Butch Patrick's Life after Playing Child Werewolf Eddie Munster in 'The Munsters'

Butch Patrick is most famous as a former child actor. He started his professional acting career at the age of seven and landed the popular role of child werewolf Eddie Munster on the CBS comedy television series "The Munsters" from 1964 to 1966.

He reprised the role in the 1966 feature film "Munster." He went on to appear in movies like "Go Home" and the series "Lidsville" from 1971 to 1973.

However, none of his roles earned him the same level of fame as "The Munsters." Here is a look at his life from landing the role in the show to after the series ended.

Landing the Role in "The Munsters"

While living in Illinois with his grandmother, Butch flew to Los Angeles to test for the role of Eddie Munster at CBS Studios. He recalls the experience saying:

“I went in and an hour later I came out with the job.”

After landing the role, Patrick opened up about why he thought he landed the role. In one interview he said:

"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."

After the Show

He landed the role and appeared on the show for two years. At the time he was also a regular on “The Real McCoys”, “General Hospital” and “My Three Sons.”

He also made appearances in numerous commercials and guest spots in comedies throughout the sixties. In 1971 Butch went on to star in the series, “Lidsville” opposite Charles Nelson Reilly.

Leaving the Industry

The show ended in 1973 and turned Patrick into the teen-idol. As a result, he appeared on the covers of several teen magazines in the early 1970s.

After the show ended, however, Butch decided to take a different route. He quit show business and decided instead “to grow up.”

The star revealed that he decided to leave the industry because he wanted to take time to experience the world around him. He said:

“Because my first twenty years were spent working in an adult world. I made up for it by being a hell-raiser for the next ten years”.

Experimenting with Music

However, shortly after leaving the industry, Butch ran into financial issues. He began working odd jobs around the country and formed his own band, "Eddie and the Monsters."

They created a single, "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" which brought him some notoriety. The single led to MTV creating the 1983 show "Basement Tapes" to give unsigned bands exposure.

Return to Acting

He recorded a second single called "It's Only Halloween." It was released by Park Lane Drive Records in 2007.

In addition to his music, Patrick returned to occasional film and television work. He made a cameo appearance on episodes of "The Simpsons," the 2003 comedy film "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" and a Little Caesars Pizza commercial.

In 2002, Patrick co-hosted Macabre Theatre with Natalie Popovich. He also made a cameo appearance in 2005 in the retro-horror film "Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove."

In May 2011, Patrick revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer but assured fans that it was detected early. In 2016, he married Leila Murray in Macon, Missouri.