Yvonne De Carlo (1922-2007)

Lily Munster, matriach of the strange sitcom family known as The Munsters was an attractive, strong, loving mother and vampire. Remarkably vibrant for one of the undead, she stood by her man - ahem, monster - through hare-brained scheme after goofy foul-up. Lily was the glue that held her eccentric family together.

Yvonne De Carlo, who played Lily, was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton but took her mother’s maiden name as her professional name. Half Italian, Yvonne had the kind of exotic beauty that shone through even the thick horror film makeup she wore for the show.

The Munsters were a less sophisticated version of another unusual group, The Addams Family. They were silly and corny and a part of everyday life for baby boomers. Amazingly, although the show only lasted two years on the network (1964 - 1966), they made 70 episodes in that short time, allowing it to remain on the air in reruns for years.

Munsters Trivia

Marilyn Munster, the only non-monster Munster and considered “plain” by the rest of the family, was played by two actresses. Beverley Owen originated the role and Pat Priest took over in Episode 14.

Munster Links:

The Munsters Theme

Another version of The Munsters opening theme

Yvonne’s page on Munsters.com

If you’re over fifty - if you’re a boomer - then you will automatically recognize the words Bigfoot, Yeti and Sasquatch.

Legends about Bigfoot go back hundreds of years into Native American history (Sasquatch is a Salish Indian word meaning “wild man”) and sightings reported in America can be traced to the 1830s but Bigfoot first stepped out of legend and into the American consciousness in a big way in 1958.

That was the year that Ray Wallace discovered Bigfoot footprints in Humboldt County, California. The find launched a half-century of interest in the hairy, humanoid creature of legend and inspired thousands of individuals to spend their lives searching for more evidence of the large ape-like creature.

Following Ray Wallace’s death in 2002, his family came forward and admitted that he had perpetrated a hoax. They claimed that Ray had made the footprints himself using 16 inch carved feet that he strapped onto his boots. The amazing thing is that this revelation made little to no difference to the true believers and the search for Sasquatch continued in earnest.

Fuel to the fire of their imaginations was the famous Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967. Shot at the Bluff Creek area of the Six Rivers National Forest in northern Californa, the film showed a large, hairy, bipedal creature as it ambulated out of view. The film was studied by experts on both sides of the question of Bigfoot’s existence, especially because it allowed study of the creature’s gait. Although questions remain, the film has never been proved to be real nor has it ever been proved to be a hoax.

Born in 1958, the year of Bigfoot’s great publicity surge, was Jeffrey Meldrum, a tenured Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, and Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Meldrum became a believer after finding some 15″ footprints in Walla Walla, Washington. Originally assuming the footprints to be a hoax, he then noted anatomical traits he says could not be faked. Meldrum, the author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, has found that his belief in Sasquatch embarrasses his academic colleagues and he has become an outcast amongst the faculty at Idaho State.

Bigfoot has even made it in Hollywood, starring alongside John Lithgow in the 1987 film Harry and the Hendersons in which a family on a camping trip hits a bigfoot with their station wagon and takes him home.

Look for books on bigfoot and you will likely find them in the “paranormal” section of your local bookstore. Yet the legend continues, fueled by occasional sightings, findings of footprints or other evidence. 50 years after Bigfoot made it big, his existence is still a hotly debated issue.

More about Bigfoot:

Bigfoot at 50 - Evaluating a Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

The International Bigfoot Society

On September 8, 1966, television viewers set out to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before. It was our first trip aboard the Starship Enterprise.

40 years later, Star Trek is a classic, a series that NBC cancelled in its third season, yet around which a cult following sprang up. The series went into reruns, and became more popular than it was during its brief run in prime time. It spawned 5 additional Star Trek series, and 10 movies, six of which featured the original stars.

Now some of the original props are up for auction. Christies in New York will auction off some 4,000 items from the original series. The items include models of the Starship Enterprise as well as costumes and communicators. You can even buy the bridge of the Enterprise - estimated selling price is about $20,000.

I was thinking of buying one of these little items, but then, we all know the trouble with tribbles.

According to this story by the Associated Press, the average American home has more television sets than people, with 2.73 TVs and only 2.55 people per Neilsen Media Research.

Well sure, you’ve got to have a set by the hot tub.

And another news story this week stated that the incidence of children being injured or killed by falling TV sets is on the rise with the increased size of televisions as screen size burgeons. Often people will buy a larger television but not a larger table to hold it, making it unsafe and precarious.

With my sole livingroom television whose screen is a scant 25″ diameter, I am obviously not doing my part as a consumer. Remember the simple days with 19″ screens and only a handful of stations to choose from? Balancing on one foot as you held the antenna in exactly the right position to receive a weak broadcast signal? I think we enjoyed TV more then.

Ah, nostalgia…