Growing Up Munster
In an age when many former child stars spend more time in front of a judge
than a camera, actor Butch Patrick has managed to keep his fangs relatively
clean.
By Christopher Zara
Butch Patrick has been in show business since the age of seven. While the
actor is no doubt best known for playing Eddie Munster on the 1960s sitcom “The
Munsters,” there is more to this TV vet’s career than a two-year stint as the
boy vampire with a chirpy demeanor and perpetual devil lock. Biographer Helen
Darras details Patrick’s lengthy career in her new book Eddie Munster AKA Butch
Patrick, chronicling the actor’s journey from ‘60s child star to ‘70s teen
heartthrob to baby-boomer icon of television’s golden age.
I recently caught up with the 54-year-old Patrick, who was in New York to
promote the first authorized biography of his life.
You’ve been an actor for almost 50 years. I take it the business has changed a
lot since you first started out?
Yes, it has changed. Now any city in the country has production facilities. In
the old days, Hollywood and New York City were the only options to “break” into
the business. Also video technology makes it much more affordable to finance
productions. The money is much bigger now. However, so are the complications:
multiple agents, managers, publicists, having an “entourage.”
Tell me about your new book.
My new authorized biography covers the first 25 years of my nearly 50-year
career in Hollywood. While I am nationally and internationally known for playing
Eddie Munster, the book reviews my career in detail, covering many of my
television commercials, weekly shows, motion pictures, etc. It also describes my
personal life in detail with never-before-published salacious facts and details.
Where can we get a copy?
The book is available online at the Web site
TheMunsters.tv, or it can
be obtained through our publishers’ Web site,
BloomingTwigBooks.com. It will be
available in stores soon.
Do you have
any advice for young people just starting out or parents of aspiring child
actors — or should they just stay away altogether?
No, they
shouldn’t stay away. If you enjoy performing, go for it! Find reputable help and
spend your money wisely.
“The Munsters” still has a sizable fan base after all these years. Why do you
suppose the show has endured?
In 1964-66, TV only had about three channels to choose from. Baby Boomers grew
up befriending families on TV. Those happy memories, along with fans of pop
culture, have kept the 1960s alive today, in all factions.
I have to ask: What do you say to people who insist “The Addams Family” was
the better show?
Well, we have a democracy in the United States. But the majority of the fans
prefer “The Munsters,” as has been documented by Lisa Loring (Wednesday of “The
Addams Family”) and myself. “The Munsters” was about a family who looked like
monsters but were more like real people. “The Addams Family” was about a family
who looked like real people but were more like monsters.
Well Said.
(c)
2007 Show Business Weekly
