Fangs for the memories

‘Munsters’ actor Butch Patrick attends Windber event

Patrick Buchnowski

WINDBER — Boy Dracula paid a visit to the Arcadia Theater in Windber on Saturday for DraculaCon II.

Actor Butch Patrick, better known as Eddie Munster in the TV series “The Munsters,” signed autographs and shared stories about the show that aired 70 episodes from September 1964 to May 1966.

“I got a call from Blair Murphy asking if I’d like to come out for an extremely unusual event and brief appearance at the historic Arcadia Theatre so here I am,” said Patrick, 56.

Murphy – filmmaker and owner of Grand Midway Hotel and creator of the vampire thriller “Jugular Wine” – hosted the event that included live music, speakers, costumes and a “Munsters” episode.

Patrick talked about his time as Eddie Munster and gave his thoughts about fellow cast members, now deceased.

On Fred Gwynne, Herman Munster: “A wonderful gentleman. Very talented and very patient. He illustrated children’s books and loved working with children. He was

6-foot-7, and with his shoes on he was 7-foot tall. He was pretty good at ducking through doorways.”

On Yvonne DeCarlo, Lilly Munster: “A nice woman. A big movie star. She was probably the biggest name in the show.”

On Al Lewis, Grandpa Munster: “What can you say about Grandpa? He was a character. He always took time to throw the Frisbee or toss the baseball with me. He treated me like a regular kid. Everybody on the show was very kid friendly.”

Patrick stopped in Windber on his way to a charity event in New York.

Longtime Munsters fan Donna McCall drove from the Philadelphia area to meet her childhood sweetheart.

“My first crush was Butch Patrick,” she said.

McCall said as a girl she wrote a fan letter to Patrick and recently found his Internet site.

“He e-mailed me back with his cell phone number,” she said. “I was really, really nervous when I called him. I felt like I was 10 years old again. He put me quite at ease. He handed the phone to his mom and I got to talk to her for a little bit.”

When she found out Patrick was coming to Windber, McCall made the trip from West Chester.

“I met him for the first time, but I feel like I’ve known him forever,” she said.

National Enquirer Magazine

BUTCH PATRICK aka Eddie Munster has found love at last - at a vampire convention!

Child star Butch - who played Lily and Herman's pointy-eared son on the classic '60s sitcomThe Munsters - plans to marry a former NFL cheerleader who's been a fan of his since 1964.

The 57-year-old actor metDonna McCall, 55, at Pennsylvania's DraculaCon IIin May - and it was love at first bite!

"As a little girl, Donna wrote fan letters to Butch when The Munsters aired in prime time," an insider told The ENQUIRER.

"They met at the vampire show in May, immediately started dating and fell in love."

Donna, a retired pharmacist who was a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader from 1976 to 1979, told The ENQUIRER: "My first crush was Butch Patrick. I met him for the first time, but I feel like I've known him FOREVER . . ."

FOR ALL THE HAPPY DETAILS on the wedding of the century pick up the new ENQUIRER!

'Munsters' star Butch Patrick engaged to longtime fan Donna McCall

So bizarre, yet so undeniably sweet.

TV's Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick) tells the National Enquirer that he's soon to be married to Donna McCall, a woman who started writing him fan letters during the 1960s run of "The Munsters," when they were both still children.

55-year-old McCall, a former NFL cheerleader, tells the Enquirer that Butch was her first crush.

But this hasn't been a 40-year romance finally coming full-circle. The two were out of touch for decades.

In fact, they hadn't even met until May. After falling out of touch, McCall reached out to the 57-year-old actor on email a few years back. They finally met at a Pennsylvania Dracula convention earlier this year.

What followed was a whirlwind romance, because only two months later, a wedding is in the works.

If only Herman (Fred Gwynne) and Lily (Yvonne De Carlo) were still around to walk their youngest down the isle.

Former child star Patrick finds love in Windber

By TIFFANY COHEN

Like many modern romances, it began with an e-mail.

The groundwork was laid 45 years ago with a 10-year-old girl’s fan letter to her favorite television star. Butch Patrick, known around the world for playing vampire Eddie Munster on “The Munsters,” remembers receiving the fan mail from West Chester resident Donna McCall.

“She sent me a letter in ’64 or ’65 and I responded with a postcard,” he said. “Then she saw a story online about the guy with the longest bubblegum wrapper chain and it reminded her of making one for me.”

