The Munsters.

they were America's first family of fighting was one of a kind very unusual and you just didn't know what to expect oh he had lots of fun with that it was such a bang with their monstrously funny take on life the Munsters ruled the airways for two years on network television and for nearly four decades in reruns syndication we may have been different but we were functional but behind the cobwebs and layers of latex and grease paint lies the flesh-and-blood true story of a group of actors who would remain forever haunted by the cult classic characters they created people watching shows over and over again so it seems like it's gonna be with us forever you can't be too careful these days there are a lot of strange people in this world [Music] 1964 it was the year of the Mustang little surfer girls and the British Invasion it was also the Year Life magazine dubbed TVs year of the monster ever since Universal Studio sold their library of famous fright films to television in the 1950s classic creatures like Dracula and Frankenstein had once again risen from their graves [Music] within a decade monsters had become eerily potent pitchman selling everything from magazines and model kits to board games and bubble baths monsters were now not only frightening they were fun of course the idea of funny monsters wasn't new in 1945 kid-friendly versions of Hollywood's classic creatures were conceived by Bugs Bunny animator Bob Clampett who wanted to feature them in a series of cartoons he developed a series called the monster family which included Frankie monster he was the father and he had a vampire wife he submitted this to Universal and never heard anything about it again it wasn't until the early 1960s that the idea of a primetime monster sitcom began to haunt the imaginations of network television executives in 1963 out-of-this-world fare like my favorite Martian had proven hugely popular almost overnight Hollywood began digging up their old movie monsters in an effort to capitalize on the creepy craze there was like this weird little cultural explosion at the moment about spoofing sitcoms through the conventions of fantasy and through horror third place ABC Network began developing two spooky sitcoms one about a sexy witch named Samantha and another about a McCobb of misfits based on new yorker cartoonist Charles Adams most popular illustrations but the Adams family had been based in large part on Universal Studios classic monster characters so Universal TV executives wasted no time in an effort to scare up a creepy comedy series of their own for CBS after rocky and bullwinkle writers al burns and Chris Hayward submitted a concept about a family of cartoon monsters living in suburbia the idea was further developed by writers norm Liebman and Ed Haas under the watchful guidance of veteran producers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher the team responsible for the mega hit sitcom Leave It to Beaver we always had two camps at CBS should it be a cartoon show should it be with real people thought about the Munsters as a cartoon continued until the pilot was made the script for the pilot told the story of a Frankenstein monster who was a mortician and the head of a family of ghouls we thought this is a sketch we never saw it go beyond just being that we never thought about casting we never thought well how do you make Frankenstein funny in an effort to find the perfect actors for the far-out project the producers quickly cast popular New York stage and television personalities Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis who had already demonstrated their brilliant comedy timing on the popular NBC sitcom car 54 where are you the phone rang he said my wife we're doing the pilot for a new series would you be interested at first I thought it was an idiot friend of mine you know playing a practical joke the rubberface Lewis seemed the ideal choice to play grandpa the over-the-hill vampire who dabbles in black magic and delights in reminiscing about the good old days back in Transylvania and at six feet five inches in height Fred Gwynne was the perfect fit for the lumbering bumbling patriarch Herman Munster in the spring of 1964 Universal television executives commissioned the filming of a 16 minute presentation shot in color and based on an early script by Liebman and Hoss it was intended to show CBS executives just what a family of funny monsters would look like in the flesh I'd like you to meet my date this is Jack [Music] what's the matter with me anyway the test made the best of an existing set theme music from an old Doris Day movie and a cast that included John Marshall as Herman's vampire wife Phoebe Pappy durman as the couple's werewolf son Eddie and Beverly Owen as the Munsters young niece Marilyn whose all-american beauty made her the family misfit The Munsters felt they were the most normal family around and the one that they kind of took pity on was pretty Marilyn who seemed like a grotesque mutant in this family the character had been inspired by one of Hollywood's best loved movie stars think of the name Marilyn Munster Marilyn Monroe certainly the wig they put on me made me I mean no way would they ever make me look like Marilyn Monroe but they sure tried yes I guess so would you like to have a little something to eat no thank you I have some more ladyfingers in the oven no I think I'll just go right upstairs and go to bed