The Munsters
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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: Jack Marshall
Country of origin: United States
Original language: English
Nunmber of seasons: 2
Number of episodes: 70
Production
Producers: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher
Production locations: Universal Studios, Universal City, California, United States
Camera setup: Single camera
Running time:23 - 26 minutes
Production companies: Kayro-Vue Productions, Universal Television
Original release
Network: CBS
Release: September 24, 1964 - May 12, 1966

The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein’s monster Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily, Al Lewis as Grandpa the aged vampire Count Dracula, Beverley Owen (later replaced by Pat Priest) as their niece Marilyn, and Butch Patrick as their werewolf like son Eddie. The family pet, named “Spot”, was a fire breathing dragon.

Produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver, the series was a satire of American suburban life, the wholesome television family fare of the era and traditional monster movies. It achieved higher Nielsen ratings than did the similarly macabre themed The Addams Family, which aired concurrently on ABC.

In 1965, The Munsters was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series but lost to The Rogues. In the 21st century, it received several TV Land Award nominations, including one for Most Uninsurable Driver (Herman Munster).

The series originally aired on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on CBS from September 24, 1964 to May 12, 1966. Seventy episodes were produced. The show was canceled after ratings had dropped to a series low in the face of competition from ABC’s Batman. Patrick said, “I think ‘Batman’ was to blame. ‘Batman’ just came along and took our ratings away.” However, The Munsters found a large audience in syndication. A spinoff series ensued, as well as several films, including one with a theatrical release and several more recent attempts to reboot it.

Premise

The Munsters are a Transylvanian American family living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in the fictional city of Mockingbird Heights. The series’running gag is that the odd looking family with strange tastes considers itself to be an average American family. Herman is the family’s sole wage earner, although Lily and Grandpa make short lived attempts to earn money from time to time. While Herman is the head of the household, Lily also makes many decisions. According to episode 44 (“Happy 100th Anniversary”), they were married in 1865.

Other than Marilyn, the characters’ costumes and appearances were based on the classic monsters of Universal Studios films of the 1930s and 1940s, including the iconic version of Frankenstein’s monster developed by Jack Pierce for the 1931 Universal film “Frankenstein”. As Universal jointly produced The Munsters, the show was able to employ the copyrighted designs. Makeup for the series was credited to Bud Westmore, who pioneered many other makeup effects and designs for the studio’s monsters after Pierce.

The show satirized the typical family sitcom formula of the era: the well meaning father, the nurturing mother, the eccentric live in relative, the naïve teenager and the precocious child. The show also references several real sitcoms. In episode 45, “Operation Herman”, Lily tells Herman to have a father son talk with Eddie because “a thing like this is up to the father. Anyone who’s watched Father Knows Best for nine years ought to know that,” to which Herman replies, “All right. But Donna Reed always handles things on her show”. In episode 47, “John Doe Munster”, Grandpa describes My Three Sons as being about a “crazy, mixed up family that’s always having weird adventures”.

Al Lewis explained, “We can do a lot of satirical pointed things on society that you couldn’t do on an ordinary show”. Lewis also said, “Philosophically, the format is that in spite of the way people look to you physically, underneath there is a heart of gold”.

The Munsters reflected changes in social attitudes during the civil rights era, and in 2020 a speech that Herman makes to Eddie in the 1965 episode “Eddie’s Nickname” went viral: “The lesson I want you to learn is that 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”.

Cast (Regulars)

Fred Gwynne - Herman Munster
Yvonne De Carlo - Lily Munster
Al Lewis - Grandpa
Butch Patrick - Eddie Munster
Beverley Owen - Marilyn Munster (ep. 1–13)
Pat Priest - Marilyn Munster (ep. 14–70)
Mel Blanc - Voice of The Raven
Bob Hastings - Voice of The Raven