The iconic house from the 1960s sitcom The Munsters has gone down in television history for its unique and eccentric Gothic Victorian architecture. With its sharply peaked towers, cobweb-filled windows, and mammoth wooden front door, the Munster family’s home at 1313 Mockingbird Lane is easily one of the most recognizable on-screen houses. But was The Munsters’ famous mansion actually pink? Let’s take a look at the evidence.
What Color Was The Munsters House in the Original 1960s Show?
In the original 1960s sitcom, the exterior of The Munsters’ house appears gray with some greenish undertones under the sunny California sky. The architecture is dramatic and spooky, but there is no pink to be seen. The house color remains consistent in the opening credits and throughout the show’s episodes. Inside, the interior decor is heavy on greens, blacks, purples, and other colors associated with monsters and the macabre, but again no pink.
So in the 1960s sitcom, The Munsters’ house exterior was gray with greenish undertones. Pink was not part of the house’s color scheme in the original show.
Was The House Pink in Later Munsters Productions?
Since the original series ended in 1966, The Munsters has been revived in various reunion movies, spin-offs, and reboots. Some of these later productions took creative liberties with the house’s exterior color:
- In the 1981 TV movie “The Munsters’ Revenge,” the house appears to have some pinkish paint added around the windows and rooflines.
- In the 1988 TV movie “The Munsters Today,” the house exterior is much brighter, with pinkish-purple tones throughout.
- In the 1990s TV series “The Munsters Today,” the house retained the pinkish-purple color from the 1988 movie.
- In the 2010s mockumentary “Mockingbird Lane,” the house was blue with some pink accents.
So while the original Munsters’ house was gray and green, some later adaptations did introduce pink or pinkish tones to the exterior. But the most iconic, “official” version from the ’60s show did not feature any pink.
The Creation of the Munster House
The Munster house was specially designed for the 1960s sitcom by art director Charles Lisanby. He drew inspiration from real Victorian mansions in Los Angeles like the Gov. Henry T. Gage Mansion and the 1887 Queen Anne-style Lankershim Mansion.
In an interview, Lisanby explained his design inspiration for the Munster house: “I wanted to come up with something strange and different, and somehow haunted and foreboding.” The production team purposefully chose more muted, weathered colors to make the house look aged and creepy.
So pink was likely never an intended color for Lisanby’s original Gothic design. The grayish-green exterior we see in the 1960s show reflects the creative intentions for the Munsters’ foreboding, cobweb-filled abode.
Conclusion
In summary, while some later adaptations took artistic license with the color, the original Munsters’ house was gray and green, not pink. The house exterior in the iconic 1960s sitcom remained a consistent grayish-green to achieve Charles Lisanby’s vision of a strange, haunted, weathered Victorian mansion. So when we picture that classic Munsters’ home, it’s the gray and green exterior from the original series that comes to mind. The pink versions were imaginative re-interpretations, but not faithful to the show’s original artistic designs.