The Munsters ( Munster Koach ) 1964
The Munsters
The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein’s monster and head-of-the-household Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his wife Lily; Al Lewis as Lily’s father, Grandpa, the somewhat over-the-hill vampire Count Dracula who longs for the “good old days” in Transylvania. Produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver, the series was a satire of American suburban life, as well as both traditional monster movies and the wholesome family fare of the era.It achieved higher Nielsen ratings than the similarly macabre-themed The Addams Family, which aired concurrently on ABC.
Theme Tune
The instrumental theme song, titled “The Munsters’ Theme”, was composed by composer/arranger Jack Marshall. The theme song’s lyrics, which the sitcom’s co-producer Bob Mosher wrote, were never aired on CBS. Described by writer Jon Burlingame as a “Bernard-Herrmann-meets-Duane-Eddy sound”, the theme was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965. A sample of the theme was used in the song “Uma Thurman” by Fall Out Boy.
Theme Tune
In 1983, Butch Patrick recorded the novelty song “Whatever Happened to Eddie?”, which was set to the theme song of The Munsters.
Cast
Fred Gwynne … Herman Munster / …72 episodes, 1964-2004
Al Lewis … Grandpa72 episodes, 1964-2004
Yvonne De Carlo … Lily Munster71 episodes, 1964-1966
Butch Patrick … Eddie Munster71 episodes, 1964-1966
Pat Priest … Marilyn Munster57 episodes, 1964-1966
Beverley Owen … Marilyn Munster15 episodes, 1964-2004
Chet Stratton … Clyde Thornton / …3 episodes, 1964-1966
Edward Mallory … Jack / …4 episodes, 1964-2004
Quote
Lily Munster: Oh, Marilyn… the circles under your eyes. How lovely you look today.
Trivia
Beverley Owen played the part of Marilyn for the first 13 episodes. She was in love with her fiancée in New York and agreed to do the show thinking it would be a flop from the outlandish premise. When it became a hit, she was constantly crying from having to be in LA while her boyfriend Jon Stone was in New York. The other cast members asked the producers to release her from her contract so she could get married and they did. She was replaced by Pat Priest, who looked so much like Beverly Owen, viewers never knew the difference. Beverley Owen would get divorced from Jon Stone eight years later, and would never appear on screen again after those initial 13 episodes.
In the fourth episode (“Rock-A-Bye Munster”), Lily buys a hot-rod and a hearse from a used car dealership and has them customized into one car (Munster Koach) for Herman’s birthday present. The Munster Koach and DRAG-U-LA (built by Grandpa in episode 36, “Hot Rod Herman”) were designed by Tom Daniel and built by auto customizer George Barris for the show. The “Munster Koach” was a hot rod built on a lengthened 1926 Ford Model T chassis with a custom hearse body. It was 18 feet long and cost almost $20,000 to build. Barris also built the “DRAG-U-LA,” a dragster built from a coffin (according to Barris, a real coffin was, in fact, purchased for the car), which Grandpa used to win back “The Munster Koach” after Herman lost it in a race.
Trivia
There was only one Drag-U-La (Grandpa’s coffin car,) built for the show. At one time it hung from the ceiling in Planet Hollywood in Atlantic City. It was restored and resides somewhere near Orlando, FL. There have been several replicas built since.
Quote
Lily: Eddie! You better start dawdling, or you’re going to be on time for school!
Trivia
This show and its “rival” series The Addams Family (1964) both debuted within a week of one another in September 1964. At the end of that year’s TV season, this show ranked #18 in the Nielsens, with a rating of 24.7, while The Addams Family came in at #23, with a 23.9 rating. At the time, Nielsens indicated what percentage of American TV households tuned in to any given program. By the end of the following year, both series were cancelled.
Trivia
Throughout the series, in most scenes featuring flying bats or levitating people, the wires are visible.
Trivia
The Munsters’ home was a decaying Second Empire Victorian mansion located at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights. The town’s location is not specified in the series, but in later incarnations it is described as a small town outside Los Angeles.
Quote
Lily Munster: Herman tried to build a ship inside a bottle. We had to break the bottle to get him out.
Trivia
The show was shot in black and white because the studio did not want to pay an extra $10,000 per episode for color.
Info
| Production locations | Universal Studios, Universal City, California |
|---|---|
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Kayro-Vue Productions Universal Television |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white 35mm film |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 24, 1964 – May 12, 1966 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Munsters Today Mockingbird Lane |
Trivia
The original pilot The Munsters: My Fair Munster: Unaired Pilot (2004) was partially shot on the set of the film Psycho (1960).
QUIZ 1
The Munsters had been a massive success with high ratings , but was cancelled due to competition from what other famous tv program ?
A. Bewitched
B. Batman
C. Flipper
D. Lost in Space
Press for Answer
B. Batman
Scroll Down for More
QUIZ 2
The Munsters ran from 1964 – 1966 on the CBS Channel , How many episodes were produced ?
A. 50 Episodes
B. 65 Episodes
C. 70 Episodes
D. 110 Episodes
Press for Answer
C. 70 Episodes
Scroll Down for More
QUIZ 1
The Munsters had been a massive success with high ratings , but was cancelled due to competition from what other famous tv program ?
A. Bewitched
B. Batman
C. Flipper
D. Lost in Space
The Munsters was cancelled after ratings dropped to a series low due to competition from ABC’s Batman. Butch Patrick said, “I think ‘Batman’ was to blame. ’Batman’ just came along and took our ratings awa
QUIZ 2
The Munsters ran from 1964 – 1966 on the CBS Channel , How many episodes were produced ?
A. 50 Episodes
B. 65 Episodes
C. 70 Episodes
D. 110 Episodes
The series originally aired on Thursday at 7:30 pm on CBS from September 24, 1964, to May 12, 1966. Seventy episodes were produced
Famous Cars from TV, Film ( www.gadgetshowprizes.co.uk ) is unofficial and for information only. It is in no way linked to any official companies. All Amazon Links are linked directly to an official Amazon associates affiliated website ( www.amazon.co.uk )