McCall sent Patrick an e-mail and a regular correspondence followed. The pair had been e-mailing back and forth for more than a month when Patrick mentioned he would be coming to Windber for a Dracula convention.

“I asked her if she would be interested in meeting and she drove the 300 miles,” he said.

The romance has since made national news.

Blair Murphy, the organizer of DraculaCon II, isn’t surprised at the attention.

“It’s like a Halloween/Valentine love story. They really seemed to like each other. … It was really endearing to watch,” said Murphy.

At a dinner after the main event, Patrick introduced McCall as his blind date. While onlookers clapped and clinked glasses, the couple shared their first kiss. Patrick called it a “golden evening.”

The couple has been together ever since, though Patrick wants to clear up rumors that he and McCall are engaged or married.

“We’re living together or going steady if you’re an old fart like me,” he said.

If Murphy had any doubts the relationship was going somewhere, they were cleared when he phoned McCall the week after the dinner.

“I called Donna for any pictures she might have taken and I asked her how (she) and Butch were doing,” he said. “She whispered, ‘He’s still here’ in this giddy voice.”

McCall and Patrick then passed the phone back and forth, telling Murphy about roller skating together and other romantic outings.

Patrick enjoyed their time together so much he left his Florida and California homes to move to West Chester with McCall. He is planning a trip in the near future to Los Angeles to introduce her to his parents.

“They were genuinely charmed with each other,” Murphy said. “It was romantic, like every day was Valentine’s Day.”

Munster match: '60s TV star falls for patient fan

WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Forty-five years after a Pennsylvania woman sent a fan letter to her favorite TV star, they've made a Munster match.

Donna McCall was a 10-year-old with a crush on Butch Patrick, who played boy werewolf Eddie Munster in the mid-'60s sitcom "The Munsters."

In her letter, she asked Patrick how tall he was because girls at the time were making gum wrapper chains long enough to match the height of their boyfriends. To her delight, the young actor responded and included his height - 5 feet, 4 inches.

Butch Patrick who played boy vampire Eddie Munster in the mid-60s sitcom "The Munsters" displays a book Eddie Munster AKA Butch Patrick, in West Chester, Pa., Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. Decades after Donna McCall sent Patrick a fan letter the two met at a horror convention and Patrick left his homes in Los Angeles and Florida to be with McCall in Pennsylvania.

Like many childhood projects, however, the wrapper chain wasn't completed. Decades passed.

McCall was a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader in the late 1970s, worked for 20 years as a hospital pharmacist, married and divorced. When "The Munsters" ended in 1966 after two years on the air, Patrick left Mockingbird Lane and appeared on shows including "My Three Sons" and "Lidsville," though Eddie Munster remains his best known role.

An online article about a man who holds the world record for making a 12-mile-long gum wrapper chain triggered McCall's memory of her preteen idol. She found an e-mail address for Patrick, and a correspondence began.

McCall, now 55 and living 30 miles outside Philadelphia in West Chester, sent along a picture from her cheerleading days, said Patrick, 57, who never married but has a 23-year-old son in Missouri. She also sent photos of herself doing activities on her "bucket list," from scuba diving and trapeze lessons to race car driving, he said.

"That intrigued me a lot," Patrick said. "She's single, she's beautiful, she's in the nicest part of the country and she likes to do adventurous things. I figured I had to meet this woman."

The pair agreed to meet May 8 at a horror convention outside Pittsburgh called DraculaCon. You could say it was love at first bite.

"I think a lot of people ... thought there was something special going on between us," McCall said. "It was just very comfortable, very easy."

Within weeks, Patrick, who has homes in Los Angeles and Florida, moved to Pennsylvania to be with McCall.

He's working this Halloween season with a company called 13 Haunts as its "spokesperson and in-house celebrity Munster" for appearances at its 13 haunted houses in the Philadelphia area.

The couple say they are not engaged, contrary to other reports.

"We've only known each other for three months, four months, so it would be a little crazy to be jumping into that," McCall said.

Patrick added: "It's not that it's not going to happen, but one day at a time, so to speak."

Meanwhile, they say they're enjoying getting to know each other - both are active in fundraising at the Chester County Arts Association, and Patrick is enlisting Hollywood friends including Shirley Jones and Lindsay Wagner to lend their celebrity signatures to an upcoming exhibit of embellished bras called "BRAvo Arts Alive" to benefit breast cancer organizations.

After the busy Halloween season for Patrick, he and McCall plan to head to Los Angeles so she can meet his family.

