The Munsters 

A family of friendly monsters have misadventures, never quite understanding why people react to them so strangely.

Creators:

Ed Haas, Norm Liebmann

Stars:

Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Yvonne De Carlo

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Fred Gwynne	...	Herman Munster / ... 72 episodes, 1964-2004
Al Lewis	...	Grandpa 72 episodes, 1964-2004
Yvonne De Carlo	...	Lily Munster 71 episodes, 1964-1987
Butch Patrick	...	Eddie Munster 71 episodes, 1964-1987
Pat Priest	...	Marilyn Munster 57 episodes, 1964-1966

Storyline

The Munsters are a weird but honest family. Herman (the father) is Frankenstein's monster. Lily (his wife) and Grandpa (her father) are vampires. Eddie (their little son) is a werewolf. Marilyn (their niece) is the only normal one (that is the ugly duck of the family).

---

Plot Keywords:

sitcom | monster | frankenstein | spoof | husband wife relationship | 

---

Taglines:

Cross their welcome mat and you're apt to die laughing! Monstrous fun with Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo, Al Lewis. (season 1)

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Horror

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meet the Munsters

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS, Kayro-Vue Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (70 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fred Gwynne played dual roles in two episodes: in The Munsters: Knock Wood, Here Comes Charlie (1964) as Herman's twin brother Charlie and in "The Munsters" (1964) {A Visit From Johann (#2.28)}_ as a reject creation of Doctor Frankenstein's named Johann.

---

Goofs

The Munsters regard their niece Marilyn (who looks like the ideal beauty of non-monster people) as ugly and deformed, yet everyone else in the town of Mockingbird Heights basically looks like Marilyn. The Munsters also watch movies and regard then-popular stars such as Frank Sinatra and Rock Hudson as ideal men, and Grandpa's beauty potions always conjure up a beauty who looks something like Marilyn. Shouldn't their concept of beauty be horrible monsters, in accordance with the premise that Marilyn is an ugly duckling? Nor do the Munsters seem to be aware that they look radically different from non-monster people, despite interacting with them on a daily basis.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
Herman Munster: DARN, DARN, DARN, DARN!

---

Crazy Credits

The episode titles are shown on screen following the opening credits sequence. Even in modern sitcoms, this is rare.

---

Connections

Referenced in Tripping the Rift: Skankenstein (2007)

User Reviews

Munsters v. Addams Family--a Lose-Lose Situation

The simultaneous runs of Munsters and Addams Family doomed both to two-season lifespans. Much of the audience became polarized. Munsters fans would not watch Addams Family and vice versa, but if either show had been on without the other it would have attracted almost the full audience of the other.

Either could have become a major, long-running classic. Addams Family had the better chance, being a comedy/social commentary of the type that later became the major hits, All in the Family and The Simpsons. But Munsters also could also have had its seasons in the sun. After scrapping the ill-conceived and twice miscast role of Marilyn, the enormous talent and charisma of Fred Gwynne and his chemistry with Al Lewis (good friends off-camera, too) could have carried that show for many years.