The Munsters

1313 Mockingbird Lane. Dragula. Eddie's Woof Woof doll. You just have to love The Munsters. The Munsters began their stint on CBS on September 24, 1964 and ran for two years. The show has been in heavy syndication since then and Munsters fever just gets hotter and hotter, particularly every year around Halloween.

The head of the Munster clan is Herman Munster. Herman was assembled in Germany by Dr. Frankenstein who used various parts and pieces to make our seven foot (and then some) tall doting dad. After being put together, an English family adopted Herman and gave him the last name of "Munster". Herman is a swell guy - he loves his family, drag racing and well, Pat Boone, which might be the scariest thing about him. He works at the Gateman, Goodbury and Graves Funeral Parlor.

Herman's wife is the lovely Lily Munster, daughter of Count Dracula (Grandpa Munster). She's not so different than June Cleaver, though she's a devil in the kitchen. Anyone care for cream of vulture soup? Filet of dragon? Maybe you're more inclined to go for the bird's nest stew or roasted hyena foot. Lily Munster was essentially an old-fashioned wife that saw her husband and family through crazy situation after crazy situation. Plus, she had class and loads of style, much like her counterpart Morticia Addams. She's also probably partly responsible for the goth fetish so many people have developed over the years. After all, Lily was hot!

Grandpa Munster (aka Count Dracula) is Lily's father. He lives in the basement and spends his time making potions that often blow up part of the house. He also sleeps hanging upside down like a bat, but not in a coffin. Grandpa must have been a player, because he was married 16 times. Out of those marriages, he had Lily, an unnamed daughter and son Lester, who was The Wolf Man. He brings quite a bit of humor to the mix as he and Herman are always getting into trouble and devising schemes of some sort.

Marilyn Munster is the "ugly" one. Well, at least in the eyes of her Munster family. She's a beautiful, blonde teenager and regular guys just fawn all over her - until they meet her family. Marilyn's mother was Lily's sister and she's lived with her aunt and uncle since she was small. Several episodes featured Marilyn wanting to meet the right guy only to have him run away with fright.

Little Eddie Munster was a wolf boy that howled at the moon and carried around Woof Woof, his werewolf doll. Eddie wouldn't go to bed if it was too dark out (he thought that was too early). Like Granpda Munster, Eddie slept hanging upside down in his closet. He was a fifth grader at Mockingbird Heights Elementary School and a member of the running team.

The Munsters had much in common with "Leave It To Beaver". First of all, they had the same creators. More importantly, The Munsters was about a solid family life, despite the ghoulish outward appearance and unconventional lifestyle. Most of the shows dealt with them being perfectly normal and loving to each other, but absolutely hideous and freaky to everyone outside the family.

Fun facts:
Butch Patrick appeared in the Sid and Marty Krofft kids show "Lidsville" in the early '70s. It made him a teen idol.

In June 2004, Herman Munster was ranked #19 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time".

Herman and Lily Munster were one of the first (but not THE first) TV couples to share a bed.

The Munsters cast:
Herman Munster - Fred Gwynne
Lily Munster - Yvonne De Carlo
Grandpa - Al Lewis
Marilyn Munster - Beverley Owen and Pat Priest
Edward Wolfgang Munster - Butch Patrick