Television took a macabre twist in 1964. It began with two series that sprang out of the gate on the same week in September, beginning a frantic two-year run which ended with both shows closing up shop within a month of each other in the spring of 1966.However, that didn't end the contest. Both series continue to live on in syndication, and feature films have also been inspired by the rival monster comedies.
The battle began back in the 1930's, with a single-panel cartoon debuting in The New Yorker magazine called The Addams Family. Created by Charles Addams, it was a satirical look at well-to-do Americans. The Addams Family was wealthy, and also quite creepy.
It was a hit for the magazine, and thirty years later, The Addams Family was seen as a potential TV sitcom.
The Addams Family's humor has been called "Grouchoesque," with Gomez Addams frequently delivering snappy one-liners while constantly carrying a cigar. That's no coincidence, as the show's producer was Nat Perrin, who just happened to be Groucho Marx's close friend. He was also a writer for many Marx Brothers films.
Thus, many have judged Addams Family humor to be superior of that of the rival Munsters.
However, it might be a bit like comparing oranges to apples. While the Addams were fabulously wealthy, the Munster clan were decidedly working-class. You could picture the Addams' jetting off to Monte Carlo for a long weekend. On the other hand, Herman Munster was more likely to load the family up into his bad-butt Munstermobile and head to the drive-in, where anyone within sight would be horrified and frightened into a stampede.
Both series were broadcast in black and white for their durations, and both had their demises hastened by other series which were more popular largely because they were broadcast in color.
While John Astin and Fred Gwynne were the shows' stars, by no means did they hog the camera. The appeal of both series was in the plethora of characters, including some that were imaginary. For instance, you never saw the Addams' Kitty, you only heard a lion's roar and observed frightened masses running away. Likewise, the Munsters kept a fire-breathing dragon which would only show glowing eyes and, of course, lots of fire.
While practically all of the characters had their own eccentricities (the exception being the deliberately straight role of Marilyn Munster), the most whacked, and thereby the most appealing, were Uncle Fester and Grandpa Munster.
Veteran comedy actor Jackie Coogan, who is fondly remembered as the kid in Charlie Chaplin's 1921 film The Kid, played Fester, who had a penchant for causing explosions in the basement laboratory. He would generally steal any scene in which he appeared.
Grandpa Munster likewise was prone to basement lab explosions. He also possessed an acerbic wit, frequently aimed at his son-in-law. Again, he was a scene-stealer.
But the rich supply of family members (as well as the Addams' servant, Lurch) made it impossible for anyone to dominate the limelight for long. Eddie Munster would get the occasional episode that concentrated on his character, as would the Addams' hand-in-a-box known as Thing. BTW, Thing was portrayed by Ted Cassidy (Lurch) except for the occasional scene where Lurch and Thing appeared together, assistant director Jack Voglin becoming Thing in such cases.
By 1966, America had grown weary of black-and-white monster comedies. Batman, in living color, showed up in January of that year, putting an appropriate coffin nail in the two shows.
Since then, all three franchises have shown lots more life in the form of feature and TV movies. There was also The Munsters Today, which ran from 1988-1991 and actually lasted two episodes longer than its predecessor. For the life of me, I can't remember it.
Who ultimately won the rivalry? I have to give the competitive edge to The Addams Family over The Munsters, at least as far as theme songs go. It's way too much fun to join in by snapping one's fingers.
Comments (11)
I always preferred The Addams Family as I considered the writing and comedy more sophisticated than The Munsters which was jejune, slapstick, and relied on “speeded up” action and Fred Gwynne’s appearance to garner laughs (I enjoyed his Car 54 Muldoon persona way more.)
An interesting tidbit: The creators of Leave It To Beaver, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, also were the creators of The Munsters. They teamed up in the 40's as writers for the Amos and Andy radio show (remember the non-PC TV version?) and after Jerry Mathers grew too old to be entertaining and the LITB show ended, they came up with The Munsters at 1313 Mockingbird Lane to extend their careers.
They pushed the TV Code envelope 1st with LITB actually showing the inside of the Cleaver boy's bathroom and later by showing Lily and Herman in bed together when just 10 years earlier, Lucy and Ricky who were married in real life, were forced be seen sleeping in twin beds as if sharing a bed while acting was the acme of moral turpitude. O tempore, O mores.
Posted by Burt | February 4, 2009 7:19 PM
Posted on February 4, 2009 19:19
I had received a portable reel-to-reel tape recorder for Christmas, 1963. Whenever the Munsters or Addams Family aired each week, I hung my microphone cord over a knob on the TV and recorded the shows and played them back all week, until the next episode, when I would record the new episode over the old episode. What kid could afford to go out and by two reels of tape every week?
I loved both shows and all their characters. But as you stated, the Munsters were working-class and "might" just live around the corner, while the Addams Family were rich and lived way over there, up on the hill! Therefore I gave the Addams' a few more points because I wanted to hobnob in their circle!
Posted by NCeddie | February 5, 2009 8:39 AM
Posted on February 5, 2009 08:39
Great post. I wouldn't be able to decide since I loved them both.
Posted by Jeff | February 6, 2009 11:00 PM
Posted on February 6, 2009 23:00
Mr. Munster's name was Herman, not Fred.
Posted by David Holley | February 8, 2009 12:35 AM
Posted on February 8, 2009 00:35
You're absolutely right, David. Thanks for pointing out the oopsie, which is now corrected.
Posted by Ron Enderland
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February 8, 2009 6:14 AM
Posted on February 8, 2009 06:14
This is a tuff choice! I would say Addams Family! Both were good in there own way. But it seems I saw more of Addams Family then I did The Munsters! Always liked the museum setting of the AF! I think in my opinion that The Munsters were funnier! But I will say, I did not care much for the movie remakes several years ago!
Posted by Riversend | February 10, 2009 5:59 PM
Posted on February 10, 2009 17:59
Well, I might be outnumbered here but I thought the Munsters were far superior. Herman was a great sort of Homer Simpson type guy and his fights with Grandpa were great. The magic of Grandpa great, too. The fast motion stuff was superb. I like my comedy overblown and over the top slapstick.
I never found that much comedy in the Adam’s Family. Loved watching the Munsters syndication in high school fall 74 to summer 77.
Posted by Scott Irving | March 1, 2009 1:03 AM
Posted on March 1, 2009 01:03
Definitely the Addams Family.
Posted by midlife mommy | March 2, 2009 10:20 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 22:20
I think the Addams Family is much better because they have more charecters and they have only a little bit more common scence. Gomez and Fester give the show its funniness and the laugh out loud jokes.
Posted by Sam | July 21, 2009 8:09 PM
Posted on July 21, 2009 20:09
The Addams' housecat (actually a male lion) WAS shown. One episode was even centered around him as the family thought he was sick and had a veterinarian brought in to treat him.
Posted by Marc | January 30, 2010 3:56 PM
Posted on January 30, 2010 15:56
the MUNSTERS were funnier to me. especially when the regular folks would get a glimspe of herman munster, and their hair would stand up,or their glasses would break? and grandpa was too much.
Posted by vera | January 30, 2010 4:34 PM
Posted on January 30, 2010 16:34