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Pat Priest
When Pat Priest was a young girl, her family moved from Salt Lake
City to Bountiful, Utah. Although her childhood was spent in a small
town, she got quite a bit of exposure to entertainment work through
her mother, Ivy Baker Priest, who often wrote, directed and produced
road shows for the Mormon church. Ivy was increasingly active in
politics and by the time Pat reached her junior year in high school,
her mother was named United States Treasurer. (You might still see
her signature on some old paper money!)
Relocating to Washington, D.C., Pat soon started taking the crown in
beauty contests. Pat discovered, however, that she had inherited her
mother's interest in show business rather than politics, and after
an appearance on "Art Lamb in Washington", she left the Washington
social scene and made her way to California. She got some experience
under her belt working in community theater, including the Alameda
Little Theatre, the London Circle Players in Oakland, and the
Players of the Golden Hind in Berkeley. This led to a few local TV
commercials and she soon began getting guest shots on TV shows.
In 1964, in the middle of the initial season of The Munsters TV
show, Beverly Owen decided to leave the series, and the part of
Marilyn Munster was up for grabs. Marilyn, of course, was the "plain
one of the family", the normal one in a family of "monsters". Pat
got the part, and made her initial appearance on the last episode of
the first season. She remained in the role until the series ended in
1966. (The film, Munster Go Home, released that same year, featured
Debbie Watson in the role.)
Her appearance with Elvis came a year later. In Easy Come, Easy Go,
Pat plays Dina Bishop, the "bad girl" who gets in Elvis' way while
he and Dodie Marshall search for treasure. Pat's memories of Elvis
and that time were fond ones, although she regrets one thing: She
bought Elvis' Cadillac (a 1967 El Dorado), and later traded it for a
Pontiac! "If I had it today, I could retire!", she says. Although
not fully retired yet, (she occasionally makes TV appearances) Pat
and her second husband, Fred Hansing, are settled in Haley, Idaho.
Pat still keeps in touch with Al Lewis and Butch Patrick from The
Munsters, and with the series running regularly now on Nick at Nite,
they make more frequent public appearances at conventions and
autograph shows
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