List of The Munsters characters
The following is a list of recurring characters in the CBS sitcom The Munsters and other related projects.
The Munsters
| Character | Actor/Actress |
| Herman Munster | Fred Gwynne (1960s series), John Schuck (1980s series) |
| Lily Munster | Yvonne De Carlo (1960s series), Lee Meriwether (1980s series) |
| Grandpa | Al Lewis (1960s series), Howard Morton (1980s series) |
| Eddie Munster | Butch Patrick (1960s series), Jason Marsden (1980s series) |
| Marilyn Munster | Beverley Owen (ep. 1-13, 1960s series), Pat Priest (ep. 14-70, 1960s series), Hilary Van Dyke (1980s series) |
The Munsters' pets
- Igor - Grandpa's pet Transylvanian bat. He is often seen flying around the mansion, especially in Grandpa's basement, in which he often serves as a guinea pig. His feelings are easily hurt inducing him to fly away. On occasion, Grandpa in bat form has been mistaken for Igor.
- Spot - Eddie's pet dragon whose lair is under the stairs. There are underground tunnels that go from Spot's lair to the Munsters' backyard. Spot has a hobby of chasing cars which sometimes ends with him catching them. He has a battleaxe scar on his shoulder and is always spouting fire from his nostrils when the outline of his head is seen upon the entrance to Spot's lair opens. When he leaves his lair, only his tail can usually be seen. Spot is skilled at games and has beaten Herman at checkers and ping pong. The 13th episode of Season 2 called "Underground Munster" features Spot running away after leaving muddy footprints on the floor to be mistaken for a dangerous monster when sighted in the sewer. Herman goes down the manhole to search for Spot, but is also mistaken for a dangerous monster. In "Far Out Munsters," Spot's shadow outline is seen giving the viewers a detail on what Spot's body looks like. The only episode in which more of his tail occurs in the episode "Lily's Star Boarder" where we see the other parts of the tail that weren't seen before. Despite his fearsome demeanor, Spot is "afraid of his own shadow" and Herman adds "and I don't blame him." While Butch Hartman claimed that Spot was recycled from the Tyrannosaurus model from One Million B.C., Spot was actually designed by Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis and assembled by some builders. Some sources claim that Spot was actually a dinosaur model from The Land Unknown.[1] In "The Munsters Today," Spot's presence in the show is usually depicted with his fire breath emerging from the entrance to his lair. Also in the show, Spot's tail was shown in a redesigned form.
- Charlie The Raven (voiced by Mel Blanc and occasionally by Bob Hastings) - A raven who lives in the Munsters' cuckoo clock and repeats the word "Nevermore." When the raven occasionally makes smart alecky remarks, Herman throws objects at him. Sometimes, the raven will come out of his clock, but often only for short breaks or to flee when frightened.
Recurring characters
Dr. Dudley
Edward Howard Dudley, M.D. (played by Paul Lynde in three episodes, Dom DeLuise in "Just Another Pretty Face") is the Munsters' family doctor. Dr. Dudley is one of the few characters who has had to learn to tolerate the Munsters. Dr. Dudley is extremely nearsighted (and sometimes prefers to have his glasses off when examining members of the family). His secretary and nurse is Ms. Fairchild (played by Alice Backes). Dr. Dudley and his wife (Marilyn Lovell) have a son, Elmer Dudley (Peter Robbins), who becomes Eddie's playmate.
Mr. Gateman
Mr. Gateman (played by John Carradine) is the undertaker in charge of the Gateman, Goodbury, and Graves funeral home (while the name indicates three owners, the company appears to be a sole proprietorship) that Herman works at. Mr. Gateman is one of the few "ordinary" humans not taken aback by the Munsters' appearance and habits. On two occasions, Mr. Gateman fires Herman, the first of which occurring when Herman asks for a raise. Lily helps regain his job by convincing Mr. Gateman of Herman's value to the company. Herman is almost fired again, but Mr. Gateman has a change of heart.
Clyde Thornton
Clyde Thornton (played by Chet Stratton) is Herman's co-worker at the funeral home. When first introduced, Clyde is continuously tricking and ridiculing Herman into one of his practical jokes until Herman finally stands up to him and Clyde gets caught in one of his own traps. After settling their differences, in "Cyrano De Munster", Clyde uses Herman's poems to woo the girl of his dreams. When she finds out that Clyde is not the one writing the poems, she rejects him and inquires about Herman. After finally seeing Herman, the girl screams and runs away. Angry at seeing his dream girl so frightened, Clyde punches Herman in the jaw and consequently breaks his own hand. Like most of Herman's co-workers, Clyde does not seem to notice anything unusual about Herman's appearance, although he is impressed (and intimidated) by Herman's super-strength.