night everybody good night mother good night although the presentation was photographed in color the producers decided to hedge their bets by striking distribution prints in more cost-conscious black and white there was $10,000 more to do it in color than in black and white and neither CBS or Universal was willing to pick up that extra $10,000 a segment and that's why it was shot black and white CBS was eager to let the Munsters take up residence on their fall don't talk French to your mother and stop playing with that news but before the final decision to order the show was made the network requested a series of significant finishing touches gone was happy durman's ferocious portrayal of Eddie Munster gone too was happy Derman replaced by a more approachable butch Patrick a happy Dermot wasn't very happy he was he was the meanest little kid I've ever seen in the character that they wanted at least the way I took it was just a regular kid who happened to have a deal loving a parent and loving parents and a family unit but this kid seemed like so out there that I don't think he would have been very helpful in a Leave It to Beaver type attitude which is I think what they were looking for another casting casualty was Joan Marshall whose eerie similarity to Carolyn Jones his interpretation of Morticia Addams seemed too close for comfort in an effort to give Herman's wife a warmer more earthly appeal veterans scream siren Yvonne De Carlo joined the cast as Herrmann steadfast vampire wife Lily how would you like to have to clean nine rooms in a dungeon every day I had done the Ten Commandments and other things that people remember European people might remember those comedies that I did in England but for Gwen and Lewis the casting of the glamorous DeCarlo threatened to cause tensions on the set when Fred and I had heard that they had hired u-bahn DeCarlo we went to it producers and being from New York we barged in what do you mean and we were not too keen because she was a bona fide movie star we thought she wouldn't fit in and play that kind of comedy but the chemistry between the principles now clicked and any fears that Gwen and Lewis had about DeCarlo soon faded we were wrong we were wrong Fred night you know they just don't make men like you anymore the retooled presentation so impressed CBS executives that they ordered the Munsters as a series and slated the show for a spot on the network's fall lineup mommy sewed the ear back on your you will do as you're told Marilyn that way just you never mind about Marilyn you must remember she's not as and don't forget to close the lid CBS they were adventurous in blindness because they had never had a show like that before Rex mighty pal when you do a pilot like that that's so different and unique you're suspect you know is it gonna work or is it gonna work as the 1964 television season approached it was anyone's guess if the resurrected creatures from universals vaults could live on or if the Munsters would be destined for the TV sitcom graveyard [Music] on Thursday September 24th 1964 the Munsters premiered on CBS with a title sequence that cleverly parodied the opening credits of wholesome sitcoms of the day the show deliberately established a light tongue in an effort to guarantee that children wouldn't be scared off they wanted to believe at the beaver father knows best the Donna Reed show all the family shows on television they wanted to play against what they were which was absolutely right and they did it and it worked very well well we say good night wouldn't you like to come in for a minute at noon and meet my folks [Music] they're standing real close Lily you know this is the fourth date she's had with that young man yes it's amazing how some boys will overlook a girl's appearance you would never think on paper this would fly but the characters became so friendly and so likeable that after the first episode you just totally bypassed the fact that they were monsters and you just started laughing and really loving him boy look at the meat lightning I sure hope it hits our house how do you like these Priscilla Kearney why don't you dress up as lady gorilla or something pretty like that I don't think even that would help me but in addition to the laughter the Munsters early episodes also featured sly moments of social commentary here they were these different people different color actually they moved into your neighborhood did they bring property values down all these things that people used to worry about back in the early sixties but I don't wander over here you know what I mean within weeks of its premiere the Munsters was a bona fide hit joining Bonanza Gunsmoke and The Beverly Hillbillies on the coveted list of top-rated TV shows kids really got the Munsters I mean I know I did I mean it was like this whole notion of turning domestic sitcoms on their head its success for the children brought many adults to the set and they all seem to find it acceptable yet in spite of its instant popularity the series did have its share of growing pains the production process was slow due to the amount of time it took to transform the show's actors into Munsters it was a heavy show there we got to be there 6 o'clock to our makeup and the hair my makeup was like a models makeup the witness to put on their foot modeling and going down the runway and except for the hair there was extreme say this why don't you send that man who