After Beverley Owen was booted out from “The Munsters,” her character Marilyn Muster was continued by Pat Priest, who shared a remarkably strong physical resemblance with Owen. Following the show’s finale, Priest sustained her acting career with various small roles. The actress was cast on big-budget shows like “Mission: Impossible” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She also portrayed a number of characters for one season of “Bewitched.”
Pat Priest’s final acting stint, though, came as a cameo with the 1995 television film “Here Come the Munsters.” The only movie roles that she ever landed throughout her career, however, were with “Looking for Love,” “Easy Come, Easy Go” with Elvis Presley, “The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant,” and “Some Call It Loving.” A priest called it quits during the ’80s and is currently in remission from lymphoma.
Butch Patrick Then
Butch Patrick’s character, Eddie Munster, was your typical all-American boy who also happened to have werewolf and vampire blood coursing through his veins. While he looked more werewolf than a vampire in the TV series, Eddie’s “vampiric” traits would take over once he starts slumbering in a chest of drawers. He also goes to school, and besides his distinct widow’s peak, sharp ears, and a unique suit, he’s pretty much a normal kid.
Eddie Munster takes great pride in his father, Herman Munster, and constantly boasts about his dad’s capabilities and feats to his circle of friends. All through the show, Eddie would constantly volunteer his father to carry out valiant feats beyond his capacity, which is a staple subject in the series.
Butch Patrick Now
Butch Patrick has enjoyed arguably the most successful career in the entire cast of "The Munsters." Following the show’s finale, Patrick worked on a considerable amount of roles on different shows as "I Dream of Jeannie," "The Monkees," and "Wonderful World of Color" from Walt Disney.
Starting from 1962 towards 1971, Butch Patrick managed to secure several roles in the television series "My Three Sons." Patrick’s latest appearances on the TV screen were with 2015’s "Zombie Dream" and "Bite School," where he portrayed characters named Butch in the two movies. Indeed, there’s no denying that the iconic character of Eddie Munster stayed with him throughout the rest of his career as an actor.
Pat Priest Was One Lucky Gal
"The Munsters"’ production team didn’t choose Pat Priest to fill the Marilyn role simply because of her acting abilities, even though she was undoubtedly capable as an actress. What happened was, besides Priest’s hair color, for which she had to be given a wig, the actress had precisely identical height and fit as Beverly Owen.
With that being said, Pat Priest’s close physical resemblance with Beverly Owen allowed the production team to do minor changes to the costume, saving them plenty of time and money in finding an appropriate replacement wardrobe. In addition to that, Priest was the daughter of theUnited States Treasurer at the time.
Why Was It Shot in Black and White?
The most popular theory regarding the show’s filming in black and white revolved around the studio’s intent on cutting down cost and unwillingness to pay a premium for shooting it in color. Additionally, there are those who argue that the studio feared that portraying the show in color would spook out the kids who watched them on TV.
While the pilot episode of "The Munsters" was filmed in color, the production team immediately resorted to black and white on the rest of the succeeding episodes. More so, the black and white setup brought some sense of nostalgia to the sitcom and bore much resemblance to the classic black and white monster movies that Universal Studios made in the past.