Al Lewis

Al Lewis

  • Birthday: 1923-04-30
  • Deathday: 2006-02-03
  • Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA
  • Also know as: Albert Lewis

Biography

An American character actor best known for his role as Count Dracula lookalike "Grandpa", opposite Fred Gwynne's and Yvonne De Carlo's characters on the CBS television series The Munsters from 1964 to 1966 and its subsequent film versions. Later in life, he was also a restaurant owner, political candidate, and radio broadcaster. His acting career begins the well-documented portion of his life. He worked in burlesque and vaudeville theaters, then on Broadway in the dramas The Night Circus (1958) and One More River (1960) and as the character Moe Shtarker in the musical comedy Do Re Mi (1962). His earliest television work includes appearances on the Beverly Garland crime drama Decoy and The Phil Silvers Show. From 1959–63, he appeared in four episodes of Naked City. Lewis' first well-known television role was as Officer Leo Schnauser on the NBC sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961–63, also starring Fred Gwynne (Lewis reprised the role in the 1994 movie of the same name). In the series, Lewis first played Al Spencer the Auto Body Man in two early first-season episodes before landing the more familiar role of Officer Schnauser. But he is best remembered as "Grandpa" on The Munsters, which ran on CBS from 1964–66. In 1967, Lewis played the part of Zalto the wizard in the Lost in Space episode, Rocket to Earth. His first role in a movie was as Machine Gun Manny in Pretty Boy Floyd (1960). He had small roles in The World of Henry Orient (1964), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), They Might Be Giants (1971). He appeared as Hanging Judge Harrison in Used Cars (1980) and had a minor role in Married to the Mob (1988). His last film role was in Night Terror (2002). Lewis was a recurring guest on The Howard Stern Show. In 1987, during a "Howard Stern Freedom Rally" against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that was broadcast live, Lewis repeatedly shouted "F*** the FCC!" until Stern was able to take the microphone away from him. Stern and the station were not punished for Lewis' comments. Unlike some actors, Lewis did not mind being typecast. He enjoyed acting out his "Grandpa" character—in the original costume—and got a surprising amount of mileage from such a short-lived role. "Why not?" he said. "It pays the bills." In 1991, he appeared as Grandpa Munster in an episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home on ABC. In 1991, he appeared in a low-budget New Zealand family movie called Grampire (My Grandpa Is a Vampire in the U.S. version), wearing much the same costume as he did in The Munsters. From 1987–89, Lewis hosted Super Scary Saturday on TBS in his Grandpa Munster outfit. This would later be parodied in Gremlins 2: The New Batch with the character of "Grandpa Fred" (Robert Prosky). [Biography from Wikipedia]

Filmography

Goodbye, America

2007

As Himself

My Grandpa Is a Vampire

1991

As Vernon Cooger

Fright House

1989

As Captain Levi

Grampa's Silly Scaries

1988

As Grampa

Grampa's Sci-Fi Hits

1989

As Grampa

The Mini-Munsters

1973

As Grandpa

Coney Island

1991

As Self - Actor

Night Terror

2002

As Father Hanlon

The Munsters' Revenge

1981

As Grandpa

Munster, Go Home!

1966

As Grandpa Munster

Comic Cabby

1987

As

Bum Rap

1988

As Mr. Wolfstadt

Auto-Tune the Munsters: A Rock Opera

2015

As Grandpa Munster (archive footage)

South Beach Academy

1996

As Uncle Gene

They Might Be Giants

1971

As Messenger

Black Starlet

1974

As Sam Sharp

Car 54, Where Are You?

1994

As Leo Schnauzer

Coonskin

1975

As The Godfather (voice)

Fast Money

1996

As Poon

The Night Strangler

1973

As Tramp

Ramones: Raw

2004

As Himself

White House Madness

1975

As Judge Cirrhosis

The World of Henry Orient

1964

As Store Owner

Pretty Boy Floyd

1960

As Machine Gun Manny

Used Cars

1980

As Judge Harrison

Lust of the Vampire

1957

As Assistant (uncredited)

The Boatniks

1970

As Bert

Ring of Passion

1978

As Mike Jacobs

Married to the Mob

1988

As Joe Russo

Here Come the Munsters

1995

As Restaurant Guest

Death Wish

1974

As Guard at Hotel Lobby (uncredited)

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