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Creature Feature
The Munsters
Written By AL J. Vermette
In 1964, the year of my birth and just weeks after this horror writer came into the
world, a little TV show kicked off a legacy that to this day some 45 years later still
impacts us horror fans. That show was The Munsters and even all these years
later, that little show that only lasted two years has paved the way for
horror/comedy. The show ran a long side its famous counter part The Addams
Family which to this day is just as loved by fans and lasted the same amount of time
on the airwaves. Unlike its spooky and also very funny sitcom cousin, The
Munsters featured the classic Universal Monsters in the form of Frankenstein, his
vampire bride, Dracula and The Wolf Man, only here he was a young boy named
Eddie. The show shot like any other sitcom of the day displayed the daily ins and
outs of any American working class family. We saw Herman the father figure AKA
Frankenstein’s Monster, going to work and bringing home the income as Lily his
bride took care of things at home (yes, this was the 60s) with her live in aging dad
known as Grandpa who was non other than The Count himself and her young
werewolf son Eddie. Unlike their scary movie incarnations of the 1930's and 40's,
these monsters were funny and very loveable and a joy to watch from week to
week. Rounding out the family was their teenage niece Marilyn, who was a pretty
young thing who thought herself as beastly since she didn’t look like the others in
her family.
The Munsters took to the air on September 24th 1964 and ran till May of 1966.
The idea of using a family of monsters was first proposed to Universal Studios in
the 1940s by cartoonist Bob Clampett, who thought it could be shown as an
animated series. This idea was never picked up by the studio but in the early 60's
the idea was again brought up by the writers of the Rocky & Bullwinkle show Allan
Burns and Chris Hayward. The idea of such a show was at last seen possible and
the project was handed to Norm Liebman and Ed Haas who went on to write a
treatment called Love Thy Monster. The people at Universal were divided, some
saw the show as a cartoon series and others wanted it to be a live action show.
The live action idea won out and a short film presentation was shot for the studio
showing its potential as a series.
Bringing the family of very funny creatures to life was a cast of actors that not only
made each monster memorable but made them stand out among other TV sitcoms
of the time Like Leave it To Beaver, Bewitched, My Three Sons, Make Room For
Daddy and even the other spooky family The Addams Family. The loveable
bumbling Herman Munster was played by actor Fred Gwynne, with his wife Lily
played by Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis although younger then De Carol played her
father Grandpa.. Butch Patrick played little Eddie Munster who carried a werewolf
doll name wolfy. The non-monster looking Marilyn was played by both Beverley
and by Pat Priest over the shows two year run. Shot in black and white like the
older movies of the 30's and 40's gave the show a rich and gothic tone. Even
though most shows of the day were shot in this format, the B/W look worked well for
fans of the Universal Monster movies of the past.
Also since the show was produced by Universal itself, it was able to use the make
up design of the Frankenstein Monster for Herman without any copyright
infringement on the character. Other Universal Monsters made guest spots on the
show such as The Mummy and The Creature Form The Black Lagoon as well.
Other non-human members of the family were their pet Spot, the dragon, that lived
under the stairwell and the raven that lived it the living room coo, coo clock voiced
by Mel Blank of Bugs Bunny fame.
In 1966, sadly The Monsters came to an end do to poor ratings and CBS dropped
the show as was its counter part spooky family The Addams Family on its network.
New full color shows like ABCs Bat Man ruled the airwaves and shows about funny
monster households were out. But The Munsters were not done yet and like any
good monster they rose again from the dead in the form of movies and new TV
shows. The first starting soon after the death of the series itself with a movie in
1966. The film Munster, Go Home brought the cast together again as they went to
England to claim a place called Munster Hall from a dead relative. The movie now
showing the family in full color for the first time and Herman in all his green glory.
Years later in 1981 most of the cast once again came together for the TV movie
The Muster’s Revenge with Eddie and Marilyn now played by actors K.C. Martel
and Jo Mc Donnell since the Butch Patrick and Pat. Priest were now to old to play
their roles.
In 1988 a new incarnation of The Munsters returned to Television with an all new
cast and show. The Munsters Today brought the family into the late 80's and early
90's for not only an update but using the new timeline as the shows backdrop.
After one of Grandpas crazy lab accidents, the family is transported into the future
where they must deal with all the big hair and rap music of the new decade. The
new show ran for only a few years and though it ended in 1991 with 70 episodes
just two short of the 60's series at 72, it two gave the fans of the now classic
Musters a new take and again brought the same loveable characters back to an all
new younger viewer ship and us old ones as well.
The mid 90's again saw the Munsters return once more with two TV made movies
with Here Come The Munsters in 1995 and 1996 with The Munsters Scary Little
Christmas. The first film also featured a cameo of classic cast members Yvonne De
Carlo, Al Lewis Butch Patrick and Pat Priest sitting at a table in a restaurant as the
new Herman serves them as their waiter. Sadly Fred Gwynne had died in the early
90's and was unable to be part of the film with his former co-stars. Even more sadly
is the fact that in the last few years we also lost Al and Yvonne as well. But their
roles will always live on.
In 2004, the Wayans Brothers said they wanted to bring The Munsters back for an
all new feature film. It was said that the film would star Charmed star Rose
McGowan as Lily but as of this writing there is no word on if and when this film will
ever get made. Still one has to think that someone will again bring back The
Munsters for a new TV show or feature film. For now The Munsters will live and
relive in reruns from now until the end of time as they did for the past 45 years. I do
know this, after 45 years….my whole life time and a long, long time fan of the show
and all its follow up incarnations, this writer and publisher knows that it can’t be to
long before someone brings the worlds most spookiest and funniest family back to
its fans.
