- "Wowie, Zombo's the neatest guy. When I grow up, I wanna be just like Zombo!"
- ―Eddie Munster
| "Zombo" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Air date | February 17th, 1966 |
| Writers | Dennis Whitcomb |
| Director | Ezra Stone |
| Producers | Joe Connelly Bob Mosher Irving Paley |
| Starring | Fred Gwynne Yvonne De Carlo Al Lewis Pat Priest Butch Patrick |
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"Zombo" is the twenty-second episode of season two of The Munsters and was directed by Ezra Stone. It first aired on CBS on February 17th, 1966. In the episode, Eddie wins a television contest and get to meet his favorite TV personality - Zombo! His father grows jealous and attempts to endear himself to Eddie by adapting Zombo's personality traits - with disastrous results.
Synopsis[]
Eddie Munster is obsessed with the House of Zombo, which is a spooky anthology television series hosted by a ghoul known as "Zombo". When Herman Munster comes home from work, he tries to get Eddie's attention, but Eddie is fixated on Zombo. Eddie enters a contest sponsored by the program, and wins first prize. In addition to a bicycle, scuba equipment and other prizes, Eddie also wins the chance to be on the Zombo Show for a live recording.
As Eddie continues to obsess over Zombo, Herman becomes depressed, as he thinks his son no longer idolizes him. Since no one in that family can ever let even a slightest misgiving left to chance, Grandpa whips up a potion that transforms Herman into a facsimile of Zombo. Eddie is unimpressed however, as his father is clearly faking at being Zombo.
Eddie goes on the show, but grows disheartened when he discovers that "Zombo" is not an actual person, but rather a personality. The actor who portrays Zombo is just an unassuming man and the environs of Zombo's lair is just set decoration. As the episode broadcasts, Eddie exposes Zombo as a fraud by pulling his wig and cape off. The episode quickly cuts away as Zombo and other studio execs chase Eddie around the set. Ultimately however, Zombo is grateful to Eddie for ruining the show, as he has been desperate to get out of his House of Zombo contract for sometime.
Eddie returns home and Herman, who has now returned to normal, is once again his son's favorite role model.
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Fred Gwynne | Herman Munster |
| Yvonne De Carlo | Lily Munster |
| Al Lewis | Grandpa Munster |
| Pat Priest | Marilyn Munster |
| Butch Patrick | Eddie Munster |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Louis Nye | Zombo |
| Mike Barton | Frank |
| Jimmy Stiles | Billy |
| Jackie Minty | Tommy |
| Digby Wolfe | Dave Svenson |
Notes & Trivia[]
- This episode has been made available on The Munsters - The Complete Second Season DVD as well as The Munsters: The Complete Series DVD collection.
- Actor Digby Wolfe is not to be confused with Bigby Wolf, aka, the Big Bad Wolf from the Fables comic book series.
- In the scene where Eddie is talking with his three friends on the porch, you can see him silently speak the lines of the other actors before he gives his own.
- The movie that is being presented on the Zombo show is the Mark of the Werewolf. At the time, there was no such film by this title, but a movie called Mark of the Werewolf by writer and director Dennis Vincent was released in 2022.
- The character of Zombo also makes an appearance in the 2022 prequel/remake of The Munsters by director Rob Zombie. Actor Jeff Daniel Phillips, who also plays Herman Munster in the film, plays the part of Zombo as well.
- One of the sponsors on the Zombo show is Crumble Creature Crackers.
- While feeling ill, Herman Munster has a normal body temperature of 55 degrees.
- Herman Munster states that he is 150-years-old. Assuming that this series takes place in the same year that it was released, and further assuming that Herman isn't generalizing, that would place his year of birth of 1816.
- Apparently cream of buzzard soup is good for knocking out a cold. At least it is at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
Allusions[]
- Grandpa Munster makes reference to Mickey Mantle in this episode. Mickey Mantle was a Hall of Fame major league baseball player who played for the New York Yankees from 1951-1968.
- Grandpa Munster makes reference to Tony Curtis in this episode. Tony Curtis was an American film and television actor. He was married to Psycho star Janet Leigh and was the father of Halloween actress and notable scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.
- Grandpa Munster is seen reading a copy of Playghoul magazine at the kitchen table. This is re-wording of either the popular men's magazine Playboy, or its feminine composite, Playgirl. In Rob Zombie's 2022 feature film remake of The Munsters, there is a scene where Grandpa can be found looking at a copy of Playghoul.
See also[]
External Links[]
Keywords[]
Bicycle | Claws | Fangs | Laboratory | Magic potion | Skeletons | Smoking | Superhuman durability | Superhuman strength | Transformation
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