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Home > Archive > Hepatitis disease > February 2006 > TV's Grandpa Munster dies at 82
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TV's Grandpa Munster dies at 82
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| http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4683026.stm
Actor Al Lewis, best known for his role as Grandpa in 1960s TV comedy The
Munsters, has died at the age of 82.
The actor, whose career included stints as a political candidate and basketball
talent scout, died on Friday.
His death was announced by the New York radio station, WBAI-FM, where the actor
hosted a weekly series.
"To say that we will miss his generous, cantankerous, engaging spirit is a
profound understatement," said programme director Bernard White.
Dracula costume
Lewis became a familiar face on US television for his role as the irascible
Grandpa Munster in the 1960s sitcom, which saw him sporting an elaborate Dracula
costume.
Prior to his Munster role, he played Officer Leo Schnauser in the popular police
series Car 54, Where Are You?.
He went on to star in a number of films, including They Shoot Horses, Don't
They? and Married to the Mob.
Beyond the silver screen, the former basketball player, became a respected
talent scout, ran a restaurant in New York's Greenwich Village, wrote two
children's books and campaigned as the Green Party candidate for governor of New
York.
A Brooklyn native, Lewis continued to work throughout the 1990s and was a
frequent guest on the Howard Stern radio show, where he memorably led an obscene
chant against the Federal Communications Commission.
Ill health forced him to slow down in 2003, when complications during surgery
led to an emergency bypass and the amputation of his right leg below the knee.
He is survived by his wife, Karen, who was at his bedside when he died, three
sons and four grandchildren.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4683026.stm
R.I.P Grandpa Munster. We shall always remember you. We think you were a good
American who made people happy.
Alan
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| In article <memo.20060205180256.920y@veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk>,
alan@veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk (Alan) wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
> In article <memo.20060205174550.920x@veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk>,
> alan@veloceraptor.free-online.co.uk (Alan) wrote:
>
The Passing and Passion of Grandpa Al Lewis, 1911-2006
by Mitchel Cohen
What a sad day ... and what an incredible, artistic and political life!
I first met Al Lewis in person in New Haven in
1971, at a demonstration in support of the jailed
Black Panthers. I remember it being a very raw
afternoon, and I kept staring at the man I'd
later introduce myself to, wondering at the
famous fellow standing all by himself unlike so
many actors and famous people, and then lost in the small crowd that turned up.
Later, I was to learn that Grandpa was rarely
alone in that way. Campaigning with him for Mayor
all over the City with other Green stalwarts like
Frank Carr, Craig Seeman, Michele Daneles, Afrime
Derti, Carl Lawrence, Pete Dolack and Robb Ross
-- the core of the Brooklyn Greens at that time
-- I was struck by the amount of adulation and
genuine affection that so many people had for Al,
especially (gulp!) cops. They all wanted Al to
sign autographs. I collected hundreds of
signatures to put Al on the ballot from cops
riding home on the Long Island Railroad and the
Staten Island ferry. It was amazing, the
transformation that came over people when Al
greeted them. He ended up getting just over the
50,000 votes we needed to put the Green Party onto the ballot in NY State.
Al was also incredibly scholarly, a voluminous
reader and one of his disappointments in the last
few years was his difficulty in being able to
read due to problems with his eyesight. But he
maintained his sabre-slashing anarchistic stance
when dealing with U.S. politicians and warmongers to the end.
Al and Karen were incredibly supportive to many
people, including me, personally, as a Green
Party candidate and as an organizer against
pesticides and genetic engineering. They
sponsored several events with the Roosevelt
Island Greens at which I was the featured
speaker, and contributed generously to the
NoSpray Coalition over the years as well as to my
campaign for Mayor on the Green Party line in
2001. I remember when Al was already sick, a
Reclaim the Streets party/demo had ended up on
Roosevelt Island. We marched past Al and Karen's
apartment, and I started the chant: "We love you
Grandpa, we miss you, get better!" and pretty
soon the hundreds of us took up the chant, lights
came on in the apartments, people looked out the
windows, and everyone waved, knowing whom we were
chanting about as we snaked by.
To say Al will be missed is, as is often the
case, a vast understatement. This crotchety,
funny, whip-smart, annoying, ribald, generous and
always dependable anti-racist activist was, in my
opinion, one of the great people of the century.
I loved him dearly, even or especially when we
argued, and so did many, many others.
A life well-lived? Hell, a life in REVOLT!
Grandpa Al Lewis -- Presenté !
ny-katrinasolidarity-subcribe@lists.riseup.net
Alan
"Can't you see we're still here,
Can't you see we're still here,
Singing loud; Singing clear,
We shall not go under,
We're still here."
Nemesis Peace Centre
http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.../protector.html
Abuse of Women and Children
http://theoriginalfirebird.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbas.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbastoo.blogspot.com/
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