The Munsters facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Munsters |
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Season One opening, with Yvonne De Carlo featured behind the title
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| Created by | Allan Burns Chris Hayward |
| Developed by | Norm Liebmann Ed Haas |
| Starring | Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo Al Lewis Beverley Owen (1964) Pat Priest (1964–66) Butch Patrick |
| Theme music composer | Jack Marshall Bob Mosher (unaired lyrics) |
| Opening theme | "The Munsters' Theme" |
| Ending theme | “The Munsters’ Theme” |
| Composer(s) | Jack Marshall |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 70 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher |
| Production location(s) | Universal Studios, Universal City, California |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 23-26 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Kayro-Vue Productions Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 24, 1964 – May 12, 1966 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
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The Munsters was a popular American TV show about a family of friendly monsters. It showed their daily lives in a funny way. The main actors were Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, who looked like Frankenstein's monster. Yvonne De Carlo played his wife, Lily, a vampire. Al Lewis was Grandpa, an old vampire like Count Dracula. Their niece, Marilyn, was played by Beverley Owen and later by Pat Priest. Their son, Eddie, who was like a werewolf, was played by Butch Patrick. Even their pet, Spot, was a fire-breathing dragon!
The show was made by the same people who created Leave It to Beaver. It made fun of typical American suburban life and other family TV shows of that time. It also poked fun at classic monster movies. The Munsters was very popular and had higher TV ratings than The Addams Family, another monster-themed show that aired at the same time.
In 1965, The Munsters was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series. Later, in the 21st century, it received several TV Land Award nominations.
The series first aired on CBS on September 24, 1964, and ran until May 12, 1966. There were 70 episodes in total. The show ended because its ratings dropped, partly because of competition from ABC's Batman show. However, The Munsters became very popular when it was shown again in reruns. This led to a spin-off series and several movies.
Contents
The Munster Family's Life
The Munsters are a family from Transylvania who live at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in a made-up town called Mockingbird Heights. A funny part of the show is that this unusual-looking family with strange habits thinks they are just a normal American family. Herman is the only one who works, though Lily and Grandpa sometimes try to earn money. Lily also helps make many family decisions. They got married in 1865, as mentioned in one episode.
The characters' looks, except for Marilyn, were based on the famous Universal Classic Monsters from movies in the 1930s and 1940s. For example, Herman looked like Frankenstein's monster from the 1931 film Frankenstein. Since Universal Studios helped make The Munsters, they could use these well-known monster designs.
The show made fun of typical family sitcoms of its time. It showed a kind father, a caring mother, a quirky relative, a naive teenager, and a smart child. The show even mentioned other real sitcoms. For example, Lily once told Herman to talk to Eddie like a father, saying, "Anyone who's watched Father Knows Best for nine years ought to know that."
Al Lewis, who played Grandpa, said the show could make fun of society in ways other shows couldn't. He also explained that the show's main idea was that "in spite of the way people look to you physically, underneath there is a heart of gold."
The Munsters also showed changing ideas about society. In a 1965 episode, Herman gives Eddie a speech that became very popular online. He tells Eddie: "It doesn't matter what you look like. Whether you are tall or short; or fat or thin; or ugly or handsome—like your father—or you can be black, or yellow or white, it doesn't matter. What matters is the size of your heart and the strength of your character."
Meet the Cast
Main Characters
- Fred Gwynne played Herman Munster.
- Yvonne De Carlo played Lily Munster.
- Al Lewis played Grandpa.
- Butch Patrick played Eddie Munster.
- Beverley Owen played Marilyn Munster for the first 13 episodes.
- Pat Priest took over as Marilyn Munster for the rest of the show.
- Mel Blanc and Bob Hastings were the voices of Charlie the Raven.
Other Characters
- Paul Lynde and Dom DeLuise played Dr. Edward H. Dudley.
- John Carradine played Mr. Gateman, Herman's boss at the funeral parlor.
How the Show Was Made
Creating the Show
The idea for a funny monster family first came from an animator named Bob Clampett in the 1940s. Later, in 1963, writers Allan Burns and Chris Hayward suggested a similar idea to Universal Studios. Because Universal owned the rights to characters like Frankenstein and Dracula, they decided to use their own monster characters for the show.
Some people thought the show should be animated, but others wanted live actors, and that idea won. In 1964, a test episode called "My Fair Munster" was filmed. Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were the first actors chosen. They had worked together before and had great chemistry.
The show was produced by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who were famous for creating the Leave It to Beaver TV series.
Filming and Makeup
During the first season, the makeup for Herman, Lily, and Grandpa was changed a bit. Lily's hair originally had a big white streak, which was made smaller later. Grandpa's makeup became more exaggerated, and Herman's face was made wider to look funnier and less human. Fred Gwynne also started to stutter when Herman was angry or trying to make a point, and he often left his mouth open to make the character seem goofier.
The Munster Mansion
The Munsters' home was a spooky, old-fashioned mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. The town's exact location was never said in the show, but later stories placed it near Los Angeles.
