In the 1960s, one TV star gave new meaning to standing out in a role. Pat Priest played Marilyn on The Munsters through most of its run after replacing original actor Beverley Owen, who'd walked away from the role. Marilyn was a normal, attractive young woman surrounded by a family of actual monsters, which made her the unlikely black sheep. Of course, with her aunt and uncle being Frankenstein's monster and a vampire, Marilyn's family thought the pretty blond was unfortunately hideous.
Even though it only aired for two seasons, the satirical sitcom brought Priest to lasting fame, and she continued to meet with fans in the years that followed. Of course, a lot has happened since The Munsters aired over 50 years ago. Read on to learn about Priest's life after she left the werewolves and vampires behind.
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Priest's acting career began when she moved to California with her husband, who was in the Navy. She got an agent and started to act in commercials and small parts on TV. She was cast on The Munsters when she was 27 years old, replacing Owens when the actor left after 13 episodes.
Following The Munsters, Priest continued acting in the 1960s and '70s . She appeared in guest roles in Perry Mason, The Red Skelton Hour, Bewitched, Mission: Impossible, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She also co-starred with Elvis Presley in 1967's Easy Come, Easy Go.
In 2018, Priest told SideWalks Entertainment of retiring from acting, "There comes a point in life where you give up quantity of life for quality of life. And that's what took me to Idaho. My husband and I, we moved to Idaho about 30 years ago, and it's been wonderful. My boys still live here in California."
There have been several Munsters movies and TV specials made over the years, and Priest said she was disappointed not to be asked to take part in the first one, Munster, Go Home!. "I was devastated not to be in the film," she told Senior Voice Alaska in 2020. "We were on the set filming the end of the season and the producers sent one of their guys down to tell me. I was 29 and my contract was up for renewal, so I think they wanted a younger actress and didn't want to pay me more." Priest was replaced with Debbie Watson.
Priest got quite the souvenir after working with Presley on Easy Come, Easy Go. She told Mansfield News Journal that she never asked for an autograph, but he did sell her his Cadillac for $3,000. She kept it for a few years before trading it in for another car. "That could have been one of my retirement plans," she said. "My [second] husband said he wished he'd known me then because we would have that car up on blocks in a storage unit today!"
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According to a 2010 interview with Deseret News, Priest has attended dozens of fan conventions and events, where she poses for pictures and signs autographs. Around this time, Priest was working as an antiques dealer alongside her sister in Idaho.
Speaking from Silicon Valley Comic Con with SideWalks Entertainment, she told fans watching from home, "Thank you so much for watching. It's because of all you people out there, the reason I'm here and still doing the shows. Because there are a few of you who still remember, thank heavens."
SideWalks Entertainment asked Priest if she ever watches The Munsters, and she replied, "Sometimes when I've been out on the road and I've been channel surfing, I hit on The Munsters. And it's called watch and weep, because I don't remember when I was that young and thin." Of possibly returning to acting, she joked, "Probably now I'd have to come back as a great-grandma … I'm 82, but I could play 81, maybe even 80."
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