and he’s pretty much a normal little kid. He is proud of his father and constantly brags about him to his friends. He usually helps Herman perform heroic tasks.
Eddie Munster
Butch Patrick And His Later Career
Butch Patrick enjoyed the biggest career of the entire Munsters cast. He later appeared on shows like The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Oh, he also had various parts in My Three Sons. His most recent acting credit was the 2015 movies Zombie Dream and Bite School.
Butch Patrick And His Later Career
Pat Priest As Marilyn Munster From Episodes 14 To 70
After Beverley was fired, Pat Priest took over the role of Marilyn. She kept acting in small roles after the show came to an end. You can see her in Perry Mason, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bewitched, and Mission: Impossible. Her final acting credit was for a 1995 cameo in the television movie Here Comes The Munsters. She quit acting in the ’80s and she is currently in remission from lymphoma.
Pat Priest As Marilyn Munster From Episodes 14 To 70
Pat Priest Got Lucky
One of the main reasons she landed the role was her resemblance to Own in terms of hair color, height, and physique. This lowered the cost involved with finding someone else. It was a great thing the priest’s father had been the Treasurer of the United States. It seems to have worked out fine and she played Marilyn very well.
Pat Priest Got Lucky
The Raven
The Raven was a cuckoo bird living in the family’s clock. Repeatedly saying “Nevermore”, it was a reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying poem. The Raven regularly appeared on the show and he was portrayed by Mel Blanc. His other works include The Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Heathcliffe and the Catillac Cats. He passed away in 1989, though his voice has forever been immortalized.
The Raven
The Munsters Lived Near Leave It To Beaver
The family house was just down the street from where the Cleavers of Leave It To Beaver lived. The original house remains and it has even been used in Coach and Desperate Housewives. Costing $1,000,000, it was converted into the mansion that can be viewed in Universal City at the Universal Studios theme park in California. Another replica exists in Waxahachie, Texas.
The Munsters Lived Near Leave It To Beaver
The Munsters Vs. The Addams Family
Around the same time, The Munsters debuted on CBS while The Addams Family debuted on ABC. Many fans have wondered about the similarities between the two, though it turns out they were completely unrelated and all resemblance had been coincidental. The Addams Family later won when it comes to a longer run, though The Munsters was phenomenal in certain aspects.
The Munsters Vs. The Addams Family
What Pilot Episode?
Only a few people know about the pilot episode of the show. It was shot in color, though it was never shown on TV. The producers chose to shoot the other episodes in black and white for financial reasons, though it was very fitting for the show. It was also interesting that Lily and Ernest were played by other people and Lily had been called Phoebe back then.
What Pilot Episode?
The First Choice Was The Wrong Choice
When it comes to Eddie Munster, Herman Munster and Grandpa, they were not actually the first choice actors for the roles. Bert Lahr of the Wizard of Oz fame was initially approached to play Grandpa, while Bill Mumy was offered the role of Eddie Munster. John Carradine, meanwhile, was asked to play Herman. Luckily, they all declined and things worked out perfectly in the end.
The First Choice Was The Wrong Choice
Gwynne Before Herman Munster
Fred Gwynne went to Harvard University where he later became the president and cartoonist of the popular Harvard Lampoon. Considering the reputation of the staff members, Gwynne fit right in. Writers later started National Lampoon and it became a top comedy magazine in no time. Many great comedians in those days followed in his footsteps.
Gwynne Before Herman Munster
A Cheerios Commercial
Fascinatingly, the actors of the show were so big that they were asked to appear in a Cheerios commercial. It was based on the show and drawn back to cheerios. Eddie narrated it by saying, “Daddy said they’re the best thing since bat wings!” We commend Cheerios for the smart marketing move.
A Cheerios Commercial
Thanksgiving Parade
Here’s another evidence of the show’s popularity. In 1964, they participated in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade! Only Al Lewis and Fred Gwynne ended up participating and they rode down in the Munster Koach.
Thanksgiving Parade
Die-hard Fans
Big Munster fans Sandra and Charles McKee from Texas loved the show so much they based their home on the Munster home. It is a great replica that duplicated all the features of the Munster home. On Halloween, they throw a party to help out charities.
Die-hard Fans
Munster, Go Home!
Before the show was cancelled, the cast shot a television movie called Munster, Go Home! Herman Munster receives a huge fortune and a mansion from an uncle who happens to be a British Earl. He goes to the United Kingdom and discovers a counterfeiting operation!
Munster, Go Home!
Munsters Merch
The fame did not simply stop with commercials, parades, and television movies. The Munsters inspired board games, card games, coloring books, dolls, t-shirts, and Munster house replicas. Only a small amount of merchandise was made so they are considered to be valuable.
Munsters Merch
People Still Wanted More
Despite the cancelation order, there was a movie and an attempt at an animated version. Clearly, people wanted more of the Munster family! In 1981, a television reunion was released and it was called The Munsters Revenge. Seven years later, the show returned as The Munsters Today complete with 72 episodes and three seasons. In 1995 and 1996, the TV movies Here Come the Munsters and The Munsters’ Scary Christmas had been released respectively.
People Still Wanted More
Munsters Restaurant
Al Lewis was passionate about food and he opened Grampa’s Bella Gente in Greenwich Village in 1987. The establishment served up Italian food until 1993 and it attracted many fans of the show. Apparently, many people went to get a glimpse of Al Lewis.
Munsters Restaurant
Al Lewis, Political Activist
In 1998, Al Lewis ran for New York Governor as a candidate of the Green Party. Overall, he received 52,000 votes or one percent of the complete votes. While he did not win, he continued to be passionate about his political beliefs. He later worked as a prison reform, marijuana legalization, and anti-police brutality advocate.
Al Lewis, Political Activist
The Munsters And Leave It To Beaver
Think about it – the characters in The Munsters were not all that different from Leave It To Beaver. Both feature a blue-collar family dealing with regular problems. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the same producers worked on both shows…
The Munsters And Leave It To Beaver
The Munster Characters
Universal Television owned The Munsters, which means Universal Studios had the rights. Back then, Universal Studios copyrighted the classic monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolf Man. When the show idea was pitched, CBS knew they had some advantage over The Addams Family as they had the freedom to use Universal monsters free of charge.
The Munster Characters
Lewis and Gwynne Were Unsure About De Carlo
Upon hearing that Yvonne De Carlo had been cast, Gwynne and Lewis were displeased, to say the least. While they never knew her before this, she had a reputation for being a Hollywood glamour queen. They thought she would not be able to deliver but it’s a great thing she proved them wrong.
Lewis and Gwynne Were Unsure About De Carlo
De Carlos In Front and Behind the Camera
When the camera was rolling, de Carlo was great at her craft. She played her character to perfection, understood the unique humor of the show, and displayed great chemistry with the others. However, she tended to lock herself in the trailer when they had some downtime. She also held up production with her unnecessary hair, makeup, and nails adjustments. Apparently, she had five hairdressers over the two-year run of the show!
De Carlos In Front and Behind the Camera