During his stint with The Munsters as Herman Munster, Fred Gwynne grew accustomed to wearing hair and makeup for long durations as required by the role. The costume he wore, though, was extremely hot and almost overheated his body and famously melted all his makeup.
It even got to the point that, while on set, an assistant would utilize an air compressor so cool air would flow inside his costume and give the actor a bit of relief from the scorching heat. But despite the help of an air compressor, the temperature was still severe. Undoubtedly, Fred Gwynne had to endure a lot so Herman Munster can come to life and bring joy to our TV screens.
Grandpa Munster's Restaurant
Prior to becoming a political activist, Al Lewis pursued a different path – food. Lewis started a restaurant called Grampa’s Bella Gente in Greenwich Village in 1987, which served Italian dishes for a total of six years until 1993. Grampa’s Bella Gente drew in a flock of customers, the majority of whom were real fans of "The Munsters."
Fans of the show would gather around on the Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village with the hopes of seeing Al Lewis in person, even just for a glimpse. Fred Gwynne supported his Munsters’ co-star and friend in real life on his new project and even volunteered to draw the logo of his restaurant. Gwynne eventually came up with a drawing that featured Lewis’s side profile wearing his iconic Grandpa costume.
Herman and Lily Shared a 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.
The Iconic Munster Ford T
Tom Daniel, the man behind the creation of The Munster Koach, was paid $200 by the show’s producers to come up with a design for the Munster family’s ride. The production team then called George Barris, an American designer, and builder of numerous popular Hollywood custom cars, to start the construction of the Monster Koach at Barris Kustoms.
The Munster Koach was engineered to be a little longer than a 1926 Ford Model T chassis with a customized hearse body to boot. The result was a large 18-foot long automobile worthy for a clan of monsters. Obviously, it takes a big car if Herman Munster was the one getting behind the wheel! The iconic monster family car was featured in 20 episodes during the show’s two-year run.
De Carlos’ On and Off Screen Behavior Was Drastically Different
As it turned out, once the camera started rolling, Yvonne De Carlo was a true acting virtuoso. De Carlo portrayed the character of Lily Munster flawlessly, grasped the show’s distinct humor, and enjoyed outstanding chemistry with the rest of the show’s characters.
Once the camera stopped rolling, though, Yvonne De Carlo would famously isolate herself from everyone else inside her trailer. Additionally, the actress was infamous for making a bad habit out of delaying the show’s production through her constant, last minute and pointless requests to change her hair, makeup, and nails, which naturally irritated everyone on the set. Overall, De Carlo worked with five different hairdressers throughout the show’s two-year run.