The Only Major Actors Still Alive From The Munsters
They were scarily harmless, creepily silly, and filled with familial love. But one untold truth about “The Munsters” is that it only ran for two seasons, crushed by the onslaught of Adam West’s “Batman” before it got canceled in 1966. Yet “The Munsters” became so popular in syndication that it inspired a movie, a TV reunion movie, a syndicated revival, and a made-for-Netflix film from Rob Zombie. A fresh reboot was announced in May, and it, like the aborted “Mockingbird Lane,” seeks to take the sunny but spooky family in a more grown-up direction. Because of re-runs, which have entertained a generation of sitcom fans, the original show has left a huge cultural footprint behind. That’s quite a feat even though it’s only 70 episodes long.
The original series took flight in the mid-1960s, which means many of its adult cast members have sadly passed away. But two members of the program’s illustrious roll call remain alive, active, and still doing what they can to keep the original series’ legacy alive at the time of writing. These are the remaining living cast members from “The Munsters.”
Butch Patrick
Butch Patrick was only 11 when he won the role of Eddie Munster, the youngest member of the clan. A werewolf with an innocent point of view, Eddie is never seen without his stuffed doll, Woof, and learns quirky life lessons with all of the eagerness of a Brady.
Already a seasoned actor before becoming Eddie — he’d had roles in two different cult films and guest starring spots in numerous television dramas and sitcoms — Patrick continued his acting career after “The Munsters” ended. Aside from making multiple appearances in sitcoms such as “The Monkees,” he memorably played Milo in the big screen flick “The Phantom Tollbooth.” He was a regular on the Sid and Marty Krofft series “Lidsville” before dropping temporarily out of the acting game in the mid-1970s, deciding that he didn’t want to be a career actor. He told Bloody Disgusting, “I started partying in the ’60s when it was acceptable behavior; crazy, wild times with the counterculture. I loved it. When I did best was throw parties and entertain people. I wound up doing it for 40 years. After a while, it kind of turned into more of a maintenance thing as opposed to a fun thing.”
Patrick has since gotten sober and climbed back into acting in the 1990s. Aside from taking roles and making appearances at conventions, he told WMAC Northeast Public Radio in 2023 that he runs the Munster Musaleum in Conway, Arkansas, which houses Munster memorabilia and artifacts from his career. Patrick also told WMAC that he has an Airbnb business that rents out themed rooms to tourists in the area. You can keep up with him via his Instagram and his Facebook.
Pat Priest
Comely Pat Priest played Marilyn Munster, a wholesome blonde teenager who, thanks to her family’s beauty standards, was seen as the family’s tragically ugly duckling. Though Marilyn yearns to be as beautiful as her Aunt Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), her so-called ‘unfortunate’ looks continue to haunt her throughout the series.
Priest had put in her share of guest-starring roles before becoming a regular on “The Munsters.” After the sitcom wrapped she landed the role of Diana Bishop in the Elvis Presley vehicle “Easy Come, Easy Go.” She continued to pop up in small roles in film and television, including a sizable part in the B-movie classic “The Two-Headed Monster,” before she retired from acting. She has returned to make Munsters-related appearances, however, including a guest-starring role among her co-stars in an episode of “Here Comes the Munsters” and a vocal cameo in Rob Zombie’s “Munsters” movie.
She told the Mansfield News-Journal in 2019 that she’s lived a full and happy life. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do and gone everywhere I wanted to go. I’m 83 now and whatever happens in the future is all just pluses.” Now 88 years old at the time of writing, she still makes occasional appearances at conventions.