When people discuss the great humanitarians of the 20th century, Herman Munster’s name rarely comes up.
However, that may change thanks to a 1965 clip from the classic sitcom “The Munsters” that went viral on Thursday.
The clip features Munster, played by Fred Gwynne, explaining to his son, Eddie, why character and heart matter more than physical appearance:
“The lesson I want you to learn is: It doesn’t matter what you look like. You can be tall or short or fat or thin, or ugly or handsome, like your father, or you can be black or yellow or white. It doesn’t matter. But what does matter is the size of your heart and the strength of your character.”
The clip has been posted before but was especially poignant now amid anti-racism protests across America sparked by the unrelenting deaths of Black people at the hands of police or racist vigilantes.
Many Twitter users appreciated Munster’s simple message.
Some people couldn’t help but compare Herman Munster’s unifying message to the ones coming from the White House.
Actor Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster in the black-and-white sitcom that ran from 1964 to 1966, isn’t surprised the clip has gone viral. He told HuffPost it’s popped up over the years.
Patrick, now 66, has vivid memories of the episode, “Eddie’s Nickname,” since the plot concerned him growing a full beard and having to deal with prejudice.
“I had to have a full beard for three days when I was 10,” he said, adding that the scene with Gwynne was just before the makeup artist dissolved his cotton-candy beard.
He said that while Herman Munster said the lines, they weren’t a stretch for Gwynne, whom he called a “renaissance man” who stood for human rights.
″‘The Munsters’ was a soft social statement show,” Patrick said. “No one wanted to live next door to them. It was kind of sneaky social commentary.”
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