The Munster house was actually on the Universal Studios backlot. It was built for a movie in 1946 and later used in many TV shows, including Leave It to Beaver. In 1964, it was changed to look like the Munster home, with a stone wall added. After The Munsters ended, the house was used in other shows like Desperate Housewives.
The inside of the mansion was filmed on special soundstages at Universal Studios. The rooms were always dusty, smoky, and full of cobwebs. As a running joke, parts of the house would often get damaged, usually by Herman's clumsiness, but the damage would never last.
Cool Cars: The Props
In one episode, Lily buys a hot rod and a hearse and has them combined into one car called the Munster Koach as a birthday gift for Herman. The Munster Koach and another car called DRAG-U-LA were designed by Tom Daniel and built by a famous car customizer named George Barris. The Munster Koach was a long, custom car built from a 1926 Ford Model T. It was 18 feet long and cost almost $20,000 to build! Barris also built the DRAG-U-LA, which was a race car made from a real coffin. Grandpa used it to win back the Munster Koach after Herman lost it in a race.
The Theme Song
The famous instrumental theme song, "The Munsters' Theme," was created by Jack Marshall. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965. The song had lyrics written by co-producer Bob Mosher, but they were never used on the show.
Episodes and Special Appearances
The First Try
The very first test episode was filmed in color and was about 16 minutes long. It was used to show the idea to CBS. This episode never aired, but its script was used for the second episode of the show. In this first version, Joan Marshall played Herman's wife (named Phoebe then), and Nate "Happy" Derman played Eddie. The house looked a bit different, and Herman's makeup was less goofy. Eddie was also portrayed as a meaner kid. The music was different too. CBS decided to replace Joan Marshall with Yvonne De Carlo (who became Lily) and Nate Derman with Butch Patrick (who played a nicer Eddie).
Marineland Carnival (1965 Special)
During the first season, the Munster family appeared in a special Easter episode. They visited Marineland of the Pacific to find a new pet for Eddie. This episode aired only once on CBS on April 18, 1965. For a long time, people thought it was lost, but a copy was found in 1997.
Episode List
List of The Munsters episodes
Where to Watch Now
After its original run, The Munsters was shown in reruns on local TV stations. In the 1990s, it aired on Nick at Nite and TV Land. In October 2011, it was shown on Boomerang for Halloween. Since October 5, 2015, Cozi TV has been airing the series on weeknights and Sunday evenings.
The Munsters in Other Shows
Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis appeared as Herman and Grandpa in the Munster Koach car in the 1964 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Fred Gwynne also made solo appearances as Herman on other TV shows like The Red Skelton Show and The Danny Kaye Show.
The Munsters Franchise
The Munsters have appeared in many forms beyond the original TV show.
Movies
Several movies were made about the Munsters. Two movies featured the original actors: Munster, Go Home! (1966) and The Munsters' Revenge (1981). Later TV movies included Here Come the Munsters (1995) and The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996). A new movie called The Munsters was released in 2022.
Other TV Shows
The Mini-Munsters
In 1973, ABC aired an animated special called The Mini-Munsters, based on the original characters.
The Munsters Today
A new TV series called The Munsters Today ran from 1988 to 1991. It had 72 episodes. The story explained that the family had been asleep for 22 years due to an accident in Grandpa's lab. They woke up in the late 1980s and had to learn about modern life. This show featured new actors playing the family.
Mockingbird Lane
In 2012, a new version of the show called Mockingbird Lane was developed for NBC. It was meant to be a one-hour drama with cool visuals. NBC ordered a test episode, which aired as a Halloween special. However, NBC decided not to make it a full series because of disagreements about its darker tone.
Music Inspired by The Munsters
In 1998, the musician Rob Zombie released a song called "Dragula". Its title came from Grandpa's race car, DRAG-U-LA. The music video for the song even showed parts of the Munsters riding in the car.
A part of the show's theme song was also used in the song "Uma Thurman" by the band Fall Out Boy.
Watching at Home
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD between 2004 and 2008. These DVD sets often included special features like the original unaired pilot episode and documentaries about the actors. Some sets also included the movies Munster, Go Home and The Munsters' Revenge.
Fun Merchandise
Many cool items were made based on The Munsters!
- Gold Key Comics made a Munsters comic book series from 1965 to 1968.
- There were rubber squeaky toys, Colorforms (picture sets), and model kits.
- Aurora made a model kit of the Munsters' living room, showing Herman in his electric chair, Eddie by the fire, Lily knitting, and Grandpa hanging like a bat. Marilyn was not included in this kit.
- AMT made model kits of the Munster Koach and DRAG-U-LA cars.
- Mattel released two Herman Munster dolls, one that talked and a hand puppet, both using Fred Gwynne's real voice.
A video game based on The Munsters was released in 1989 for various computer systems, but it was criticized for being too short and not very fun. In 1990, Atari Corporation released a game called Midnight Mutants for the Atari 7800, which featured Al Lewis's likeness as Grandpa.
In 1966, a View-Master set was released for a Munsters episode. It had rare color photos of the characters and their house, showing their greenish-white makeup.
