# The munsters vs the adams fsmily **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853 "2018-09-06T02:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/61 "2018-09-07T03:09:35Z")
A lot of 'leading men" were diminutive. The screen can make them look bigger. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/62 "2018-09-07T03:16:42Z")
**Fun Fact:** Pat Priest, aka “Marilyn” on _ **The Munsters** _ was Sue Ann Nivens’ “baby sister” on _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/63 "2018-09-07T05:08:42Z")
> [@blob](#): > > The old-school Hollywood actors could usually dance and sing, at least a little bit. “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/64 "2018-09-07T06:07:34Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Who? Fred Astaire? 😃 Grandpa and Herman and Lily were all played by experienced character actors. They made a fairly lightweight show into something more. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/65 "2018-09-07T08:51:43Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I like the shows about equally well. They were both high concept comedies full of cornball gags that were recycled constantly. The chemistry between Gomez and Morticia is frequently cited as a reason for the superiority of The Addams Family franchise. As I noted in one of the other threads, this misses the relationship between Herman and Grandpa on The Munsters. Their prickly relationship supplies the plot and the humor in many, if not most, episodes. There is nofhing analogous in The Addams Family. The husband/wife relationship is not superfluous on The Munsters, but it isn’t central. The Munsters is more of a buddy comedy. Kinda like _Car 54, Where Are You?_, right? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/66 "2018-09-07T13:36:30Z")
> [@blob](#): > > I hate to burst your bubble, but (according to imdb) Carolyn Jones was 5’5" (same as me). She wasn’t “leggy”… I’m 5’6", but most of that is legs, with my 34" inseam. One has nothing to do with the other. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/67 "2018-09-07T13:48:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **Fun Fact:** Pat Priest, aka “Marilyn” on _ **The Munsters** _ was Sue Ann Nivens’ “baby sister” on _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _. Oh, so we’re forgetting Beverley Owen now. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/68 "2018-09-07T14:33:00Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Oh, so we’re forgetting Beverley Owen now. Nice. She left the series to get married. Marriage is evil! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/69 "2018-09-07T14:49:26Z")
> [@blob](#): > > A lot of 'leading men" were diminutive. The screen can make them look bigger. Alan Ladd was one of the shortest leading men — the tall ones were off fighting WWII or were slacker chicken hawks like John Wayne and Ronald Reagan. Ladd supposedly had to stand on a box to kiss his leading ladies (caution: may be an urban legend). Sterling Hayden may have been the tallest, at 6’5”. That said, Meredith was never a leading man. Even in something like **Of Mice and Men** , where he and Lon Chaney Jr. had the biggest parts, they were both still character actors. Not that there’s anything _wrong_ with that. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/70 "2018-09-07T22:07:07Z")
Trivia time: What Russ “King of The Nudies”\* Meyer movie did Yvonne De Carlo star in? Hint: it’s the one with Tom Selleck. - This actually appears on his headstone. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/71 "2018-09-07T22:20:12Z")
I can’t say one is better than the other, but the Munsters were my favorite. Herman and Grand Pa. The cars Spot 🆒🆒 ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/72 "2018-09-07T22:54:15Z")
Just my opinion, but I thought the Addams Family was funny. The Munsters were silly rather than funny. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/73 "2018-09-08T01:44:29Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Trivia time: What Russ “King of The Nudies”\* Meyer movie did Yvonne De Carlo star in? Hint: it’s the one with Tom Selleck. > > - This actually appears on his headstone. Don’t remember the name, but I’ve seen one that featured Satanism and some nubile coeds. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/74 "2018-09-08T01:48:53Z")
In the Sixties I preferred the Munsters, but I was a child then. Today I strongly prefer the Addamses. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/75 "2018-09-08T14:25:59Z")
Gomez Addams was both rich and sexy. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/76 "2018-09-08T15:11:30Z")
John Astin’s Gomez was sexy, and Raul Julia’s even more so. The original Charles Addams cartoon Gomez, however, seemed to be some sort of oversized troll. Definitely subhuman, anyway. [![](https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images2.fanpop.com/images/polls/227000/227242_1240757493972_full.jpg?v%3D1240757508&imgrefurl=http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/addams-family/picks/show/227242/which-best-gomez-ever&docid=-zZW23nMPr_rnM&tbnid=X_S7vR0KRle-FM:&vet=1&w=266&h=266&source=sh/x/im) ](https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images2.fanpop.com/images/polls/227000/227242_1240757493972_full.jpg?v%3D1240757508&imgrefurl=http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/addams-family/picks/show/227242/which-best-gomez-ever&docid=-zZW23nMPr_rnM&tbnid=X_S7vR0KRle-FM:&vet=1&w=266&h=266&source=sh/x/im) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/77 "2018-09-08T15:19:18Z")
The Munsters were goofy, the Addams Family were darker. I liked them both, with a slight nod to Herman and Co. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/78 "2018-09-08T15:28:59Z")
Leggy brunettes? Sexy? Carolyn Jones or Yvonne de Carlo? You don’t have to scroll down much, if at all: NSFW[spoiler] gImages, “Yvonne de Carlo hot” — [https://goo.gl/Qbd1Nb](https://goo.gl/Qbd1Nb) gImages, “Carolyn Jones hot” — [https://goo.gl/mhXsxP](https://goo.gl/mhXsxP) [/spoiler] It’s really not even close, Lily Munster by a mile. Maybe not leggy, but busty. ETA, well, the legs are there too. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/79 "2018-09-09T08:34:34Z")
Herman had the Munster Koach, a cool car. gImages — [https://goo.gl/xs9xYA](https://goo.gl/xs9xYA) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853/80 "2018-09-09T10:57:03Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I said this in a previous thread: _The Munsters_ was about people who looked like monsters, but who otherwise led normal middle-class lives. _The Addams Family_ was about people who were truly macabre. Both thought they were normal; the difference was that the Munsters really were normal except for their appearance. > > _The Munsters_ was like _The Flintstones_ and _The Jetsons_ in that all three shows transplanted middle-class American values unchanged into an odd scenario. A while back, we watched the first few episodes of The Munsters and The Jetsons, and for each, that was about as much as we could stomach. The ‘humor’ was stale crappy grownup jokes from the 1960s - topics like rush-hour traffic and mothers-in-law - done crappily. And somewhere around that same time, we watched every episode of Gilligan’s Island, so it’s not like we’re coming from some highbrow place. The Munsters and The Jetsons were a lot worse than Gilligan’s Island, from our POV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-munsters-vs-the-adams-fsmily/820853.md?page=5)