In Waxahachie, Texas, a small city due south of Dallas, there's a mansion that could be mistaken for the set of the iconic 1960s TV show "The Munsters" — but it's actually the home of Chuck and Sandra McKee.
“It’s ongoing work for the last 20 years,” said co-owner Chuck McKee.
McKee said transforming their home into a replica of the Munsters' mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane was his wife’s idea, but he’s clearly embraced the 60s sitcom theme, too.
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The house is all his handiwork — from the replica staircase with the family’s pet dragon Spot to the kitchen, bedrooms and rotted tree stump out front.
“It’s just clean, wholesome fun,” McKee said. “They were an American family. They just looked kind of funny.”
The McKees opened their doors to Heritage Auctions this week. The Dallas-based auction house is preparing to auction off what is believed to be the world’s largest private collection of "Munsters" memorabilia.
The items belonged to late television producer Kevin Burns and include Lily Munster’s flowing gown, Grandpa’s jacket and electric chair, Eddie Munster’s costume and more.
Actor Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on the show, is a friend of the McKees and came to town to visit them and see the memorabilia.
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He called Waxahachie’s Munster Mansion one of his "favorite places on the planet."
“I’ve known [the McKees] for over 20 years,” Patrick said. “I’ve seen the development of the house and it’s phases. It’s a constant work in progress.”
Patrick said he loved his time on the show and always enjoyed watching the special effects and the make-up artists do their work behind the scenes.
Yet, Patrick admits he saved very little from the set for himself.
“I would bring home stuff, but I would give it away to friends — the ears, headpieces from Herman, I even gave away my scripts,” Patrick said. “But I gave a lot of stuff to a lot of happy people so I’d like to think I shared a lot of good memories with other people.”
He now enjoys touring the country meeting fans and promoting his new YouTube Channel, "All Things Munster."
Memorabilia From '60s TV Show u2018The Munsters' Hits Auction Block
As for the McKees, their home is not open to daily public tours, though they do offer visits by appointment only.
They don’t watch the show as much as they did during their early years of building the home, but they are always looking for ways to make the house as authentic as possible to the TV set.
“We do stuff and then we re-do stuff,” McKee said. “We’re semi-retired now so we can devote more time to it. It’s been a lot of fun.”
NBC Universal's Universal 1440 Entertainment is developing a new Munsters feature film that is being directed by musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. A release date has not been confirmed.
