Antique Dealer Has a Scary Past: Pat Hansing Played Marilyn On "The Munsters"

[Zoneboy]

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Pat Hansing was 27 when she received the call that launched her Hollywood career.

"I tested for the part on a Wednesday, they called me on Thursday, I signed the contracts on a Friday and started working on Monday," she said. She used her maiden name, Pat Priest, for her show business career. "That was my big break." Today the 73-year-old sells antiques with her sister at Once Upon a Time in the Collister Shopping Center in Boise.

Hansing appeared in 57 episodes of "The Munsters," which aired from Sept. 24, 1964, to May 12, 1966. She also had roles in "Bewitched," "Perry Mason," "The Virginian" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," among others. She appeared in more than two dozen television shows.

Hansing was born in 1936 in Salt Lake City. She spent her late teen years in Washington, D.C., while her mother, Ivy Baker Priest, served as the United States Treasurer from 1953-1961.

After Hansing married an officer in the Navy, she and her new husband were transferred several times, including to Southern California.

Along the way, she began pursuing work in commercials and modeling. She appeared in spots for Rice Krispies, Nestle Ice Tea and Purina Dog Food, among others. "I probably did over a hundred commercials," she said.

Along with numerous television and commercial spots, she also starred with Elvis Presley in the motion picture, "Easy Come, Easy Go." "He was very shy and quiet," she said.

Priest said she wasn't really star-struck. "It was just a job to me and Elvis. I never got an autograph or picture with him, or anything."

But Hansing did end up owning a piece of Elvis history - at least for a short time. While she and Elvis were talking on the set one day, Priest mentioned she was looking to buy a new car. "He told me, 'Well, do you want to buy my Cadillac? I'll make you a good deal.'" Hansing paid $3,000 for Presley's 1967 Cadillac El Dorado convertible with black leather interior.

"I bought it and drove it a couple of years," remembers Hansing, who then traded it in for a new Pontiac. She never told the dealer it was Presley's car when she traded it.

Today as an antique dealer, she understands the value of the car. "It might be worth over $400,000 today," she said. "That was my retirement fund and I traded it away."

Hansing left show business in 1985 when she moved to Hailey, Idaho, with her husband, Fred Hansing. "I just didn't want to keep flying back and forth," said Hansing, who now lives in Eagle, Idaho. She has two sons, Lance and Pierce, from her first marriage.

In 2001 Hansing was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She finished maintenance treatments two weeks ago at St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute and is now in remission.

Hansing said she never was a fan of the Hollywood lifestyle. "Doing 'The Munsters' and television is hard work," she says. "You wait all day long for your scene. It's not glamorous at all."

In spite of the long days, she looks back on her role as Marilyn Munster as one of her favorites. "We became a family, personally as well as professionally," said Hansing, who worked with actors Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis and Butch Patrick, who played little Eddie.

"The Munsters" continue to have an impact on her life. Hansing has traveled to dozens of memorabilia shows across the country, posed for pictures, and signed hundreds of autographs.

A quick search of the auction site eBAY reveals almost 2,000 auctions for Munsters memorabilia. Items include DVDs, glossy pictures and even a glow-in-the-dark wall clock.

One auction features a 12-inch Marilyn Munster doll. The doll, the 40th anniversary edition, is dressed in a white top and blue skirt. The listing includes a handbag, mirror and a third arm that can be replaced to grip a miniature mirror.

A doll with three arms - Uncle Herman would be so proud.

[Marvo301]

I'm glad to know that Pat Priest is alive and well and living in Idaho. And it's great that she never let Hollywood go to her head but was able to think of acting as just a job.

[old grouch]

I would definitely buy antiques from Marilyn Munster.