Butch Patrick: Movies & Box Office

Butch Patrick, born Patrick Alan Lilley on August 2, 1953, in Inglewood, California, is an American actor and musician whose career began when he was merely seven years old. He first attracted attention after a talent agent discovered him, leading to a succession of television commercials and guest spots that quickly expanded into substantive roles on popular series such as Ben Casey, Bonanza, Gunsmoke and Mister Ed. In 1961 Patrick made his feature-film debut in The Two Little Bears, sharing the screen with Eddie Albert and Jane Wyatt, and over the next two years he accumulated a long list of appearances that placed him opposite legends including Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster and Sidney Poitier. His most iconic role arrived in 1964 when he was cast as the adorable child werewolf Eddie Munster on CBS’s fantasy sitcom The Munsters, a part he inhabited for 70 episodes until the series concluded in 1966; the character’s distinctive fangs were, as Patrick recalled, his own malformed teeth, which added an authentic charm to the performance. After the show’s cancellation he continued to guest-star on such series as I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees and My Three Sons, while also appearing in several Disney productions and the MGM hybrid film The Phantom Tollbooth. From 1971 to 1973 Patrick headlined the psychedelic children’s series Lidsville, playing Mark, a boy stranded in a surreal world of singing hats. In 1975 he stepped away from acting to work for his father and to learn bass guitar, later recording novelty songs like "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" under the moniker Eddie and the Monsters. A resurgence of interest in his early work led to cameo appearances as himself on The Simpsons, in the film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, and in a Little Caesars commercial portraying an adult Eddie Munster. Throughout the 2000s he co-hosted the horror-themed show Macabre Theatre and participated in reality-TV projects, while maintaining a close friendship with former co-star Al Lewis and occasionally re-engaging with the Munster brand in interviews and conventions.