The Munsters
Written By AL J. Vermette
In 1964, the year of my birth and just weeks after this horror writer came into the
world, a little TV show kicked off a legacy that to this day some 45 years later still
impacts us horror fans. That show was The Munsters and even all these years
later, that little show that only lasted two years has paved the way for
horror/comedy. The show ran a long side its famous counter part The Addams
Family which to this day is just as loved by fans and lasted the same amount of time
on the airwaves. Unlike its spooky and also very funny sitcom cousin, The
Munsters featured the classic Universal Monsters in the form of Frankenstein, his
vampire bride, Dracula and The Wolf Man, only here he was a young boy named
Eddie. The show shot like any other sitcom of the day displayed the daily ins and
outs of any American working class family. We saw Herman the father figure AKA
Frankenstein’s Monster, going to work and bringing home the income as Lily his
bride took care of things at home (yes, this was the 60s) with her live in aging dad
known as Grandpa who was non other than The Count himself and her young
werewolf son Eddie. Unlike their scary movie incarnations of the 1930's and 40's,
these monsters were funny and very loveable and a joy to watch from week to
week. Rounding out the family was their teenage niece Marilyn, who was a pretty
young thing who thought herself as beastly since she didn’t look like the others in
her family.
The Munsters took to the air on September 24th 1964 and ran till May of 1966.
The idea of using a family of monsters was first proposed to Universal Studios in
the 1940s by cartoonist Bob Clampett, who thought it could be shown as an
animated series. This idea was never picked up by the studio but in the early 60's
the idea was again brought up by the writers of the Rocky & Bullwinkle show Allan
Burns and Chris Hayward. The idea of such a show was at last seen possible and
the project was handed to Norm Liebman and Ed Haas who went on to write a
treatment called Love Thy Monster. The people at Universal were divided, some
saw the show as a cartoon series and others wanted it to be a live action show.
The live action idea won out and a short film presentation was shot for the studio
showing its potential as a series.
Bringing the family of very funny creatures to life was a cast of actors that not only
made each monster memorable but made them stand out among other TV sitcoms
of the time Like Leave it To Beaver, Bewitched, My Three Sons, Make Room For
Daddy and even the other spooky family The Addams Family. The loveable
bumbling Herman Munster was played by actor Fred Gwynne, with his wife Lily
played by Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis although younger then De Carol played her
father Grandpa.. Butch Patrick played little Eddie Munster who carried a werewolf
doll name wolfy. The non-monster looking Marilyn was played by both Beverley
and by Pat Priest over the shows two year run. Shot in black and white like the
older movies of the 30's and 40's gave the show a rich and gothic tone. Even
though most shows of the day were shot in this format, the B/W look worked well for
fans of the Universal Monster movies of the past.
Also since the show was produced by Universal itself, it was able to use the make
up design of the Frankenstein Monster for Herman without any copyright
infringement on the character. Other Universal Monsters made guest spots on the
show such as The Mummy and The Creature Form The Black Lagoon as well.
Other non-human members of the family were their pet Spot, the dragon, that lived
under the stairwell and the raven that lived it the living room coo, coo clock voiced
by Mel Blank of Bugs Bunny fame.
In 1966, sadly The Monsters came to an end do to poor ratings and CBS dropped
the show as was its counter part spooky family The Addams Family on its network.
New full color shows like ABCs Bat Man ruled the airwaves and shows about funny
monster households were out. But The Munsters were not done yet and like any
good monster they rose again from the dead in the form of movies and new TV
shows. The first starting soon after the death of the series itself with a movie in
1966. The film Munster, Go Home brought the cast together again as they went to
England to claim a place called Munster Hall from a dead relative. The movie now
showing the family in full color for the first time and Herman in all his green glory.
Years later in 1981 most of the cast once again came together for the TV movie
The Muster’s Revenge with Eddie and Marilyn now played by actors K.C. Martel
and Jo Mc Donnell since the Butch Patrick and Pat. Priest were now to old to play
their roles.
In 1988 a new incarnation of The Munsters returned to Television with an all new
cast and show. The Munsters Today brought the family into the late 80's and early
90's for not only an update but using the new timeline as the shows backdrop.
After one of Grandpas crazy lab accidents, the family is transported into the future
where they must deal with all the big hair and rap music of the new decade. The
new show ran for only a few years and though it ended in 1991 with 70 episodes
just two short of the 60's series at 72, it two gave the fans of the now classic
Musters a new take and again brought the same loveable characters back to an all
new younger viewer ship and us old ones as well.
The mid 90's again saw the Munsters return once more with two TV made movies
with Here Come The Munsters in 1995 and 1996 with The Munsters Scary Little
Christmas. The first film also featured a cameo of classic cast members Yvonne De
Carlo, Al Lewis Butch Patrick and Pat Priest sitting at a table in a restaurant as the
new Herman serves them as their waiter. Sadly Fred Gwynne had died in the early
90's and was unable to be part of the film with his former co-stars. Even more sadly
is the fact that in the last few years we also lost Al and Yvonne as well. But their
roles will always live on.
In 2004, the Wayans Brothers said they wanted to bring The Munsters back for an
all new feature film. It was said that the film would star Charmed star Rose
McGowan as Lily but as of this writing there is no word on if and when this film will
ever get made. Still one has to think that someone will again bring back The
Munsters for a new TV show or feature film. For now The Munsters will live and
relive in reruns from now until the end of time as they did for the past 45 years. I do
know this, after 45 years….my whole life time and a long, long time fan of the show
and all its follow up incarnations, this writer and publisher knows that it can’t be to
long before someone brings the worlds most spookiest and funniest family back to
its fans.
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