Al Lewis
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]
Known For
Credits
- 2015 · Auto-Tune the Munsters: A Rock Opera as Grandpa Munster (archive footage)
- 2007 · Goodbye, America as Himself
- 2006 · Midnight Blue: Vol. 5: Porn King as
- 2006 · Midnight Blue, Vol. 3: Celebrities Edition as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Porn King: The Trials Of Al Goldstein as
- 2004 · Ramones: Raw as Himself
- 2002 · Night Terror as Father Hanlon
- 2001 · Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy as Self
- 1996 · South Beach Academy as Uncle Gene
- 1996 · Fast Money as Poon
- 1995 · Here Come the Munsters as Restaurant Guest
- 1994 · Baseball as Various (voice)
- 1994 · Car 54, Where Are You? as Leo Schnauzer
- 1993 · Al Lewis in the Flesh as
- 1991 · Hi Honey, I'm Home! as
- 1991 · My Grandpa Is a Vampire as Vernon Cooger
- 1991 · Coney Island as Self - Actor
- 1989 · Fright House as Captain Levi
- 1989 · Grampa's More Silly Scaries as Grampa
- 1989 · Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores as Himself
- 1989 · Grampa's Sci-Fi Hits as Grampa
- 1988 · Grampa's Silly Scaries as Grampa
- 1988 · American Experience as Self
- 1988 · Grampa’s Monster Movies as Grampa
- 1988 · Bum Rap as Mr. Wolfstadt
- 1988 · Married to the Mob as Joe Russo
- 1988 · Save the Dog! as
- 1988 · Grampa Presents Carnival Of Souls as Grampa
- 1987 · Comic Cabby as
- 1981 · Best of the West as
- 1981 · The Munsters' Revenge as Grandpa
- 1980 · Used Cars as Judge Harrison
- 1978 · Taxi as Security Guard
- 1978 · Ring of Passion as Mike Jacobs
- 1975 · Coonskin as The Godfather (voice) (uncredited)
- 1975 · White House Madness as Judge Cirrhosis
- 1974 · Black Starlet as Sam Sharp
- 1974 · Death Wish as Guard at Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
- 1973 · The Mini-Munsters as Grandpa
- 1973 · The Night Strangler as Tramp
- 1971 · They Might Be Giants as Messenger
- 1970 · Night Gallery as Mishkin (segment "Make Me Laugh")
- 1970 · The Boatniks as Bert
- 1969 · They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as Turkey
- 1969 · Love, American Style as
- 1968 · Here's Lucy as Mr. Barker
- 1966 · Munster, Go Home! as Grandpa Munster
- 1965 · Green Acres as
- 1965 · Lost in Space as Zalto
- 1965 · Marineland Carnival: The Munsters Visit Marineland as Grandpa Munster
- 1964 · Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as Harry Whipple
- 1964 · The Munsters as Grandpa
- 1964 · The World of Henry Orient as Store Owner
- 1962 · The Merv Griffin Show as Self
- 1961 · Car 54, Where Are You? as Officer Leo Schnauser
- 1960 · Route 66 as
- 1960 · Pretty Boy Floyd as Machine Gun Manny
- 1958 · Naked City as Mr. Pike
- 1958 · Naked City as Gus
- 1958 · Naked City as Mr. Tanner
- 1958 · Naked City as Mr. Carrari
- 1957 · Decoy as Chi Chi
- 1957 · Lust of the Vampire as Assistant (uncredited)
- 1955 · The Phil Silvers Show as
- 1955 · The Phil Silvers Show as Bruno the Mobster
- 1953 · The United States Steel Hour as