The Munsters: Why Did They Change Marilyn Munster?
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“I’m the plain one in the family.”
How many Marilyns were there?
The classic sitcom The Munsters introduced viewers to a family of monsters. This included a dad who was a version of Frankenstein’s Monster, a grandpa who was the retired Count Dracula, a mom who was the daughter of Dracula, a son who was a werewolf…
…and a niece that was normal. (Granted, the family thought she was the weird one.) Depending on which version of the Munsters you watch, she is either the niece of Lily’s or the niece of Herman’s.
Somewhat oddly, of the classic lineup, Marilyn was the one character where the actress kept getting replaced. We’ll go through the list below. You can also scroll down to watch a video playlist that includes Butch Patrick (who played Eddie Munster) offering his perspective on the situation, two versions of the original sitcom’s opening credits, and trailers for the two movies with the original cast…
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Beverly Owen
The first actress to play Marilyn was Beverly Owen. When she was cast, she moved from New York to Los Angeles—but her fiancé was unable to join her in L.A. She missed him and didn’t like being there, so she shared her grief with her co-stars, Fred Gwynne (who played Herman) and Al Lewis (who played Grandpa). They spoke to the producers for her, and she was allowed to exit after 13 episodes. She went back to New York and got married.
Pat Priest
In the show’s 14th episode, “Grandpa Leaves Home,” the credits show a new actress playing Marilynn—Pat Priest. However, she barely appears in the episode—presumably because they weren’t expecting a new actress during the episode’s production. The character doesn’t appear until the tag at the end; in fact, Marilyn doesn’t even have a line. (By the way, that final scene was the only time on the series that you saw the family celebrate Christmas.) Priest would play Marilyn until The Munsters’ cancellation in 1966.
Debbie Watson
In order to introduce The Munsters to foreign audiences, thus preparing them to for the show’s syndication, the original cast starred in the 1966 theatrical Technicolor film Munster, Go Home! That is, the original cast, except for Marilyn—Pat Priest was replaced with younger actress Debbie Watson. In the film, the Munsters move to Great Britain when Herman inherits his uncle’s English estate. However, they discover a group of shady characters in their new home.
Jo McDonnell
In 1981, the original cast reassembled for a reunion TV movie, The Munsters' Revenge. Of course, the studio once again picked someone younger to play Marilyn—this time Marilyn Munster was played by Jo McDonnell. The movie introduces an evil scientist played by Sid Caesar, who has turned wax figures of Herman and Grandpa into robots—which he is using to commit crimes. As such, Herman and Grandpa must avoid the cops until they can clear their names.
In this video playlist, you can hear Butch Patrick (who played Eddie Munster) share his thoughts on Marilyn, plus you can watch two versions of the original sitcom’s opening credits (with two different Marilyns), and you can watch trailers for the two movies with the original cast.
Other actresses who played Marilyn
The Munsters' Revenge was the last time the original cast appeared onscreen in character. However, there have been a number of revivals with new cast members.
The character of Marilyn has since been played by Hilary Van Dyke (The Munsters Today, 1988–1991), Christine Taylor (Here Come the Munsters, 1995), Elaine Hendrix (The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, 1996), and Charity Wakefield (Mockingbird Lane, 2012).
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Will the real Frankenstein’s Monster please stand up?
Related to stuff I talked about in the video:
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