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Butch Patrick (born Patrick Alan Lilley; August 2, 1953) is an American
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
and
musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of seven, Patrick is perhaps best known for his role as child
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
Eddie Munster on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
comedy television series ''
The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
'' from 1964 to 1966 and in the 1966 feature film ''
Munster, Go Home! ''Munster, Go Home!'' is a 1966 American comedy film based on the 1960s family sitcom ''The Munsters''. It was directed by Earl Bellamy, who also directed a number of episodes in the series. The film was produced immediately after the television ...
'', and as Mark on the ABC Saturday morning series '' Lidsville'' from 1971 to 1973.


Life and career

Patrick Alan Lilley was born on August 2, 1953,"Butch Patrick"
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
in
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
. He was spotted by a talent agent at the age of seven, which led to a series of appearances in television commercials and guest appearances on TV shows. In 1961 he made his feature-film debut in the
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
comedy–fantasy '' The Two Little Bears'', in which he co-starred with
Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...
and Jane Wyatt. Over the next two years, Patrick went on to appear in guest-starring roles on numerous television series, including ''
Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member ...
'', ''
Alcoa Premiere ''Alcoa Premiere'' (also known as ''Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire'' ) is an American anthology drama series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired from October 10, 1961, to September 12, 1963, on ABC. The series was hosted by Fred ...
'', ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', ''
My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...
'', ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'', ''
Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
'', and ''
Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...
'' and recurring roles on ''
The Real McCoys ''The Real McCoys'' is an American sitcom starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, it was br ...
'' and ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
''. These roles would have him appear opposite headliners including
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
,
Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...
, and
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
. When recounting how he began his acting career, Patrick explained "I owe my career to my sister. She was the one who got me started and gave me all the encouragement. She always wanted to be an actress and was on the casting call sheet one day. She was asked if there were any other children at home. She told them about me, and I got some small roles, then some bigger ones..." In 1964 while living in
Geneseo, Illinois Geneseo is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,539. Geneseo is 20 miles east of the Quad Cities, at the intersection of Interstate 80, U.S. Route 6 and Illinois R ...
, just east of the
Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...
, Patrick landed the role of child werewolf Eddie Munster, starring alongside
Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author, who is widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms '' Car 54, Where Are You?'' (as Francis Muldoon) and '' The Munsters'' (as Herm ...
as
Herman Munster Herman Munster is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom ''The Munsters'', originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is one of Frankenstein’s monsters, created in a lab in Germany in the nineteenth ce ...
,
Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...
as
Lily Munster Lily Munster (née Dracula) is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom, ''The Munsters'', originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is a vampire. The role was later played by Lee Meriwether in ''The Munsters ...
and Al Lewis as
Grandpa Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...
, on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television series ''
The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
'', a fantasy situation comedy loosely based on Universal's movie monsters. The role of Eddie was originally portrayed by child actor Happy Derman in the pilot episode before Patrick was ultimately selected out of hundreds of boys for the role. When asked how he landed the role of Eddie, Patrick recalled "I had a lot of experience. But maybe it was because my fangs were my own teeth. My teeth were so bad, that even when I closed my mouth they stuck out. I was about a head smaller than the other kids, and they liked that because it played off Herman's height." Living on the East Coast at the time, Patrick commuted to Los Angeles every week during filming of the series, appearing in 70 episodes during ''The Munsters'' two-season run from 1964 to 1966. In an April 2017 interview, when asked if he recalled his TV mother (Yvonne De Carlo) hiding tiny portions of dialogue around the set, attaching them to props to help jog her memory, so the dialogue could be added to her performance: "No, not in ''The Munsters'' she wasn't doing that. Maybe later in life. Because sometimes your memory starts slipping on you. But that's a great idea, actually! I'll have to remember that!". He also was asked if he had kept in touch with his on-screen family after ''The