Mrs. Cribbins
Mrs. Yolanda "Yo-yo" Cribbins (played by Claire Clareton) is the Munsters' neighbor. When the Munsters refer to a neighbor, it is often Mrs. Cribbins. Mrs. Cribbins is a fiftyish widow who lives in the house to the left of the Munsters'. Mrs. Cribbins has built a barbed wire fence between her yard and the Munsters' yard. Unlike some of the Munsters' other neighbors, she knows very little about them personally but is aware that the family is partially vampiric. In "My Fair Munster" Mrs. Cribbins drinks a philtre concocted by Grandpa and falls in love with the mailman, Warren Bloom (John Fiedler), who is also wary of the Munsters, to the extent that he wears the supposed vampire repellent garlic during his rounds.
Howie Buchanan
Howie Buchanan (played by Richard Steven Horvitz) is a teenager exclusive to The Munsters Today who is best friends with Marilyn and is one of a few people who can tolerate with the Munsters.
Dee Dee Nelson
Dee Dee Nelson (played by Cathy Lind Hayes) is a woman who is exclusive to The Munsters Today. She is the wife of a plastic surgeon
Relatives
On the Munster side
- Charlie Munster (played by Fred Gwynne) - Herman's twin brother. Conniving and a liar, he is into get-rich-quick schemes, and often engages in scam artistry.
- Elsa Hyde (played by Judy Gold) - Herman's sister and Marilyn's Mother in Here Come The Munsters.
- Johann - Herman's "cousin". One of an unknown number of near misses before the successful creation of Herman & Charlie, survived in the Transylvanian woods for over 150 years, where he frightened young maidens, found by Dr. Frankenstein who was the original's great great grandson who had control over him.
- Victor Frankenstein - A German scientist who created Herman. At Herman and Lily's wedding, Frankenstein gave Herman away "with his blueprints." He is currently dead.
- Victor Frankenstein IV (played by John Abbott) - The great great grandson of Victor Frankenstein that appeared in "A Visit from Johann."
- Cousin Wolverine - Also known as Cousin Wolfie, he is another Munster relative who has died more than once. During one of the occasions, Wolverine left the Munsters $10,000.
- Uncle Gilbert (played by Richard Hale) - Uncle Gilbert is one of the Munster's favorite relatives from the Old Country and is also the Gill-man from The Creature from the Black Lagoon Trilogy. He once brought with him $180,000 in gold and Spanish doubloons when visiting the family. He used to be a politician as well.
- Frank Munster (played by Peter Schuck) - Herman's brother in The Munsters Today.
On the Dracula side
- Katja Dracula (played by Jo De Winter) - In The Munsters Today, she's Lily's mother and depicted as Grandpa's favorite wife. She is also a go-getter vampire. She left her daughter and husband when Lily was very young, due to a "having to get away", but she came back, trying reconcile. Eventually, she left again before this could be official.
- Lester Dracula (played by Irwin Charone) - Lily's brother and a classy, if not financially responsible, werewolf.
- Uncle George - Grandpa's uncle who was hanged.
- Cousin Ronald - Grandpa's cousin.
- Cousin Phantom (played by Bob Hastings) - Their cousin and the Phantom of the Opera, who shatters glass with his voice. He appears in The Munsters' Revenge.
- Uncle Garrett and Aunt Mina - They were never depicted and were said to live in Death Valley.
- Uncle Boris - He was "a real swinger", according to Grandpa. At Christmas, he used to exchange bombs with Grigori Rasputin. A picture of him was found in the Munsters' family photo album.
- Cousin Humphrey - He is Grandpa's deceased, rotten cousin. He stole Grandpa's aspirin during the Black Plague. He was also a lousy piano player and is now a ghost.
- Lily's Grandma - She is Lily's grandmother who died for the umpteenth time in 1964. She left Lily an inheritance of $5,000.
- Great Grandmother Medusa - She is Lily's great grandmother who was the famous cook back in her day. In The Munsters Today episode "Vampire Pie," Grandpa mentioned that nobody who tried her Transylvanian Surprise ever lived to regret it. It turned out that Great Grandmother Medusa's Transylvanian Surprise also had Bat Milk (harvested from the bats in the Munsters' attic) which was the antidote to prevent anyone from turning into ducks.
- Unseen Cousin - On The Munsters Today, Herman states that one of Lily's cousins is a mermaid.
Other relatives
In later adaptations of The Munsters, other relatives were provided:
- Leonard - Grandpa's long-time skeleton friend ever since college in Medieval times. He has appeared in every episode in The Munsters Today.
References
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