The Munsters is one of the most beloved TV shows among fans of monsters and horror (even if it didn’t fall into the latter), and one of its main characters, Herman Munster, has the look of the classic Frankenstein creature – but why? The realm of horror has many branches, and there’s a comedy one that mixes the best of both worlds to bring more accessible or even family-friendly content for the audiences. The 1960s saw two great examples of this with the TV shows The Addams Family and The Munsters, with the latter taking a lot of inspiration from well-known monsters and creatures.
Created by Allan Burns and Chris Hayward, The Munsters was a sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters who even though might seem intimidating are actually quite friendly and harmless. The Munsters was a satire of American suburban life, traditional monster movies, and the wholesome family fare of the 1960s, which helped it win the hearts of generations of fans all over the world. The Munster family was formed by Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne), Lily Munster (Yvonne De Carlo), Grandpa (Al Lewis), Marilyn (Beverly Owen, later replaced by Pat Priest), and Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick), all of them (except Marilyn, who was a human) based on classic monsters.
However, the appearance of Herman stands out as he has the same look as the classic Frankenstein creature from Universal, and they even have similar backstories but with very different outcomes. Herman Munster was created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein in 1815 at the University of Heidelberg but wasn't completed until 1850 (along with his twin brother, Charlie), and after a couple of trips and even fighting in World War II, he formed a happy and loving family with Lily. Given his backstory, Herman has the same physical appearance as the classic monster from the 1931 movie Frankenstein, in which Boris Karloff played the creature created by Dr. Frankenstein. This is Karloff’s most iconic role in big part thanks to the makeup designed by Jack Pierce, which has become the image associated with the famous monster and was also used when creating Herman Munster.
Universal Pictures is the studio behind Frankenstein and other horror movies that made way for the Universal Studios Monsters (or simply Universal Monsters) franchise, such as Dracula, The Invisible Man, and The Bride of Frankenstein. Now, The Munsters was produced by Kayro-Vue Productions along with Universal, and it was this alliance that allowed the show to use the copyrighted designs of Universal’s monsters, including that of Jack Pierce’s Frankenstein monster. As mentioned above, every member of the Munster family except for Marilyn is based on a classic monster: Lily is a vampire but her look is similar to that of the Bride of Frankenstein, Grandpa is also a vampire whose image is based on that of Dracula, and Eddie is a werewolf, albeit a very young one. However, Herman is the only one to have a strong resemblance to the character it's based on, and while it might seem like that would have backfired for the character and the show, it actually helped him become unforgettable.
The Munsters will return in the near future now with Rob Zombie behind the camera, as a new movie is in development and planned to be streamed on Peacock, and from what’s been revealed so far, Herman will keep his iconic Frankenstein monster look, though he might go through some slight changes to better fit Zombie’s style. Fans of The Munsters have a lot to thank Universal for, as it made it possible for the characters to look the way they do, and it would be hard to imagine Herman Munster looking any other way.