"We'll get through the holidays," he said. "Then next year's a new year. Who knows?"


	Fangs for the memories ‘Munsters’ actor Butch Patrick attends Windber event Patrick Buchnowski WINDBER — Boy Dracula paid a visit to the Arcadia Theater in Windber on Saturday for DraculaCon II. Actor Butch Patrick, better known as Eddie Munster in the TV series “The Munsters,” signed autographs and shared stories about the show that aired 70 episodes from September 1964 to May 1966. “I got a call from Blair Murphy asking if I’d like to come out for an extremely unusual event and brief appearance at the historic Arcadia Theatre so here I am,” said Patrick, 56. Murphy – filmmaker and owner of Grand Midway Hotel and creator of the vampire thriller “Jugular Wine” – hosted the event that included live music, speakers, costumes and a “Munsters” episode. Patrick talked about his time as Eddie Munster and gave his thoughts about fellow cast members, now deceased. On Fred Gwynne, Herman Munster: “A wonderful gentleman. Very talented and very patient. He illustrated children’s books and loved working with children. He was 6-foot-7, and with his shoes on he was 7-foot tall. He was pretty good at ducking through doorways.” On Yvonne DeCarlo, Lilly Munster: “A nice woman. A big movie star. She was probably the biggest name in the show.” On Al Lewis, Grandpa Munster: “What can you say about Grandpa? He was a character. He always took time to throw the Frisbee or toss the baseball with me. He treated me like a regular kid. Everybody on the show was very kid friendly.” Patrick stopped in Windber on his way to a charity event in New York. Longtime Munsters fan Donna McCall drove from the Philadelphia area to meet her childhood sweetheart. “My first crush was Butch Patrick,” she said. McCall said as a girl she wrote a fan letter to Patrick and recently found his Internet site. “He e-mailed me back with his cell phone number,” she said. “I was really, really nervous when I called him. I felt like I was 10 years old again. He put me quite at ease. He handed the phone to his mom and I got to talk to her for a little bit.” When she found out Patrick was coming to Windber, McCall made the trip from West Chester. “I met him for the first time, but I feel like I’ve known him forever,” she said. National Enquirer Magazine BUTCH PATRICK aka Eddie Munster has found love at last - at a vampire convention! Child star Butch - who played Lily and Herman's pointy-eared son on the classic '60s sitcomThe Munsters - plans to marry a former NFL cheerleader who's been a fan of his since 1964. The 57-year-old actor metDonna McCall, 55, at Pennsylvania's DraculaCon IIin May - and it was love at first bite! "As a little girl, Donna wrote fan letters to Butch when The Munsters aired in prime time," an insider told The ENQUIRER. "They met at the vampire show in May, immediately started dating and fell in love." Donna, a retired pharmacist who was a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader from 1976 to 1979, told The ENQUIRER: "My first crush was Butch Patrick. I met him for the first time, but I feel like I've known him FOREVER . . ." FOR ALL THE HAPPY DETAILS on the wedding of the century pick up the new ENQUIRER! 'Munsters' star Butch Patrick engaged to longtime fan Donna McCall So bizarre, yet so undeniably sweet. TV's Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick) tells the National Enquirer that he's soon to be married to Donna McCall, a woman who started writing him fan letters during the 1960s run of "The Munsters," when they were both still children. 55-year-old McCall, a former NFL cheerleader, tells the Enquirer that Butch was her first crush. But this hasn't been a 40-year romance finally coming full-circle. The two were out of touch for decades. In fact, they hadn't even met until May. After falling out of touch, McCall reached out to the 57-year-old actor on email a few years back. They finally met at a Pennsylvania Dracula convention earlier this year. What followed was a whirlwind romance, because only two months later, a wedding is in the works. If only Herman (Fred Gwynne) and Lily (Yvonne De Carlo) were still around to walk their youngest down the isle. Former child star Patrick finds love in Windber By TIFFANY COHEN Like many modern romances, it began with an e-mail. The groundwork was laid 45 years ago with a 10-year-old girl’s fan letter to her favorite television star. Butch Patrick, known around the world for playing vampire Eddie Munster on “The Munsters,” remembers receiving the fan mail from West Chester resident Donna McCall. “She sent me a letter in ’64 or ’65 and I responded with a postcard,” he said. “Then she saw a story online about the guy with the longest bubblegum wrapper chain and it reminded her of making one for me.” McCall sent Patrick an e-mail and a regular correspondence followed. The pair had been e-mailing back and forth for more than a month when Patrick mentioned he would be coming to Windber for a Dracula convention. “I asked her if she would be interested in