AL LEWIS
April 30, 1923 - Feb. 3,
2006
The once and future Grandpa Munster, Al Lewis added restaurateur, political
candidate and radio personality at various points in his colorful career as a
true show biz character: Sources can't agree on exactly where he was born
(possibly
Wolcott, N. Y....unless it was Brooklyn), and there are skeptics who
claim his birth date was shaved by 13 years. He claimed stints as a circus
performer and a hot dog vendor at Brooklyn's fabled Ebbets Field ball park, but
his documented career began in the '50s on Broadway. He broke into television on
"The Phil Silvers Show" and "Naked City," the police procedural precursor to
current staples such as "Law & Order", before hitting a comedy strike with a
supporting role on "Car 54, Where Are You?" from 1959 to 1963. That led to
Lewis' casting as Grandpa Munster, the Transylvanian with Borscht Belt timing,
on "The Munsters." In his post-Grandpa career, Lewis was known
for his sometimes provocative adventures in local politics. He hosted a
politically-charged show on liberal New York station WBAI-FM and also ran as
Green Party candidate for governor of New York.
(Image: Photofest/Retna Ltd.)
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