Butch Patrick
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| Butch Patrick | |
| Born | Patrick Alan Lilley August 2, 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964 – 1992 |
Butch Patrick (born Patrick Alan Lilley on August 2, 1953 in Los Angeles, California), is a former American child actor best known for his role as Herman Munster's and Lily Munster's (played by Fred Gwynne and Yvonne DeCarlo respectively) only son, Eddie Munster, in the television show The Munsters (1964-1966) for which he received $600 per episode (at a time when the average adult salary was $46.00 per week), and the movie Munster, Go Home. He also played the main characters Mark on the television animation series Lidsville (1971-1973), and Milo in the 1969 live-action/animated film, The Phantom Tollbooth based on the 1961 children's book of that name.
[edit] Career
Patrick made several appearances on other shows during the 1960s, such as Mister Ed, My Favorite Martian, Daniel Boone, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees and Gunsmoke. He also appeared on eight episodes of My Three Sons as the character Gordon Dearing. In 1962-1963, young Patrick appeared on CBS in the last season of Walter Brennan's The Real McCoys situation comedy (renamed The McCoys) in the role of Greg Howard, the young son of the widowed Louise Howard, played by Janet De Gore. Louise became the romantic interest of Luke McCoy, played by Richard Crenna. The on-screen story revealed that Luke's wife, Kate McCoy, played by Kathleen Nolan, had died. The McCoys's revised format failed, and it was swamped in the ratings by NBC's Bonanza.
Patrick's claim to fame came when he auditioned for the role of Eddie Munster in The Munsters, which became a cult classic. Actor Bill Mumy (a friend of Patrick's) was the producer's first choice to play Eddie, but Mumy's parents would not allow him to play that role because they were displeased about the makeup he would have had to wear.
During the show's run, Patrick had a wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry with the legendary actress Yvonne DeCarlo. He once said in an interview that his mother had been a DeCarlo fan for years before The Munsters went on the air. When the show was canceled in 1966, Patrick did not keep in touch with DeCarlo very often, but was reunited three times with her — on the television show Vicki, on a 1995 The Munsters movie entitled: Here Come the Munsters, and 11 years later, when he spent both his Thanksgiving/Christmas days in 2006 at a nursing home (where he was DeCarlo's caregiver), just weeks before DeCarlo's death on January 8, 2007. Patrick and surviving co-star Pat Priest did not attend her service.
More recently, Patrick provided the voice for an animated image of himself on an episode of The Simpsons, and on an episode of the reality show Star Dates.
Like many sitcom actors from the 1960s, Patrick receives no residuals from reruns of The Munsters.
Today, Patrick is the co-host of Macabre Theatre, which showcases classic horror films. He has completed his biography with author Helen Darras. The book, published in early 2008, details Butch's first 25 years in Hollywood and is titled Eddie Munster AKA Butch Patrick.
He ranked #45 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
Patrick has recorded a song "It's Only Halloween" written by Bill and Ted Golis, released in 2007 on Park Lane Drive Records. On July 17, 2008, he appeared on Christina's Court because his website was robbed by a friend. He lost and paid his former friend $1,400.
He currently owns the Grateful Dead tour bus, nicknamed "Sugar Magnolia." The bus is currently on loan to the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, Illinois.
