In honor of Halloween this weekend, my Top 10 Tuesday this week is Top 10 The Munsters/The Addams Family Characters. I'm not a big enough fan of either to do them separately but I thought it would work well to put them together!
I find Uncle Fester annoying at times which is why he barely made it onto the list. But he's still a pretty memorable character and he's played to the hilt by Jackie Coogan in the series. Pretty much anyone who's played the character since is doing a Coogan impression. Coogan had an iconic look and voice for the role and really went all the way on the character. Maybe it's too much to expect him to be a more nuanced character but I just wish he was a little less annoying.
9. GRANDMAMA
The eldest member of the Addams, Grandmama was a pretty crazy old lady. She was more of a background character in a lot of episodes but she was funny when she had the chance to shine. In most versions of The Addams Family, she is known as Granny Frump but for the TV show, she was named Grandmama so audiences wouldn't be confused with Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies. I think Grandmama is a much better name.
The trusty butler for the Addams, Lurch is a little bit of a one joke character - he's super tall and he has a deep voice. But in the 60s, that often meant a character could be put in all sorts of silly situations to see how he reacts. Come to think of it, that still happens now sometimes. But either way, there were still some funny moments from the character. With his monotone voice and small range of personality, he was a more consistent character than Fester or Grandmama.
7. LILY MUNSTER
Our first Munster on the list is the matriarch of the family. Lily was perhaps the most enchanting of the Munsters clan but she comes in below some of her family members because she wasn't as strong a personality. She often took a backseat to characters like Herman, Grandpa or even Eddie. So while she was a funny mix of an otherworldly figure and a typical housewife, I'm not sure the show always put her in the best position to be funny.
6. EDDIE MUNSTER
There were some bad 60s TV kids but Eddie Munster was not one of them. He was spunky and funny and had a slightly offbeat personality (of course). The difference between the Munsters and the Addams was that the Munsters WANTED to fit in. Probably the best example of that was Eddie who balanced his unique traits with wanting to be a normal kid. He had a very sweet relationship with both Herman and Grandpa that was the heart of the show.
Grandpa Munster is not usually the type of character I love. The scheming old man is not one of my favorite character tropes. But Grandpa was offbeat and quirky enough that I liked him more than several others of his "type." Al Lewis brought a sense of charm to the role and I liked that he was probably the least caring of any of the Munsters what the rest of the world thought. He was content to be as weird as he wanted to be. He might have fit in well as an Addams.
4. WEDNESDAY ADDAMS
Wednesday is a really interesting character in a lot of versions of The Addams Family, especially the musical. And I'm pretty excited for the upcoming Netflix series focused exclusively on the character. On the original series, she is a pretty strong character too even though she is not the breakout star of the show. She is still a precocious and funny personality with a similar demeanor to fellow 60s daughter, Tabitha on Bewitched.
John Astin was delightful as Gomez on The Addams Family. He had a relentless energy and spirit that worked well especially in contrast to the more dour Morticia. I think he sometimes veered a little too close to obnoxious but most of the time, he filled a role within the family that no one else did. I feel like John Astin embodied himself so much in the role that any time I've seen him in anything else, even when he was much older, it seemed liked Gomez was playing the role.
2. MORTICIA ADDAMS
Morticia is the best Addams Family character in my opinion even if John Astin had more verve as a performer or Wednesday has become a bigger figure. But Morticia has the most distinct personality. She is just an absolute devotee to the macabre and less of a hopeless romantic than her husband. The deadpan delivery from Carolyn Jones really helped to make the character who she is but she was a super strong character to begin with.
Although members of the Addams make up three of the top four slots, it is Herman Munster who comes up at #1. He is far more integral to the success of The Munsters than any one character is to the success of The Addams Family. Herman was such a big goofy character but he was absolutely at the heart of The Munsters. The character was at the center of most stories and I found him particularly funny when he was trying so hard to do something normal but being way off kilter with it. Fred Gwynne was perfectly matched to the character.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at The Famous Teddy Z!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Chicago Fire Characters!
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