They Really Were a Scree-um!

It’s Halloween season and, that means an ode to the creepiest (and most fun) of TV families, The Addams Family and The Munsters. Whether you like Mortica or Lily, Gomez or Herman, they may be dead but never gone from the Boomer consciousness. Many Boomers had lunchboxes, pajamas, tshirts, even Herman dolls and many a Boomer still tries on a Morticia or Lily wig for Halloween.

Both shows premiered in 1964—The Addams Family on ABC and The Munsters on CBS—and both featured a creepy, yet lovable family different from everyone but pretty much oblivious to this fact. And, we kids loved ‘em!

Paying a Call on The Addams Family

The Addams Family was actually based on cartoon characters developed by Charles Addams, whose cartoons were featured often in The New Yorker and other publications. In fact, Addams’ family members first began appearing in 1937 in cartoons, but it wasn’t until the television show that the world grew to know and love Morticia (Carolyn Jones), Gomez (John Astin), their children Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) and Wednesday (Lisa Loring).

Most remember butler Lurch at his piano, played by very tall actor Ted Cassidy, Cousin Itt (Felix Silla), all hair and sunglasses, and Thing, a helpful disembodied hand, who popped out of a box on the table whenever a phone receiver or a hanky was needed. Also in the cast was sweet Grandmamma (Blossom Rock) and electrifying (literally) Uncle Fester played by former silent film child star Jackie Coogan.

Joining Herman on the Graveyard Shift

The Munsters featured Fred Gwynne as Herman, the sweet-natured patriarch, Yvonne DeCarlo as Lily, his doting wife with marvelous white-streaked hair, their pointy toothed son, Eddy (Butch Patrick) and niece Marilyn (played first by Beverly Own and then by Pat Priest), the most “normal” character, who was considered strange and unattractive by the family. They lived in a great old house with Grandpa (Al Lewis), Lily’s vampiric dad, Spot, a dragon from under the stairs, and numerous invisible ancestral ghosts. Fred held down a regular job (graveyard shift at the graveyard) while Lily tried her best to keep the family in line and Grandpa’s experiments from blowing everyone up.

Sadly, both shows ended in 1966 after just two seasons but the characters lived on in various Halloween specials and other projects. The Addams Family spawned two cartoon series (one in 1973 and one in the early 1990s) and two feature films, The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993). Gone but not forgotten, a recent “100 Greatest TV Romances,” show on TV Land listed Morticia and Gomez as one of the hottest couples to grace the screen.

The Munsters had less success in the afterlife with a one-shot Mini Munsters cartoon and the feature film, Here Come the Munsters in 1995. In 2004 the Wayans brothers announced they would make a Munster movie.

—Betty

For more on the Addams family check out:

The Addams Family Chronicles: An Altogether Ooky Look at the Addams Family, book by Stephen Cox (second edition)

The Unofficial Addams Family Website

Morticia's Morgue

For more on the Munsters see:

The Official Munsters Website (hosted by Eddie Munster himself!)

Steve's Munsters Site

For both Addams Family and The Munsters theme songs (who can forget 'em!), check out both TV Land's site or Wav This.Com.

By the way, TV Land runs The Munsters in its regular daily line up and sometimes airs the Addams Family —so get ooky and enjoy!