Get ready for the big garage sale at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
Fans of classic ‘60s sitcom “The Munsters” are in for a post-Halloween treat: A massive auction of one-of-a-kind collectibles from the classic show, with rarities including Grandpa’s electric chair, Lily’s signature gown and Eddie’s familiar two-piece suit — with short pants, of course, and a minimum opening bid of $2,000.
The show, which aired 70 black and white episodes between Sept. 24, 1964, and May 12, 1966, became an unlikely and enduring touchstone for baby boomers with its fish out of water tale of a horror film family incongruously ensconced in suburbia.
How? Why?
Who better to explain the Munsterablia fascination than Butch Patrick, now 68, who famously sported a slicked-back widow’s peak while playing Herman and Lily’s Munster’s son Eddie.
“The ‘60s was in general an amazing time for television programming,” said Patrick, who still gets recognized at airports 55 years after “The Munsters” ended its run. “It was a time for escapism, with a TV Guide and three channels right there on your black-and-white TV.”
The items up for bid on Heritage Auctions between Nov. 5-7 come from the singular collection of Emmy Award-winning producer and rabid “Munsters” fan Kevin Burns, who was a 9-year-old boy in Niskayuna, N.Y., when he first laid eyes on Fred Gwynne in full Herman regalia one Thursday night in 1964.
“He became a massive ‘Munsters’ fan,” recalled longtime friend Joe Maddalena, executive vice president at Heritage Auctions. “He was the guy when it came to collecting. He wanted to have the definitive ‘Munsters’ collection.”
And so he did, right up until his death last year from a heart attack. Now the world’s largest collection of Munsters props, merchandise and memorabilia is available to his fellow fans.
Buyers can pick up the original blueprints to the Munsters’ fictitious and creepy residence … located on a California movie lot. Or photos signed by the cast. And even a pair of vintage Herman and Lilly dolls created by the folks behind “Barbie.”
The critics didn’t like “The Munsters” all that much, but the appeal was universal, according to Maddalena.
“We all fell in love with the family on Mockingbird Lane,” he said. “There was an exceptionally good cast, and sometimes you just have the perfect storm. The magic just came together, the premise just worked. Society was fascinated by vampires and Frankenstein, and ‘The Munsters’ gave us a very humanistic view in a comedic way.”
Patrick offered his take on the show’s short yet inescapable run while President Johnson occupied the White House: “Herman was basically a big kid. And with Fred Gwynne, the show worked perfectly. It was a family sitcom, with a family not from this world.”
