They've got a coffin alreay picked out.
Posted on 02/04/2006 11:43:23 AM PST by lunarbicep
NEW YORK -- Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom, died after years of failing health. He was 95.
Lewis, with his wife at his bedside, passed away Friday night, said Bernard White, program director at WBAI-FM, where the actor hosted a weekly radio program. White made the announcement on the air during the Saturday slot where Lewis usually appeared.
"To say that we will miss his generous, cantankerous, engaging spirit is a profound understatement," White said.
Lewis, sporting a somewhat cheesy Dracula outfit, became a pop culture icon playing the irascible father-in-law to Fred Gwynne's ever-bumbling Herman Munster on the 1964-66 television show. He was also one of the stars of another classic TV comedy, playing Officer Leo Schnauzer on "Car 54, Where Are You?"
But Lewis' life off the small screen ranged far beyond his acting antics. A former ballplayer at Thomas Jefferson High School, he achieved notoriety as a basketball talent scout familiar to coaching greats like Jerry Tarkanian and Red Auerbach.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
RIP Granddad you made me laugh many times.
The looniest of loony leftists in his very advanced age.
Oh no! He was a great guest on Howard Stern. 95! How about that?!
Awww... Rest in Peace, Grandpa Munster...
I used to watch the Addams Family every time it came on. One day it was replaced with the Munsters. My brother and I were really mad, until we watched it, then we were converted Munster fans.
RIP Grandpa.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
A raving lefty but a very funny man. I'll bet he was a joy to know. RIP
My father and mother uses to call my brother James, EDDIE because when he was a kid he would come out of the shower with his hair all slicked back like Eddie Munster.
ED became such a name in my household growing up that I named my firstborn EDWARD after all of that.
I still crack up at the Munsters on TV Land. Classic TV shows like that are great!
Is John Kerry in mourning at losing his father in law?
I watched both the Munsters and Addams Family. RIP Grandpa.
Judge H. H. Harrison, "I'll put your b*&ls in a sling!!"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081698/
RIP, Al
In the late 1920s, Lewis worked as a circus performer, but ultimately decided on college, earning a Ph.D. in child psychology from Columbia University. He taught school and wrote two children's books. In 1949, at the suggestion of a friend, Lewis turned to acting and joined the Paul Mann Actor's Workshop in New York. Lewis worked in burlesque and vaudeville theaters across the country, which eventually led to Broadway. By the 1950s, television was booming, and Lewis took advantage of the work appearing on almost every live show out of his homebase of New York City. His most famous regular TV roles were Officer Leo Schnauser on "Car 54, Where Are You?" and Grandpa on "The Munsters". When these shows ended, he opened a restaurant in New York called Grampa's in Greenwich Village. He has since produced a home video for children and appeared on WTBS in a series of Saturday morning programs for children.
| Karen Lewis | (1984 - present) |
| Marge (Domowitz) Lewis | (1 November 1956 - 11 October 1977) (divorced) 3 children |
Will be forever known as "Grandpa".
Squinty-eyed grin with a quick, furious nod.
Ran as Green Party candidate for Governor of New York in 1998.
June 30, 2003: Had his third angioplasty at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Complications developed, necessitating the amputation of his right leg below the knee and the toes on his left foot.
was a hot dog vendor at Ebbets Field, the former ballpark for the then Brooklyn Dodgers.
He claims to have read a different book every day of his life.
Uncle Fester, of The Addams Family, lived around the corner from me. We would regularly go to his house and ask for signed autographs. He was quiet and a recluse, but always friendly and accommodating.
They've got a coffin alreay picked out.
alreay = already
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