A once-popular monster visited the Capital Region on one of the spookiest days of the year.
Butch Patrick played young Eddie Munster in the 1960’s sitcom “The Munsters” and appeared at the Albany War Room Tavern for a Halloween extravaganza.
Patrick has returned to the character over the years — a werewolf-like boy who lived a normal life with his family of monsters in the fictional city of Mockingbird Heights. But he eventually stepped away, knowing acting was not a forever gig for him — he just wanted a way to finance the car racing career many 7-year-olds dream of.
70 episodes aired between 1964 and 1966 on CBS.
Patrick says he stumbled into acting. Supporting his sister through her experience trying to become an actor, which she never fully achieved, he got picked up.
He currently lives in Conway, Arkansas where he runs a Munster Musaleum that houses memorabilia he has collected over the years. Patrick says Halloween is a busy time of year when you’re a former Munster.
“As a kid I loved Halloween and who didn't,” Patrick said. “ And I always made myself up and I was one of those last minute persons with the I got two hours let's get the garage and dig through some stuff and make something that that would be of that particular era or whatever was happening in that, that day or that week or that year I tried to make something contemporary, but hanging around the Munsters, the Universal Monsters and the monsters with the best makeup people in the world. I got a little bit of an insight of how it all came about and how it was done. I was probably a little spoiled because I was so close to the real deal. But I always enjoyed it. I always had a good time."
Patrick says being the center of attention wasn’t all it was cracked up to. He says in hindsight he should have become a location scout – someone who finds the best scenes for production and works closely with directors.
“I was uncomfortable in the role of being an actor,” Patrick said. “I thought I was getting way too much attention. And I wasn't comfortable in that role. I would shy away from it. My ego was very small and fine. I just had a knack for that, you know, I just had a knack for it. But it was always a temporary job for me.”
Sitting at a high top table in the bar wearing dark jeans and a “Simpsons” varsity jacket, (he played himself in an episode), Patrick shares tips for aspiring actors, saying there is more to learn than just how to act.
“If you really want to be in the business and you're okay with not being the Star you're okay not being on camera, you just want to be around it, which may lead you to be in front of the camera, look at the next time the movie is over, look at all those names that roll by for 18 minutes in those 1000s of names,” Patrick said. “Try to find one of those guys and what they're doing and apply yourself to that. That way you're in the industry, you're making good living, you get good benefits in your around the industry. But your chances of being one of those is a million times better than trying to be in front of the camera. But you got to do that so gingerly without trying to send them away in tears.”
Since the original series, Patrick has brought the character back to the screen in several movies like “Munster, Go Home!” and “Marineland Carnival: The Munsters Visit Marineland.” He says “The Munsters” is unlike shows today.
“There's not a lot of shows where three generations can sit down and all watch it together and enjoy it,” Patrick said. “So in that in that sense, it's very unique. It was kind of a magic thing on paper, or we're going to have you know, Munsters living next door and it's going to be believable, it didn't really look like it was going to fly but because Fred was good and Al Lewis , were so good at their comedy and then they just all meld it for a couple years. And it was sort of like magic or lightning in a bottle. But the highest form of flattery is redoing it and imitation. So over the years, playing Eddie in various stages of my life has always been a good thing. But mainly I just enjoy the people that come up with positive energy and have good memories. And you know, in this day and age, that's a pretty, pretty remarkable thing to have something that can be so positive. Constantly.”
Aside from his Musaleum, he is in the Airbnb business, creating and renting themed stays like old Hollywood bungalows, Al Capone, and of course, shows and movies like “The Munsters” and “The Addams Family.” A muscle car lover, Patrick also makes special order Koaches like the Munster Koach that appeared in more than 20 episodes.