Munsters'' was canceled, especially De Carlo, who died on January 8, 2007. He replied, "No, after the show ended, everyone went their own ways. But in the early '80s, I contacted Al Lewis and we became friends and I started attaching myself to the Munster name and brand. And then 10 years after that I started talking to Yvonne. I was actually a guest on ''The Vicki Lawrence Show'' where I was this surprise guest brought out for Yvonne and after that we became friends. I started visiting her and she was somewhat of a recluse, living in North Los Angeles and I introduced her to this guy in Hollywood who would send her care packages, movies to watch and sort of get her back in the loop of Hollywood." After ''The Munsters'' ended, Patrick continued to appear in guest-starring roles on various popular television series of the 1960s, including ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...
'', ''
Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...
'', ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'' , ''
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
'', ''
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
'', and ''
Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...
'', as well as a recurring role as Gordon Dearing on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
family comedy series ''
My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...
''. During this time, Patrick also appeared in several
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
films, including '' The Young Loner'', ''
The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', and ''Way Down Cellar'' on TV's '' The Wonderful World of Disney''. He also portrayed the role of Milo in the
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
live-action/animated film ''
The Phantom Tollbooth ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, first published in 1961 in literature, 1961. The story follows a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly recei ...
'', which had been filmed in 1967 and completed in 1968, but was held up from release until late 1970 due to internal studio problems. In 1971, Patrick landed the starring role on
Sid and Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (April 9, 1937 – November 25, 2023), known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas, were a Canadian sibling team of television creators, writers and puppeteers. Through ...
's Saturday morning children's program '' Lidsville'', broadcast on ABC. In the psychedelic fantasy series, Patrick portrayed Mark, a boy lost in a strange land of walking, talking, singing hats, opposite veteran character actors Charles Nelson Reilly and
Billie Hayes Billie Armstrong Brosch (August 5, 1924 – April 29, 2021), known professionally as Billie Hayes, was an American television, film, and stage actress, best known for her comic portrayals of Witchiepoo and Li'l Abner's Mammy Yokum. Early ye ...
. The show was in production from 1971 to 1973. In 1975, Patrick left acting to work for his father and began to learn to play the
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
. In 1983, he recorded the song, "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" (b/w "Little Monsters"), with several instrumentalists and backup singers under the group name "Eddie and the Monsters." Set to the tune of the ''Munsters'' theme, the song details his life as a Munster. ("You might wonder why I have a dragon for a pet—well, he's just there to keep me company on the set.") The single was released by Rocshire Records. In 2007 Patrick recorded a song "It's Only Halloween" that was released on Park Lane Drive Records. In addition to his music, Patrick returned to occasional film and television work, including making cameo appearances as "Himself" on episodes of the
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and the 2003 comedy film '' Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star'', as well as appearing as a grown-up Eddie Munster in a Little Caesars Pizza commercial. In 2002, Patrick co-hosted ''Macabre Theatre'' with Natalie Popovich, aka "Ivonna Cadaver". That same year he also appeared in the first episode of the
E! Network E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movies. ...
celebrity dating
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
show '' Star Dates''. Patrick made a
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in the 2005 retro-horror film '' Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove'', directed by
William Winckler William Winckler (born October 3, 1964 in California) is an American actor, businessman, director, producer, and independent filmmaker best known for writing, producing and Film director, directing cult movies, horror films and English language, ...
, playing a man who had become a werewolf, speaking a line of dialogue in comical reference to ''The Munsters''.


Politics

Patrick is a friend and ally of Arkansas Governor
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders ( Huckabee; born August 13, 1982) is an American politician serving as the 47th governor of Arkansas since 2023. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor ...
, who is a political ally of President Donald Trump. Patrick posed for a photo with Sarah Sanders. His fans are being critical of his decision to be photographed with Sanders.


Personal life

On September 11, 2016, Patrick married his long-term girlfriend Leila Murray.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Butch 1953 births Living people American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Los Angeles Actors from Inglewood, California People from Inglewood, California Toy collectors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors