"Grandpa Munster" Al Lewis RIP (1 Viewer)

[Dave Mack]

You were a real character!
Being from NYC it was always great to see you on the local scene. One of my afterschool rituals was to watch The Munsters. Thanks for the smiles!
RIP Grandpa.

d

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm old enough to remember both of those television series he starred in back in the 1960s. He lived a long and apparently happy life.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html

 

[David*P]

I'm so sad to hear this..he was such a great guy! But 95 years...that's a GOOD life!

 

[Marty M]

I remember him fondly in The Munsters, but really loved his performance in Used Cars

 

[Shawn.F]

May we all live as long and as happy as Mr. Lewis did. Rest in Peace, Grandpa! And thanks.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

He was a gem! One of the most lovable
character actors of our generation!

Very saddened by this news.

 

[StephenA]

Sad news. I always thought he was cool as Grandpa. I used to watch both Car 54 Where Are You and The Munsters on Nick At Nite as a young kid, and thought it was funny that both he and Fred Gwynne were on both shows.

 

[TravisR]

95 is a good old ripe age. I'm sure he lived a long and happy life.

Thanks for the laughs, Grandpa!

 

[todd stone]

RIP

 

[Grant B]

He also had a great little role in "They Might be Giants"
Nice to know "The Good die young" is not always true

 

[RobertR]

So was he 95 or 83? The information is conflicting.

 

[Robert Crawford]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Lewis

This source says he was born in 1923.
http://www.tvland.com/shows/munsters/actor2.jhtml

 

[TravisR]

I would think that he was 95. If he was born in 1923, he'd have been 40 or 41 when he was on The Munsters. That's probably about the same age as the Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo. Not that actors haven't played older characters before though.

 

[Steve...O]

He was 83. A&E Biography did a show on Mr. Lewis in which the fabrications of this age were discussed. They even dug up his birth certificate. One story has it that he thought he might be considered too young for the Grandpa role so he made himself older and told tales of being in vaudeville, etc.

Seeing his appearances in recent years he looked older, but he didn't look anywhere near the age he claimed to be.

With his passing, they'll probably re-run this episode.

 

[PatH]

Car 54, Where Are You?

on DVD, I mean.

PatH

 

[Robert Crawford]

According to his son he was 82, since his 83rd birthday wasn't until April 30th.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2319385

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> I would think that he was 95. If he was born in 1923, he'd have been 40 or 41 when he was on The Munsters.

That's what I'd think, too... it's hard to picture Grandpa Munster being younger than Brad Pitt when the series started ...

but regardless of the number, very sad news anyway. :frowning:

And apparently he was quite a character in real life, too.

 

[Steve...O]

It's amazing how much younger people look now than their parents or grandparents did at the same age. I see a lot of 50 to 60 year olds who look like what a 40 year old did back in the 40s and 50s.

Lewis was heavily made up in the Munsters. Check out stills of him in "Car 54" to see what he looked like sans makeup just a couple of years before the Munsters. Also, not to be unkind, but Mr. Lewis had some pretty harsh facial features that always made him look older.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

It seemed Like Al would live For Ever .

Bon Voyage Grandpa.

 

[Parker Clack]

He will be missed. This is sad news indeed.