THE MUNSTERS debuted on CBS on September 24, 1964 and completed its original prime-time network run on September 1, 1966. Arriving in American homes at a time when classic horror characters  were in vogue with young people, THE MUNSTERS celebrated the macabre humor of these ghoulish creatures with wisecracking dialogue and outrageous sight gags.
The series revolves around a loving "normal" family of misfits who reside in a spooky cobweb-filled house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights. The head of the family, kindhearted Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), bears a close resemblance to the Frankenstein monster as originally portrayed by Boris Karloff. His wife Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) resembles Vampira, the creepy-but-sexy hostess of horror on TV. Lily's father, "Grandpa Munster" (Al Lewis), is actually Count Dracula from Transylvania. Herman and Lily's son, Eddie (Butch Patrick), looks like a junior wolfman. The final member of their household is Herman and Lily's niece, Marilyn (played first by Beverly Owen and then by Pat Priest), who is considered the ugly duckling of the family although she is a beautiful, blonde, all-American teenager.
|