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| "Wolfie" tattoo by Sara Lou, 2012. |
For those who remember "The Munsters", Eddie, son of Lily and Herman, loved his doll, "Wolfie". I recently tattooed a representation of the prop for a client who loves "horror" characters and is building a collection of permanent tributes to Dracula, and the Frankenstein story. I worked from a photo of a modern reproduction of the doll, and wanted to inject more realism into the tattoo, as if the doll character has "come to life!" There are a few versions of "Wolfie" on the market, but apparently Butch Patrick, who played "Eddie" has the original and sells remakes via his website.
"The Munsters" was only in production for 2 years (72 episodes), but over the following decades became a cult staple. Re-runs screened heavily in Australia when I was a kid, and for some reason, I actually preferred it to its rival "The Addams Family", which to me seemed too "clean" looking. I know as I got older and heavily into the goth scene, Lily's "look" seemed more authentic than Morticia's - the heavier, sexier make-up, the eyebrows, the hair with the streak....to me she was television's Goth Queen!! And Yvonne De Carlo's amazing bone structure carried off the image so brilliantly. She was already in her early forties when Yvonne took up the role, after a none-too-shabby Hollywood career, including a role in Cecil B. DeMille's epic "The Ten Commandments". With a face so beautiful AND expressive - those eyes and those lips - "Lily Munster" probably has ended up being De Carlo's most memorable role.
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| From macabremarilyn.tumblr.com |
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| From Yvonne De Carlo's imdb page. |
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| From www.officialyvonnedecarlo.com |
A few years ago, a good friend of mine and fan of Yvonne, commissioned me to tattoo a portrait of the actress on her shoulder. Here she is in "beach girl" mode....far removed from the setting of "The Munsters"!!
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| Yvonne De Carlo tattoo by Sara Lou 2008 |
(The contours of the shoulder make it hard to photograph and there is some distortion.)
Portraits like this are still so much fun to do. But to do a cool Lily? Oh, now we're talking!! I'd be in seventh-heaven....
"If there's anything I can't stand, it's weird people." Lily Munster