does your hair he's just a mortician not a miracle worker she had like six people that get caught walked her because of her wigs she had this huge wig that you know weighed 20 pounds unbelievable it was really nuts it was a process that was not only painstaking it was often downright painful Gregg had the headpiece and the boat and so terrible I had that big heavy outfit that he put on underneath was all made out of rubber it was a suit that they had underneath his wardrobe he suffered terribly fricked under the foam and then he had the clothes on top and he used this wet unbelievable he would put this air hose down inside the suit and blow cold air down there drink gallons and gallons and gallons of lemonade to keep from being dehydrated but he still got thinner and thinner and thinner he really lost a lot of weight doing the show although Beverly Owen didn't have to endure hours in the makeup chair the 25-year old actress did have to deal with another serious challenge homesickness earlier convinced that the series wouldn't sell Beverly had reluctantly relocated from New York City to Los Angeles I got a call to come and do a pilot and I said but I'm in love with someone in New York I don't want to do well just come out and do the pilot I did and so it was when they I got the call that it was going to serious that life was no longer happy the cross-country move separated the actress from her boyfriend and she desperately missed him she started to cry and cry and finally she just didn't want even come to work well I'd signed one of those seven-year Hollywood contracts and I certainly didn't get a lawyer I just believed what they told me Fred and Al went to the producers and said this woman is miserable she's crying all the time let her out of the contract or we'll leave so basically they they give him an ultimatum but they let her go home the show's over after just 13 episodes Beverly Owen packed her bags returned to New York City and ultimately married her boyfriend but now less than halfway through the series critical first season the show's producers were desperate to find another Marilyn Munster following an exhaustive search they hired Pat priest the actress daughter of US Secretary of the Treasury Ivy Baker priest although nearly 30 Pat bore a striking resemblance to Beverly Owen she also had another attribute which appealed to the cost-conscious production team when I went in to do the test I happen to fit into Beverly's clothes they dressed me like Beverly they did my hair like Beverly and I guess I was enough of the same stature and size that it worked on December 24th 1964 Pat pre slipped into the role of Marilyn Munster ironically many viewers didn't even realize a change had been made Marilyn are you sure you won't be frightened staying here alone oh of course not aunt Lily how could I be frightened staying in a friendly old house like this with the cast members now firmly established the Munsters began to hit a creative stride rather than depend on the one joke premise of a family of monsters living life in a suburban neighborhood the series quickly evolved into a creative showcase for Gwyn Lewis and DeCarlo Herman Munster went from being lumbering deadpan and dour to childlike simple-minded and gentle heart [Music] grandpa became the straight man a cross between a geriatric Dracula and a mad scientist [Music] Lily Munster often served as referee and soon developed as the show's strong emotional center darling Eddie audiences and critics were beginning to take notice and the comic timing between the harvard-educated Gwyn and the stage trained Lewis showcased what soon became what many considered one of televisions greatest comedy teams they really were up there you know as far as comedic teams with you know Laurel and Hardy Ivan Costello you know you name him he had al Lewis who was from vaudeville and burlesque and great schtick and you had sort of this benign childlike figure of Herman Munster that Fred Gwynne played I think there's where you get your select Laurel and Hardy comparisons and Aven and Costello because they did establish a rhythm together oh no I won't please Thanksgiving Thanksgiving I told you wouldn't make it you mean Thanksgiving with turkey and cranberry sauce that kind of Thanksgiving dressing in the mashed potatoes and the gravy dressing mashed potatoes in the green eat some mushrooms in the candied yams mushrooms indeed you know me losing with melted butter Oh it was just great fun anything went as long as it was funny the show's storylines often featured traditional sitcoms situations but with a decidedly monstrous spin busting at the seams here dear I'm getting suckered other situations were more outlandish like the time when Grandpa turned himself into a wolf during a family outing and had to be smuggled to safety by Lily he forgot how to change himself back so what she got up she had to wear a meza there's a stove around her neck you can let go of your tail [Music] I'm not going to pass don't be a drive it was a unique show the characters were new and fresh they were funny the writing was excellent the humor was good the Munsters had proven popular with audiences of all ages there seemed to be no end in sight for the series that many said just couldn't work and would never last but just like every good horror movie it isn't long before the Sun comes up and as everybody knows monsters and monsters don't last long in the