The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),[Notes 1] Yvonne De Carlo as his vampire wife Lily,[2] Al Lewis as Grandpa (Count Dracula),[Notes 2] Beverley Owen (later replaced by Pat Priest) as their niece Marilyn, and Butch Patrick as their werewolf-like son Eddie.

Produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver, the series was a satire of American suburban life, the wholesome television family fare of the era and traditional monster movies.

[3][4] It achieved higher Nielsen ratings than did the similarly macabre-themed The Addams Family, which aired concurrently on ABC.

The show satirized the typical family sitcom formula of the era: the well-meaning father, the nurturing mother, the eccentric live-in relative, the naïve teenager and the precocious child.

In episode 47, "John Doe Munster", Grandpa describes My Three Sons as being about a "crazy, mixed-up family that's always having weird adventures.

"[Notes 4] Al Lewis explained, "We can do a lot of satirical pointed things on society that you couldn't do on an ordinary show."

Whether you are tall or short; or fat or thin; or ugly or handsome—like your father—or you can be black, or yellow or white, it doesn't matter.

[14] The project did not make progress until mid-1963[15] when a similar idea was submitted by The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends writers Allan Burns and Chris Hayward.

The proposal was later handed to writers Norm Liebman and Ed Haas, who wrote a pilot script, Love Thy Monster.

[citation needed] The show was produced by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who were already known for creating the Leave It to Beaver television series.

Prior to that, they had written many episodes of Amos 'n' Andy, a popular network radio program, during its half-hour comedy era.

Grandpa's makeup was exaggerated, including heavier eyebrows, and Herman's face was widened for a dopier and less human appearance.

The Munster Koach was a hot rod built on a lengthened 1926 Ford Model T chassis with a custom hearse body.

The cast in the title sequence included Joan Marshall as Phoebe (instead of Lily), Beverley Owen as Marilyn, Nate "Happy" Derman as Eddie, Al Lewis as Grandpa and Fred Gwynne as Herman.

The pilot title sequence had light, happy music borrowed from the Doris Day movie The Thrill of It All[21] instead of the instrumental rock theme.

During the first season, the Munster family appeared in an Easter special when they visited Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California, to get a new pet for Eddie.

Shot on videotape, the episode aired just once on CBS on April 18, and was long thought lost until a copy was donated to the Paley Center in New York in 1997.

[24] Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis appeared in full makeup and costumes riding in the Munster Koach in the 1964 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The unaired pilot episode, written by Lloyd J. Schwartz, explained the 22-year gap with an accident in Grandpa's lab that put the family to sleep.

The show features John Schuck (Herman), Lee Meriwether (Lily), Howard Morton (Grandpa) and Jason Marsden (Eddie).

A reboot by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller was developed for NBC as a one-hour drama with "spectacular visuals.

"[28][29][30] NBC ordered a pilot episode,[31] and announced in January 2012 that it would be called Mockingbird Lane, a reference to the Munsters' address.

[32] NBC ultimately did not proceed with plans for Mockingbird Lane as a weekly series, but later announced that the pilot episode would air in late October 2012 as a Halloween special.

Other merchandise included a set of rubber squeaky toys, Colorforms, and an Aurora model kit of the living room and family.

The Aurora model of the living room featured Herman in his electric chair, Eddie squatting in front of the fire, Lily knitting and Grandpa hanging in a bat-like manner from the rafters.

It was available for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, MSX, and MS-DOS, but it was criticized by the gaming press because of its short length and lackluster gameplay.

[citation needed] In 1966, a three-reel View-Master set featuring The Munsters episode "The Most Beautiful Ghoul in the World" was released, accompanied by a booklet containing drawings and additional text.