Fanboy Adventures: Meeting Butch Patrick

If you read my earlier post (Addams Family vs Munsters: Can’t We All Get Along?) you know that I’m a Munsters Maniac going way back. So when my friend Mark invited me to go meet Butch Patrick who played Eddie Munster in the original series I enthusiastically said yes!

Typically, I’m not one to attend “meet the star” events but I realized that this was likely my last opportunity to meet anyone from the original cast as sadly most are now gone. Other than Butch Patrick only Pat Priest, who played the second Marilyn during the original run of the series, survives. However, since she is now 84 I suspect she doesn’t tour as much as she may have before.

Trivia tidbit – technically Butch Patrick is the second person to play Eddie. The role was played by another child actor, Nate “Happy” Derman, in the unaired pilot. Likewise Yvonne DeCarlo was the second Lily as she replaced Joan Marshall before the show aired. However, unaired pilots don’t really count in terms of television.

The Munster Koach

We met each other at Freedom Comics in Toledo, OH a few minutes before 2:00 PM which is when Butch was scheduled to appear. He had already pretty much set up and was taking pictures and signing autographs when we arrived. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Butch was traveling with a replica of the Munster’s Koach – which in my opinion is the second coolest car ever on television. The first being the original Batmobile from the Batman TV series, a show that also had a great theme song, and which, not coincidentally, was designed by the same person: George Barris. The Koach was kept in a trailer but we were allowed to go in and take pictures. The only rules were don’t touch and don’t sit!

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Meeting Butch aka Eddie Munster

We had beat the crowd and only had to wait a few minutes to meet Butch Patrick. Knowing that these days many (most?) of the stars from these fan favorite shows charge for autographs I had come prepared with cash. In fact, I had enough on me to purchase a copy of Butch Patrick’s Munster Memories which he did sign for me. We talked for a few minutes and remembering some advice I had gotten years ago about meeting celebrities I asked about his current projects. I was pleased to learn that he has several things in the works including a series of interviews with surviving WWII veterans, cars, and others. If you visit his Munsters Fan website, named aptly Munsters.com, you’ll find more information on what he’s been up to and working on.

Butch was pleasant to talk to and generous with his time. I’m impressed that while Mark and I browsed the comic shop and it’s wide-array of collectibles that the line to meet Butch continued to grow. Of course there were plenty of older fanboys like myself but a number of younger people, too. It was a testament to the enduring popularity of The Munsters. Possibly the popularity of Lidsville, but I don’t think so.

All photos by David P. Wahr unless otherwise noted in which case the original artist retains all rights. Otherwise photos and words @copyright by David P. Wahr