daylight by the spring of 1965 the Munsters had become a monster hit for CBS it created a following kids just loved it it wasn't Playhouse 90 drama by any means but it was entertaining and there was nothing in it that was obscene television audiences couldn't seem to get enough of the freaky family with a souped-up car that dragon named spot and a taste for all things macabre how to cook a sword the monsters may have looked like monsters but underneath the stitches neck bolts and widow's peaked hairdos they were an otherwise normal loving suburban family they were telling the same kind of plots who would get any other kind of a sitcom very suburban very benign kind of family sitcoms father knows best kind of shows these were the nicest monsters you could ever hope to meet I suppose the Munsters had captured the imagination of viewers as few shows could it was like what makes Halloween popular well you'll multiply that times 10 and that same type of feelings about the Munsters was radiating to the TV set executives at Universal capitalized on the show's popularity with an aggressive merchandising campaign The Munsters images adorned everything from dolls and lunchboxes to board games model kits and masks they realized that if you had a very high concept kind of a show the merchandising was going to just take it to the next level of profitability there were puppets a line of Munster jewelry Munster clothing and even a rock and roll album featuring a group of musicians wearing monster masks there's tons of stuff and I can remember one of the toy stores they had like the whole Munsters displayed the whole corner set up with all the stuff sitting there and we're just looking wow this is really pretty cool but amid the mountain of Munster merchandise perhaps the most coveted of all were model kits and plastic replicas of the Munster koach the real-life Munster koach was created and built by legendary custom car designer your Jerris it was actually a six door three Model T's and one made into a ghoulish effect it featured spiderwebbed headlights blood-red upholstery and a radiator that looks suspiciously like a tombstone the actual middle of the car was built like a chemistry laboratory for Alice to put his brew together Fred Gwynne would sit at the front with in Monte Carlo and they would drive the car and there was a priest and butch Patrick was up on that little piggy back where there's a little wolf loaf down the monsters coach I think became almost a month as much guy almost as much of a fan following as the actors on the show there were magazine articles and it was a really neat-looking thing the 18 foot long coach cost producers close to $20,000 but it was money well spent and its enormous popularity prompted producers Joe Connolly and Bob Mosher to conceive of another even more outlandish dragster for grandpa to drive the dragula as the Munsters enormous popularity continued to grow the cast was recruited to promote the series at numerous personal appearances they guest-starred on variety shows and performed in public service announcements we would like to hear from you on how the money should be spent the government has allocated for your benefit they pitched breakfast cereal this is my father he hangs pictures from me I learned of my Cheerios daddy says are the greatest thing since batwing mommy says they give him protein and stuff give your father some go and he might play catch with you [Music] the caste even hosted an Easter Sunday variety show shot on location at Marineland you can help the Munsters pick out a pet for Eddie of course Herman grandpa and Lily insist on something lovable like a shark watch The Munsters have a whale of a good time at Marineland carnival the Munsters seemed to be spending as much time promoting the show as they did making it we would have sent them to the moon we could have at the time when you have a hit you're very anxious to send him on the road get them to do it seeing the Munsters in the gray green flesh was just about every kid's dream and when Universal Studios threw open its gates to visitors the show's fans got their chance the Munster mansion at the fictional 1313 Mockingbird Lane was one of the top attractions on the studio tour Oh everybody everybody I knew kind of wanted to live in The Munsters house just seemed like the coolest house ever and if the Munsters happen to be in production on the backlot the trams would often stop for pictures and even a handshake or two people were coming in looking and what they could see they were allowed on in groups little children and grownups it got to a point where to give you an example while we're making a show you could be in the middle of a scene and on the back lot we'd have to stop shooting him for we're right in the middle of a scene didn't matter here comes the the tourists through the tour even included a visit to the full-sized mock-up of grandpa's dungeon laboratory at the press of a button a replica of Herman would come to life and open his eyes but for the flesh-and-blood actors who played the monsters the series exhausting shooting schedule was taking its toll 39 episodes were filmed in the first season and the cast was looking forward to a much deserved summer hiatus publicly they were proud of the show's enormous popularity but privately they worried whether their careers could survive after one more season on Mockingbird Lane by the fall of 1965 the Munsters had