Munsters

The Munsters was a 1960s American television sitcom, depicting the home life of a family of horror movie monsters. Much of the humor derived from the fact that they did not have the slightest idea that they were in any way different from their neighbors. more...

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Comedy also came from their daily interaction with modern-day society, and the usual horrified or frightened reactions of those around them at their ghoulish appearance.

It first aired Thursday nights in black-and-white on the CBS network from September 24, 1964 to September 1, 1966 for 70 episodes, and continued in syndication thereafter. The Munsters was filmed in black-and-white, though the never-aired pilot episode was filmed at least partially in color. The fictional family lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights. It was popular enough to warrant a spin-off series and several movies. Often it is considered a rival to the television show, The Addams Family, which was also about an unusual American family.

While its humor was usually broad, the series was visually sophisticated, particularly for an early-sixties sitcom. The Munsters' home was a burnt, crumbling Gothic mansion, riddled with smoke, filthy with dust and cobwebs. Rich, shadowy photography echoed James Whale's expressionistic Frankenstein films, both emphasizing and ironizing the family's ghoulishness. The moving camera (a rarity in television comedies even today) often paused on busy compositions, focusing on multiple characters amid detailed settings. Then, of course, there's the charmingly grotesque appearances of the Munsters themselves, recalling classic Universal horror.

The Family of Characters

The Munsters

Lily Munster

Portrayed by Yvonne De Carlo, a homemaker. A white streak in her hair recalls the monster's mate from The Bride of Frankenstein, as portrayed by Elsa Lanchester. Lily's housekeeping duties often involve spreading garbage around the mansion and "dusting" via a vacuum cleaner operating in reverse so that it blows dirt about. Her maiden name is Dracula. During the course of the series Lily has had jobs as a welder in a shipyard, a fashion model, and a palm reader in a tea room.

Lily was almost always dressed in an ankle length white gown that appeared faded with age, suggesting a burial shroud. She was rarely ever seen without her necklace which featured a rather large bat-shaped medallion that hung off of it. When away from the Munster home, she would sometimes wear an extravagant hooded red cape that went from the top of her head down to a little past her ankles, apparently made of ruched satin casket lining.

Herman Munster

Portrayed by Fred Gwynne, based on Universal Studios' version of Frankenstein's monster as portrayed by Boris Karloff. This popular image of the monster with a flat head, ill-fitting black suit and bolts protruding from the neck was invented for the Universal Studios film version of Frankenstein, and they therefore own the rights to portray this version of the Frankenstein creature; non-Universal productions such as those of Hammer Film Productions must use a different design for the creature. In one episode, Lily outright states to Eddie that "Dr. Frankenstein" made Herman. Herman was built in Germany, adopted by the Munster family of England, then relocated to Transylvania, where he married Lily. Herman served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Although 150 years old, he behaves rather childishly, often throwing temper tantrums. He is employed by the Gateman, Goodbury and Graves Funeral Parlor, having started out as a humble "nail boy." We never know exactly what he does, though one can infer he is a grave digger, from the jokes Herman makes. He also gets a promotion to hearse driver in one episode where he has to get his driver's license renewed, only to find out he is starting out driving the "economy model" hearse which uses a horse; Herman's co-workers sometimes remark on his height and strength but otherwise do not appear to find his appearance out of the ordinary. As of the second season, he and Lily had been married for one hundred years. Herman also has a twin "brother" that speaks with sort of an English accent and is a scam artist.

Read more at Wikipedia.org