October 23, 2019 | Gene Paul Lim |This article originally appeared on history-a2z.com
On September 24, 1964, a family of gentle monsters invaded the TV rooms of millions of families in the US with the show, The Munsters. Viewers around the world appreciated its humorous and fresh take on the typical American wholesome family.
The Munsters ran between September 24, 1964, and May 12, 1966, for a total of 70 episodes. It has been more than five decades ever since The Munsters burst onto our screens which means now, more than ever, would be the best time to update ourselves with its stars and what they are doing now. Let’s take a look.
Herman and Grandpa Were Already Familiar
Before they landed two of the show’s major roles, Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis co-starred together in the American sitcom Car 54, Where are You?, which aired on NBC from 1961 to 1963. The chemistry that Gwynne and Lewis built during their previous work on Car 54, Where Are You? was truly evident on the set of The Munsters.
In 1962, Car 54, Where are You? was awarded an Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy and received a nomination for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy and at the same time an Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy. Both Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were instrumental to the show’s success.
The Raven’s Two Voices
Robert Francis Hastings was an American radio, film, and TV actor who began his early path to show business as a boy singer on various radio shows such as Doug Gray’s Singing Gang and Coast to Coast on a Bus. Hastings also did voice-over work for various animated cartoons as well. The multi-talented actor was notable for his depiction of the irritating suck-up character, Lt. Elroy Carpenter, on the movie McHale’s Navy.
He also did additional voice-over work as a substitute for Mel Blanc who played the main voice of The Raven on The Munsters. Apparently, Blanc was overly preoccupied with the numerous different voice acting stints that he worked on during the time. It’s hard to condemn the man though, as it made perfect sense to voice the popular Bugs Bunny over a raven that suddenly comes out from a clock for just two or three seconds on every episode.
Herman and Lily Shareda Bed
Apparently, the Cleavers didn’t like what they saw! The odd Frankenstein and vampire couple, Herman and Lily Munster were making monster love on a common bed. The pairing was among the original TV couples to portray where their romance brewed, triggering protests from general viewers as a result. Those kinky monsters just couldn’t help themselves!
But even though the scene was still widely recognized as somewhat of a taboo in the country during the time, it still sparked a big controversy as the characters of Herman and Lily Munster were not actually human beings. This opened up the debate on whether or not it was acceptable for cartoon or non-human characters to share a bed on TV.
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