become full-fledged pop culture icons Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis must be fine clean-cut boys to escort Santa Claus to town incidentally they wish you a monstrously Merry Christmas the series second season was kicked off with a new energetic opening title sequence and episodes were even more bizarre than ever you wouldn't want to go out to a nightclub would you the new broader comedy approach was an attempt by the show's producers to keep the series fresh but even though the Munsters still kept audiences laughing the same could not be said of Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis who felt the new direction was hurting the series Fred and I were in constant battle with Joe Connolly and Bob Mosher we thought that the show could be more satirical fred was a very intelligent guy and you know he would debate things that he thought you know needed to be debated I don't infer that we thought that the scripts were bad but we thought that they could be better one episode that Fred Gwynne did enjoy doing that year was called just another pretty face in it the versatile actor got a welcome opportunity to perform without his monster makeup when Herman Munster is accidentally transformed into a normal-looking man I've got it we'll make an appointment with dr. Dudley to discuss the possibility of plastic surgery plastic plastic plastic surgery [Music] you don't want my own wife doesn't want me to kiss but by 1966 keeping the Munsters fresh and funny wasn't the only challenge the producers faced each week in January of that year Batman exploded on the ABC network broadcast two nights per week the adventures of the Caped Crusader's became an instant ratings hit still produced in black and white The Munsters looked deathly pale next to the campy and colorful Batman split 7 the audience in the new one takes place in the old kids are very fickle in an effort to win back their core audience the Munsters cast members did even more personal appearances at one such venue Eddie Munster was accompanied by a pet gorilla named colgar as performed by Bob burns the playful primate was intended by the producers as a new character for the series we went to a place in Arizona one of the first shopping malls in Arizona Eddie was signing autographs and stuff in that big crowd turned out all the kids identified with Eddie of course but in the end clever promotion and outlandish storylines couldn't keep Batman from burying the Munsters in the spring of 1966 the caped crusader seemed to have dealt the frightful family a final ratings blow when CBS canceled the spooky sitcom World War I was welcomed and the shows were getting thin but they were just funny oddly enough the Addams Family was cancelled around the same time so maybe that type of humor had run its course after two seasons and 70 episodes the Munsters were about to vanish from network television but Universal Studios wasn't yet willing to let their latest monster franchise slip away plans were already underway for a low-budget feature film designed to introduce the Munsters to lucrative overseas markets and this time the frightful family would be showcased in all their gray green Herman Munster don't eyelid frightfully handsome and Technicolor allow me to present my wife flowing pleased to meet you around my house my handsome son Eddie and the unfortunate member of our family at my niece Marilyn for the role of Maryland producers Connolly and Mosher cast seventeen-year-old aunjanue Debbie Watson Watson was well known to television audiences as the star of TV's Tammy and another Connolly and Mosher sitcom Karen she was also closer in age to Lily's college co-ed niece than the 30-year old Pat priest I kind of came into the movie as more of an outsider because they were a family working together every day but everyone was so professional and nice to me that it was never a problem for me but the news of the switch came as a crushing blow to Pat priest who had learned of the change while she was still shooting the series I was devastated just devastated one and they came down on the set and told me and al came and he was so sweet and he and Fred went to the producers and went to bat for me didn't work but they did it for the rest of the monster clan the experience of making Munster go home was bittersweet this was our last hurrah so we could have had some fun with it because I mean it was only gonna be a six weeks shoot that we'd all be on her very length and a castle full of homicidal relatives right that the FBI will do call Scott right now [Music] the close-knit commader II that the Munsters cast had developed was coming to an end but so were countless hours in the makeup chair and the nagging doubts about whether or not the offbeat series had doomed them to be typecast challenge some of the world's fastest cars in history's weirdest race it's frightfully funny the last shot of that movie was actually the last shot of the movie it was really it was really a kind of a sad situation because here was about 11 o'clock at night we drove away we all got out of the car and took our makeup off and just parted ways it says poof see you later but as the ghoulish makeup wigs and costumes were being put into storage there were many who doubted that the series and its characters could ever really stay buried forever just like their classic big-screen counterparts monsters like monsters would find a way to rise again