The Munsters
American television series (1964–1966) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Munsters is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monster[Notes 1] and household head Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily,[2] Al Lewis as Grandpa the aged vampire Count Dracula,[Notes 2] Beverley Owen (later replaced by Pat Priest) as their niece Marilyn and Butch Patrick as their werewolf-like son Eddie.
| The Munsters | |
|---|---|
 Season One opening, with Yvonne De Carlo featured behind the title | |
| Created by | Allan Burns Chris Hayward[1] |
| Developed by | Norm Liebmann Ed Haas |
| Starring | Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo Al Lewis Beverley Owen (1964) Pat Priest (1964–66) Butch Patrick |
| Theme music composer | Jack Marshall Bob Mosher (unaired lyrics) |
| Opening theme | "The Munsters' Theme" |
| Composer | Jack Marshall |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 70 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher |
| Production locations | Universal Studios, Universal City, California |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Kayro-Vue Productions Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | Black-and-white 35mm film |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 24, 1964 (1964-09-24) – May 12, 1966 (1966-05-12) |
| Related | |
Produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver, the series was a satire of American suburban life, the wholesome television family fare of the era and traditional monster movies.[3][4] It achieved higher Nielsen ratings than did the similarly macabre-themed The Addams Family, which aired concurrently on ABC.
In 1965, The Munsters was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series[5] but lost to The Rogues. In the 21st century, it received several TV Land Award nominations, including one for Most Uninsurable Driver (Herman Munster).[6]
The series originally aired on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on CBS from September 24, 1964 to May 12, 1966. Seventy episodes were produced. The show was canceled after ratings had dropped to a series low in the face of competition from ABC's Batman.[7] Patrick said, "I think 'Batman' was to blame. 'Batman' just came along and took our ratings away."[8] However, The Munsters found a large audience in syndication. A spinoff series ensued, as well as several films, including one with a theatrical release and several more recent attempts to reboot it.[9]