The Munsters premiered on CBS in September 1964
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Though the show was beloved, it only lasted for two seasons before being canceled in 1966
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The sitcom starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster
RevisitingThe Munsterselicits anything but the reaction "darn, darn, darn, darn!"
The CBS sitcom lasted only two seasons, but it quickly became a classic. Premiering on Sept. 24, 1964 — less than a week afterThe Addams Familydebuted on ABC —The Munstersfocused on a family of ghouls and their "normie" niece living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights, a stand-in for a classic American suburb.
Starring Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster andYvonne De Carloas Lily Munster, the show was a campy mashup of classic Universal Pictures monsters and wholesome family-focused sitcoms.
Despite its brief run,The Munstersspawned numerous spinoffs and reboots, including the 1966 filmMunster, Go Home!— which came quickly after the initial series' end — the 1973 animated specialThe Mini-Munsters, the 1981 TV movie revivalThe Munsters' Revenge, the syndicated revival seriesThe Munsters Today, which aired from 1988 to 1991, and the 1995 CBS TV movieHere Come the Munsters.
The pilot for a planned reboot,Mockingbird Lane, aired as a Halloween special on NBC in 2012, and in 2022, directorRob Zombie’sThe Munsterspresented an origin story for the show’s characters.
Sixty years afterThe Munsters' 1966 finale, find out what happened to the beloved sitcom's cast.
Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster
At a towering 6' 5", Gwynne was a perfect fit for Herman Munster, the hulking Frankenstein’s monster-esque patriarch of the Munster clan.
Having already appeared in numerous TV series in the 1950s, Gwynne had his first starring role as Officer Francis Muldoon in NBC’s cop sitcomCar 54, Where Are You?from 1961 to 1963. After starring inThe Munstersfrom 1964 to 1966, he reprised the role of Herman inMunster, Go Home!(1966).
In the decades that followed, Gwynne continued to make numerous appearances in series and TV movies, including 1981’sThe Munsters’ Revenge, while also appearing in films likeFatal Attraction(1987),Pet Sematary(1989) andMy Cousin Vinny(1992). The latter was his final on-screen role.
Gwynne married his first wife, Jean Reynard, in 1952. The couple had five children before divorcing in 1980. He later married Deborah Flater in 1988.
The actor died in 1993 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 66.
Yvonne De Carlo as Lily Munster
Prior to taking on the role of vampire bride/homemaker Lily Munster, De Carlo appeared in more than 50 movies in the 1940s and 1950s, including starring oppositeCharlton Hestonas Moses’ wife in Cecil B. DeMille’sThe Ten Commandments(1956).
But, as pop culture historian Geoffrey MarktoldWoman’s Worldin 2024, De Carlo was often “hired to smolder like a prop rather than [portray] a fully-developed character,” and many of her films were “popular in the moment, but nobody remembers them today.”
WithThe Munsters, however, De Carlo reached a new level of campy cultural cache, reprising the role of Lily inMunster, Go Home!andThe Munsters’ Revenge.
Following the show’s cancellation in 1966, she went on to appear in another 27 films, primarily B-movies and horror flicks, playing on herMunstersnotoriety. She also found success on the stage, most notably originating the role of Carlotta Campion in the 1971 Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’sFollies, and made appearances in shows likeFantasy Island,Murder, She Wrote,Dream OnandTales from the Crypt.
She married stuntman Robert Morgan in 1955. In addition to Morgan’s daughter from a previous marriage, the couple had two sons before divorcing in 1973.
De Carlo died of heart failure in 2007 at age 84.
Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster
Al Lewis’ zany Count Sam Dracula, a.k.a. Grandpa Munster, may have been hundreds of years old, but the actor himself was only 41 when he took on the role — notably, a yearyoungerthan on-screen daughter De Carlo.
Lewis got his start performing in Vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1950s, before moving into television, most notably starring alongside Gwynne inCar 54, Where Are You?before they reunited forThe Munsters.
Along with most of the original cast, Lewis appeared as hisMunsterscharacter inMunster, Go Home!andThe Munsters’ Revenge, and he had a cameo inHere Come the Munsters. He also reprised the role in a 1991 episode of ABC’sHi Honey, I’m Home,and he hosted the TBS TV horror-block Super Scary Saturday as Grandpa Munster from 1987 to 1989.
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Lewis had no qualms getting typecast, saying in a 1997 interview,per NPR, "Why would I mind? It pays my mortgage."