meeting and she drove the 300 miles,” he said. The romance has since made national news. Blair Murphy, the organizer of DraculaCon II, isn’t surprised at the attention. “It’s like a Halloween/Valentine love story. They really seemed to like each other. … It was really endearing to watch,” said Murphy. At a dinner after the main event, Patrick introduced McCall as his blind date. While onlookers clapped and clinked glasses, the couple shared their first kiss. Patrick called it a “golden evening.” The couple has been together ever since, though Patrick wants to clear up rumors that he and McCall are engaged or married. “We’re living together or going steady if you’re an old fart like me,” he said. If Murphy had any doubts the relationship was going somewhere, they were cleared when he phoned McCall the week after the dinner. “I called Donna for any pictures she might have taken and I asked her how (she) and Butch were doing,” he said. “She whispered, ‘He’s still here’ in this giddy voice.” McCall and Patrick then passed the phone back and forth, telling Murphy about roller skating together and other romantic outings. Patrick enjoyed their time together so much he left his Florida and California homes to move to West Chester with McCall. He is planning a trip in the near future to Los Angeles to introduce her to his parents. “They were genuinely charmed with each other,” Murphy said. “It was romantic, like every day was Valentine’s Day.” Munster match: '60s TV star falls for patient fan WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Forty-five years after a Pennsylvania woman sent a fan letter to her favorite TV star, they've made a Munster match. Donna McCall was a 10-year-old with a crush on Butch Patrick, who played boy werewolf Eddie Munster in the mid-'60s sitcom "The Munsters." In her letter, she asked Patrick how tall he was because girls at the time were making gum wrapper chains long enough to match the height of their boyfriends. To her delight, the young actor responded and included his height - 5 feet, 4 inches. Butch Patrick who played boy vampire Eddie Munster in the mid-60s sitcom "The Munsters" displays a book Eddie Munster AKA Butch Patrick, in West Chester, Pa., Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. Decades after Donna McCall sent Patrick a fan letter the two met at a horror convention and Patrick left his homes in Los Angeles and Florida to be with McCall in Pennsylvania. Like many childhood projects, however, the wrapper chain wasn't completed. Decades passed. McCall was a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader in the late 1970s, worked for 20 years as a hospital pharmacist, married and divorced. When "The Munsters" ended in 1966 after two years on the air, Patrick left Mockingbird Lane and appeared on shows including "My Three Sons" and "Lidsville," though Eddie Munster remains his best known role. An online article about a man who holds the world record for making a 12-mile-long gum wrapper chain triggered McCall's memory of her preteen idol. She found an e-mail address for Patrick, and a correspondence began. McCall, now 55 and living 30 miles outside Philadelphia in West Chester, sent along a picture from her cheerleading days, said Patrick, 57, who never married but has a 23-year-old son in Missouri. She also sent photos of herself doing activities on her "bucket list," from scuba diving and trapeze lessons to race car driving, he said. "That intrigued me a lot," Patrick said. "She's single, she's beautiful, she's in the nicest part of the country and she likes to do adventurous things. I figured I had to meet this woman." The pair agreed to meet May 8 at a horror convention outside Pittsburgh called DraculaCon. You could say it was love at first bite. "I think a lot of people ... thought there was something special going on between us," McCall said. "It was just very comfortable, very easy." Within weeks, Patrick, who has homes in Los Angeles and Florida, moved to Pennsylvania to be with McCall. He's working this Halloween season with a company called 13 Haunts as its "spokesperson and in-house celebrity Munster" for appearances at its 13 haunted houses in the Philadelphia area. The couple say they are not engaged, contrary to other reports. "We've only known each other for three months, four months, so it would be a little crazy to be jumping into that," McCall said. Patrick added: "It's not that it's not going to happen, but one day at a time, so to speak." Meanwhile, they say they're enjoying getting to know each other - both are active in fundraising at the Chester County Arts Association, and Patrick is enlisting Hollywood friends including Shirley Jones and Lindsay Wagner to lend their celebrity signatures to an upcoming exhibit of embellished bras called "BRAvo Arts Alive" to benefit breast cancer organizations. After the busy Halloween season for Patrick, he and McCall plan to head to Los Angeles so she can meet his family. "We'll get through the holidays," he said. "Then next year's a new year. Who knows?"