Pat Priest (actress)

Patricia Ann Priest (born August 15, 1936) is an American actress known for being the second person to portray Marilyn Munster on the television show The Munsters (1964–1966) after the original actress, Beverley Owen, left after 13 episodes.[1]

Pat Priest
Priest in 2013, interviewed by Count Gore de Vol
Born
Patricia Ann Priest

(1936-08-15) August 15, 1936
Bountiful, Utah, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1963–1976, 2022
Spouses
  • Pierce Jensen Jr.
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1955; div. 1967)​
  • Frederick Hansing
    ​
    (m. 1981)​
Children2
Parent

Early life

Priest was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah.[2][3] Her father was Roy Priest[4] and her mother, Ivy Baker Priest, was the United States Treasurer[5] from January 28, 1953, to January 29, 1961, having been appointed to the role by President Dwight Eisenhower. American paper currency printed during Ivy Baker Priest's tenure bore her signature. Priest resided in Washington, D.C., with her mother. She graduated in 1954 from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia.[6] She is also a graduate of Marjorie Webster Junior College.[7]

As a benefit of the influence of her mother, Priest served as a page girl at the 1952 Republican National Convention.[4]

She was crowned as the first International Azalea Festival Queen in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1954.[8]

Career

Show business

Early in her career, Priest worked as a singer and actress on local television stations, including WTTG in Washington, D.C.[9] In the late 1950s, she acted in stage productions, including Bus Stop and The Tender Trap.[10]

Priest replaced actress Beverley Owen on the television sitcom The Munsters; Owen departed the series after the first 13 episodes in order to get married. Marilyn's character was a running gag, as she was a beautiful blonde treated as the ugly member of a family composed of a Frankenstein's monster for an uncle, a vampire for an aunt, a vampire for a grandfather, and a werewolf for a cousin.[11][12]

The studio replaced Priest with Debbie Watson (12 years Priest's junior) in the role of Marilyn Munster in the 1966 feature Munster, Go Home! (1966) instead of Priest, as Watson was under contract to the studio, which had plans to make her a film star.

After the series ended, Priest appeared on episodes of television programs such as Bewitched, Perry Mason, Death Valley Days and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which she played Sue Ann Nivens's unappreciated younger sister.

Priest's film roles included Looking for Love (1964) with Connie Francis, Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) with Elvis Presley, the horror film The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971) with Bruce Dern and Some Call It Loving (1973) starring Zalman King.

After acting

Priest retired from acting in the 1980s, but continues to attend some of the nostalgia conventions and Munsters revivals around the country.

She had previously restored and sold homes in Idaho, where she has lived for over two decades, before retiring.[3]

Personal life

Priest has been married twice and has two sons.[8]

In 2001, Priest was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.[13] She finished maintenance treatments at St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute and was later determined to be in remission.[14]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1964Looking for LoveWaitressUncredited
1964Quick, Before It MeltsStewardessUncredited
1967Easy Come, Easy GoDina Bishop
1970AirportMrs. Jerry Copeland - PassengerUncredited
1971The Incredible 2-Headed TransplantLinda
1973Some Call It LovingCarnival Nurse
2022The MunstersTransylvania Airlines Announcer
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1963 The Lieutenant Diane "To Take Up Serpents"
1963 Waitress "Fall from a White Horse"
1964 The Jack Benny Program 1st Dancer "Jack and Dennis Do Impersonations"
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Miss March "Her School for Bachelors"
1964, 66 Perry Mason Sally Young "The Case of the Tandem Target"
Norma Fenn "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper"
1964 Valentine's Day Lola "The Life You Save Is Yours"
1964 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Karen Joyce Pennell "The Price of Doom"
1964 Wendy and Me Betty Allison "Jeff, the Senior Citizen"
1964–65 Death Valley Days Nancy "The Left Hand Is Damned"
Nora Jackson "The Wild West's Biggest Train Holdup"
1964 Dr. Kildare Student Nurse "A Candle in the Window"
1964 My Favorite Martian Della Darwell "My Uncle the Folk Singer"
1964–66 The Munsters Marilyn Munster Main role (57 episodes & "Marineland Carnival" special)
1966, 68 The Red Skelton Show Tessie Torso "Our Man Fink"
Ruby – San Fernando's Assistant "San Fernando: Man with a Heart of Stolen Gold"
Generous Woman in Park / Wax Figure-Silent Spot "Guess Whose Dinner Is Coming to Freddie?"
1966 The Lucy Show Stewardess "Lucy Flies to London"
1967 Mannix Louise Carter "Beyond the Shadow of a Dream"
1968 Run for Your Life Susan "Beware My Love"
1969 Ironside Goldie "Alias Mr. Braithwaite"
1969 The Virginian Mary Lou "The Substitute"
1969–70 Bewitched Mrs. Goodall "And Something Makes Four"
Nurse "Samantha's Lost Weekend"
Ruthie Campbell "Just a Kid Again"
1971 Mission: Impossible Kathrine Berat "The Field"
1974 Run, Joe, Run Grace Gilbert "Blind Girl"
1976 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Lila Nivens "Sue Ann's Sister"
1995 Here Come the Munsters Restaurant Guest TV movie

References
  1. "Pat Priest - About This Person - Movies & TV". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  2. Rowan, Terry (2015). Who's Who In Hollywood!. Lulu.com. p. 287. ISBN 9781329074491. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  3. Pat Priest Interview Archived 2017-04-25 at the Wayback Machine by Joe Krein at Elvis2001.net
  4. "Page Girl". The Fresno Bee The Republican. California, Fresno. Newspaper Enterprise Association. July 6, 1952. p. 18. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Pescador, Katrina; Aldrich, Mark (2008). Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. Arcadia Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 9780738559384. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  6. "Washington-Lee High School -- Class of 1954<". wlhsalumni.org. Washington-Lee Alumni Association. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  7. "Actress Plans Comedy Debut". The Record. New Jersey, Hackensack. Associated Press. March 4, 1964. p. 69. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Pat Priest - the Private Life and Times of Pat Priest. Pat Priest Pictures".
  9. "Songstress". Tampa Bay Times. Florida, St. Petersburg. February 27, 1955. p. Parade 15. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Pat Priest Bows In 'Bus Stop' Play". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. February 28, 1958. p. 27. Retrieved 27 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. https://bestlifeonline.com/pat-priest-marilyn-munsters-news/: "Marilyn was a normal, attractive young woman surrounded by a family of actual monsters, which made her the unlikely black sheep. Of course, with her aunt and uncle being Frankenstein's monster and a vampire, Marilyn's family thought the pretty blond was unfortunately hideous."
  12. Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion; Tom Hill, editor; © 1996 by Viacom International; p. 378: "EPISODE 48 'A Man for Marilyn'... to provide poor, unfortunate Marilyn with a future husband, Grandpa tries to turn a frog into a prince... who won't be put off by Marilyn's hideous looks."
  13. "Pat Priest". dpriol.com.
  14. "Pat Priest".
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