BeyondThe Munsters, Lewis' notable film appearances included Sydney Pollack’sThey Shoot Horses, Don’t They(1969) andMarried to the Mob(1988). He also reprised hisCar 54role in the 1994 film based on the show. On TV, he guest-starred in shows likeLost in Space,Green Acres,Love American StyleandTaxi.
A lifelong left-wing activist, Lewis ran for New York governor as a member of the Green Party in 1998. His bid to be listed on the ballot as “Grandpa Al Lewis” failed, as did his campaign. He did, however, succeed in securing enough votes to place his party on the New York ballot for the next four years. In 2000, he campaigned for the Green Party nomination for one of New York’s two U.S. Senate seats, coming in second.
The actor also ran a restaurant in N.Y.C.'s Greenwich Village called Grandpa's, where he could often be spotted taking photos and signing autographs.
Lewis was married to Marge Domowitz, with whom he shared three sons, from 1956 until 1977. He later married actress Karen Ingenthron-Lewis in 1984, and they remained together until his death in 2006 at age 82. Lewis was also a grandfather of four.
Butch Patrick as Eddie Munster
While the role of Eddie Munster was originally played by child actor Happy Derman in the unaired pilot forThe Munsters, then-11-year-old Butch Patrick was ultimately cast as the pint-size werewolf in the series. He remained on the show for both seasons.
Patrick reprised the role of Eddie inMunster, Go Home!, but he did not appear in the 1981 TV movie.
After the series ended, Patrick continued to work in television, with roles on shows likeDaniel Boone,I Dream of JeannieandThe Monkees. In 1971, he starred on the short-lived Saturday morning kids’ showLidsville,fromH.R. Pufnstufcreators Sid and Marty Krofft. He also nabbed the starring role in the 1970 film adaptation ofThe Phantom Tollbooth.
Patrick quit acting in 1975 to work for his father, then returned to the screen with a role in the 1991 horror flickScary Movie. In 1995, he had a cameo in the remakeHere Come the Munstersand appeared in a cameo as himself in 2003’sDickie Roberts: Former Child Star.
He’s taken on a number of small roles in the years since, including voicing the Tin Can Man in Rob Zombie’sThe Munsters.
In September 2016, at age 63, Patricktied the knotwith Leila Murray in Macon, Mo.
Beverley Owen as Marilyn Munster
The first of the two original Marilyn Munsters, Beverley Owen came to the series with roles in shows likeAs the World TurnsandWagon Train,as well as the 1964 filmBullets for a Badman, under her belt.
As Marilyn, the daughter of Lily Munster’s sister, she played the only “normal” member of the family — though her spooky relatives considered her odd. After only 13 episodes, Owen leftThe Munstersmidway through its first season.
That same year, she married writer, director and producer Jon Stone, who went on to become an original member of theSesame Streetteam. The couple had two daughters before divorcing in 1974.
Owen briefly returned to the small screen in 1972, playing Dr. Paula McCrea onAnother World. She went on to earn a master’s degree in early American history.
Owendied from ovarian cancerin February 2019. She was 81. Patrick marked her passing in a Facebook post, writing, “Beautiful Beverly Owen has left us. What a sweet soul. I had the biggest crush on her. RIP Bev and thanks for your 13 memorable Marilyn Munster episodes.”
Pat Priest as Marilyn Munster
Hot on the heels of small guest roles in shows likePerry MasonandMy Favorite Martian, Pat Priest was tapped to replace Owen as Marilyn midway throughThe Munsters’ first season. She continued to play the character until the show’s 1966 cancellation.
Post-Munsters, Priest booked guest roles on series likeThe Lucy Show,Mannix,Mission: Impossible,BewitchedandThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. She also starred alongsideElvis Presleyin 1967’sEasy Come, Easy GoandBruce Dernin 1971’sThe Incredible 2-Headed Transplant.
After retiring from acting in the 1980s, Priest started a new career restoring and selling homes, and she also co-ran an antiques business with her sister,perRemind. She did, however, return for a cameo inHere Come the Munstersand provided the voice for an airline announcer in the 2022 filmThe Munsters. She also still occasionally joins Patrick at fan conventions.
Priest was married to Pierce Jensen Jr. from 1955 to 1967. In 1981, she married her second husband, Frederick Hansing. The couple raised their two sons in Idaho. In 2021, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has since been declared in remission.
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