although the Munsters had been cancelled and was no longer on CBS The Comedy soon turned up in syndication and quickly became a favorite with new generations of fans a lot of people who really didn't pay that much attention to this show when it was first time started watching it and it became a cult show or a cult franchise but for the actors who played the monsters the ever-present popularity of the series offered a mixed blessing they were each eager to get on with their lives and rekindle their careers Beverly Owen found work in television commercials and even earned a master's degree in American history Pat priest continued her acting career as did butch Patrick in television and movies Yvonne De Carlo also made films and later debuted on Broadway in the much heralded role of Carlotta in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies Grandpa al Lewis appeared in numerous films and television roles and became known as everything from a basketball scout and restaurateur to a political candidate for the Green Party but for Fred Gwynne the role of Herman Munster proved the hardest to live down the lantern-jawed leading man retreated to his home in upstate New York where he became well known as the author and illustrator of best-selling children's books he was also a critically acclaimed presence in numerous Broadway plays but critics and audiences were less than charitable - a forgettable effort on the part of Universal to relaunch the Munsters as a Saturday morning cartoon faring better was a 1981 TV movie called The Munsters revenge which reunited Gwen Lewis and DeCarlo and was intended as a test for a new Munsters series on NBC we were very hopeful but they put it on the night that they had the Wizard of Oz I remember L saying oh we have no chance in 1988 Universal gave the Munsters a head-to-toe makeover with the Munsters today the syndicated sitcom starred John shook Lee Meriwether and Howard Morton but many felt that the new incarnation lacked the charm of the original series as far as I'm concerned you can't replace al Lewis Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo you can replace me but you can't replace them they were one-of-a-kind by the early 1990s the original cast of The Munsters had made peace with their coffin dwelling characters and Fred Gwynne had managed to jumpstart his Dalt film career with scene-stealing roles in movies like the Cotton Club Pet Sematary and my cousin Vinnie but on July 2nd 1993 Munster fans around the world were devastated when they learned that Fred Gwynne had died of pancreatic cancer he was a talented man talented artist as a TV dad he was the best she could ask for some of my favorite memories that we were working with Fred on and our little father-and-son talks he was a great guy he was a good man and when you get that kind of relationship the one thing you don't do is question it what you do is you find joy in it and relish it and build on it but even as the man who would forever be known as televisions favorite Frankenstein was being laid to rest Universal was making plans to bring The Munsters back from the grave in 1995 the TV movie Here Come the monsters featured Veronica Hamel Robert Morse and Edward Herrmann as Herman Munster I just tried to do Fred's version of adhesives wonderfully decent guy who can't quite control his physical power and is simple innocent and sweet it's a wonderful choice the TV movie also treated fans to a scene in which al Lewis my name is Herman I'll be your waiter Yvonne De Carlo butch Patrick and Pat priest come face-to-face with Edward Herrmann as Herman Munster from Connecticut part of me might be [Laughter] kill of the day did a great Herman Munster and he was very nice it was a very funny feeling because we're sitting there at the table and here comes Herman serving us it's kind of like spooky you know today after nearly four decades of haunting television screens the Munsters are as popular as ever we have three generations now people to watch the show with their kids the kids love it just as much as the parents it has never been out of syndication in the United States and it's still running in about 40 foreign countries in their languages in addition to TV movies and non-stop reruns there are new incarnations of dolls model kits comic books and trading cards The Munsters famous faces can be spotted on everything from lottery tickets to slot machines since their debut in 1964 the Munsters has proven just as enduring as the classic movie monsters that inspired them their lasting popularity seems to give proof to the notion that you just can't keep a good monster down I go out and do these memorabilia shows and children will come up to me and they think it was filmed last week jokes hold up the physical humor holds up the sight gags are wonderful it wasn't specific to a time in place and somehow it doesn't seem dated why it's been around that many years is that you could see that we were having fun doing it mr. Dold shows that people just can watch them over and over and over they just can't get enough of it and they don't care if they see that the four hundred times I'll watch it 400 one times I think people just just truly enjoyed it the main thing is that we're all together once again as a normal happy family [Music] you

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Length: 43min 6sec (2586 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 08 2013