The Munsters

Since we covered “The Addams Family,” it only seemed fair to give equal time to “The Munsters!” The series was a TV satire of both traditional monster movies, as well as the wholesome family fare of the era, and was produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver. It ran concurrently with the similarly macabre themed “The Addams Family,” (which aired on ABC) and which achieved higher figures in the Nielsen ratings. They were the other scary but beloved family who didn’t quite understand why people were afraid of them. 

The Munsters were a family of benign, kind monsters starring Fred Gwynn (of Car 54 sitcom fame) as an eccentric Frankenstein type head-of-the-household, Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo (former 50s film star) as his vampire wife Lily Munster; Al Lewis as Grandpa (also of Car 54 sitcom fame) as a sort of over-the-hill vampire who relishes talking about the "good old days;” Beverley Owen as their teenage niece Marilyn Munster, whose non-monster persona made her the family outcast; and Butch Patrick as their half-vampire, half-werewolf son Eddie Munster. 

The series originally aired on Thursday at 7:30 pm on CBS from September 24, 1964, to May 12, 1966; 70 episodes were produced. It was cancelled after ratings dropped to a series low, due to the premiere of ABC’s smash hit series, Batman, which was in color. 

On October 26, 2012, NBC aired a modern “reimagining“ of The Munsters called Mockingbird Lane, as a pilot. The series failed to be picked up by NBC due to disagreements on the dark nature of the content. 

The Munsters were the perfect family. They may have been ugly, they may have been weird and they may have been totally eccentric, but they loved each other and cared deeply for each other. The Munsters emphasized traits such as loyalty to your family and love (qualities not found in many shows today). The one thing I miss about The Munsters was their total innocence. Nothing bad in the content. It was brilliant. I think there are currently episodes on Hulu if you want to have a laugh filled evening of binge watching. Actually, I think I will do that this week! 

Below you can find a few videos such as the “Munsters“ theme song, and a few others.

The Munsters Opening Theme Song: 

Herman Munster’s Simple Wisdom: 

The Munsters Reboot (Forgotten Failures):