Two creepy television families.The Addams Family, a wealthy, morbid fictional family created by cartoonistCharles Addamsin 1938 and introduced to television in 1964.The Munsters, a sitcom about a working class family of monsters in the classic Universal vein, also airing in 1964. Two sitcoms, inextricably linked by their premises and their parallel TV airings, and now thefamilies of fright both have upcoming projects on Netflix. It’s a battle that has been waged for almost 50 years, with no discernible winner.
Or,isthere a winner? For kicks and giggles, or decapitations and moans, what say we pit the terrifying two against each other in a series of matchups? Now to make things fair, we will compare the original 1964 versions of each show, only bringing in reboots and other media when the matchup calls for it. It’sThe Addams FamilyversusThe Munsters. It’ll be a snap snap.
The Success of the Original Run
The Addams Familycapped out at 64 episodes,ranking #23 in TV ratingsfor its first season and dropping out of the top 30 afterwards.The Munstershad 70 episodes in its original run, was ranked #18 in its first season,andwas a nominee for Best TV Show at the 1965 Golden Globes.Batmanmay have ended the runs of both, but while on the air, the numbers don’t lie.
Winner: The Munsters
Theme Songs
EveryoneknowsThe Addams Familytheme song, even if they’ve never seen it. The theme, written and arranged by composerVic Mizzy, is classic 60s era earworm, right up there with the likes ofThe Brady BunchorBatman. The ‘snap-snap’ is instantly recognizable, and inPaste Magazines list of top 50 theme songs it sits at #15.The Munstersis surf-rock excellence, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965, and its iconic riff was sampled in the 2015Fall Out Boysong “Uma Thurman”. Musically, it’s the better of the two, but…
Winner: The Addams Family
Sweet Ride
The wealthy Addams clan drove around in a 1933 Packard V-12 limo (nota hearse as most people believe).The Munster Koach was a Frankenstein monster of its own, built byGeorge Barris(who built the Batmobile) using three Model T bodies, a 289 Ford Cobra engine from a 1966 Mustang GT, and a number of other modifications in an 18-foot-long beauty. And that was just one built for the show: Barris also createdDragula, a 1964 drag car made from a fiberglass coffin and powered by a 289/350 hp Ford V8. No contest.
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Mano a Mano
Gomez Addams (John Astin) vs. Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne):Gomez is a lover, not a fighter, and while Herman is a big-hearted, hard-working Frankenstein’s monster, sheer size wins here.Winner: Herman Munster
Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) vs. Lily Munster (Yvonne De Carlo):Yes, Lily is a vampiress from the Dracula family, reasonable, level-headed, sweet and kind, but Morticia is straight-up frightening. Beautiful, but frightening.Winner: Morticia Addams
Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) vs. Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis):Morticia’s uncle is bald, dresses in black, floor length robes, likes dynamite, chills on a bed of nails and can power light bulbs by placing them in his mouth. Grandpa is (possibly) Count Dracula himself, but elderly and doting, can shapeshift, makes inventions and potions, and a schemer. Two eccentrics with little to separate them.Winner: DRAW
Wednesday (Lisa Loring) and Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) vs. Marilyn (Beverly Owen/Pat Priest) and Eddie (Butch Patrick):Wednesday is a macabre, deadpan, and downright frightening little girl who seems capable of horrific atrocities. Marilyn is a plain, ordinary human being, and a beautiful young lady with no monster tendencies. Pugsley is kind-hearted and smart, and lacks the upfront morbidness of his family (for the most part), while Eddie is a mischievous werewolf boy. Wednesday tops Marilyn, Eddie tops Pugsley.Winner: DRAW
The Ick Factor
In addition to its main characters,The Addams Familyboasts: Thing (“Itself”), a disembodied hand; Lurch (Ted Cassidy), a large, lumbering, monstrous butler; Cousin Itt (Felix Silia), the small… creature, for lack of a better word, with floor-length hair -allfloor length hair, with a bowler hat and sunglasses; and a variety of pets including Aristotle the octopus, Fang the jaguar, Cleopatra the African Strangler man-eating plant, Kitty Kat the pet lion, Tristan and Isolde the piranhas, Homer the spider and, finally, Zelda the pet vulture.The Munstersinclude Igor, Grandpa’s pet Transylvanian bat, Spot, Eddie’s pet dinosaur, Charlie the Raven (Mel Blanc), and the height of originality, Kitty the black cat that roars like a lion.
Home is Where the Hearts Are
The Addams live in a large mansion at 0001 Cemetery Lane. In the play room are medieval racks, nailbeds, iron maidens and stockades for when they needed to chill. And the house - literally - practically isa museum where people come to see ‘em, with odd statues, trophies and other interesting artifacts throughout. The Munsters live in a nine-room Gothic Victorian mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights. There are secret passageways, a trap door in the parlor, a laboratory, and it was built on an old Spanish prison. Too close to call? 1313 Mockingbird Laneonly has one bathroom. Eek.
Following the cancellation ofThe Munsters, the original cast reunited for the 1966 filmMunster, Go Home!1973 saw the release of the animatedThe Mini-Munsters, where Al Lewis was the only original cast member to do vocals, and 1981 the adult cast reunited again forThe Munsters Revenge. Another shot at TV,The Munsters Todaystarted in 1988 with a new cast - and surpassed the original’s episode count by 2 at 72. Atari released a video game calledMidnight Mutants- and that’s all we’ll say about that. Yet another new cast gave us the TV movieHere Come the Munsters, and the whole concept of the series was ’re-imagined’ byBryan Fulleras the 2012 TV pilotMockingbird Lane, which did not get picked up by the network. Nothing, though, that really caught the public’s attention.
The Addams Family, on the other hand, would grow larger than its rival. The show spawned a dance craze in 1965, “The Lurch.” After the show’s run, a few attempts were made to keep it alive, including a spot onThe New Scooby-Doo Movies, a 1977 Halloween TV movie and, Lord knows why, a musical variety show pilot. Then came 1991 andBarry Sonnenfeld’s hit movieThe Addams Family. The casting was perfect, especiallyChristina Ricci’s Wednesday, and the 1993 follow-upThe Addams Family Valueswas another huge hit. A Broadway musical, a direct-to-video film, two successful animated films and multiple video games bring us to today.
What the Future Holds
As alluded to above, Netflix will soon be airing projects for each property.Wednesday, a series fromTim Burtonthat brings the family back to TV screens, with a focus onJenna Ortega’s Wednesday (and she looks great in it so far).The Munstersis a film helmed by superfanRob Zombie, his second love letter to the show after his 1998 song “Dragula.” It hasn’t had the social media presence or anticipation ofWednesday, though, so until both are released and the people speak…
And the Winner is…
The Addams Familyby one. But let’s be honest: the real winners here are us, the fans of these monstrous and macabre families.
