"Collectors, fans of the shows, nostalgia buffs, people like that," answers Patrick, explaining that one of the dolls is on display at a TV-themed restaurant in Danbury, Connecticut, where he was hired to sign autographs. So who's willing to shell out a grand for what is, after all, merely a copy of a minor hand prop from an old TV series? When Patrick makes a television appearance with one of the dolls, the actor signs a sworn statement that that very doll appeared on such and such TV program. The pair has reportedly sold about 33 dolls-each accompanied by a "Munster Pack" including a certificate of authenticity and autographed candid photos of Patrick. "That makes him a partner and seems to work out better for both of us." Even though only one hundred dolls were manufactured, Patrick still has his work cut out for him-the pricey playthings cost $1,000 apiece. "Rather than pay Butch a flat fee, he takes the doll wherever he goes and we split the net profits fifty-fifty," explains Jim Madden, the Glendale entrepreneur who bankrolled the dolls. He's a partner in a Glendale company that manufactures the collector's item. Patrick keeps the wolf from his door by peddling limited-edition replicas of the doll at personal appearances around the country. You must have been a hell of an actor.'" Although there hasn't been much demand for Patrick's dramatic talents in years, the former kid performer can thank his lucky stars he spent his wonder years schlepping around with that doll, which the Universal prop department fashioned out of a stuffed monkey from Toys R Us. "Instead, my friend told me, `You came off like a regular kid. "A friend of mine recently told me, `You know, with you carrying that doll, it would have been real easy for you to come across as being a little sissy,'" says the 37-year-old Patrick during a visit to the Valley last month. Taken some 25 years ago, the shot features Patrick in a typical Munsteresque pose of the period: Decked out in wolfboy makeup and clad in his trademark Little Lord Fauntleroy get-up, the lycanthropic lad flashes fangs (actually his own eyeteeth) at the camera while clutching Woof-Woof, his omnipresent wolfman doll. Onetime child actor Butch Patrick, best known to three generations of TV viewers as little Eddie Munster, thoughtfully examines an old publicity photo.
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