Al Lewis (born Abraham Meister; April 30, 1923 – February 3, 2006) was an American actor and activist, best known for his role as Grandpa on the television series The Munsters from 1964 to 1966 and its film versions. He previously also co-starred with The Munsters Fred Gwynne in the television show Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961 to 1963. Later in life, he was a restaurant owner, political candidate, and radio broadcaster.
Early life Lewis was born Abraham Meister on April 30, 1923, in Manhattan, New York City. His parents Alexander (; ) and Ida (Certificate and record of marriage (no. 27267) for Alex Maister and Ida Neidel, 29 October 1922, Manhattan, via The NYC Historical Vital Records Project. or NedalSS-5 application file for Albert Meister (Social Security number: 050-18-4924), February 1941. Reference number: 65178039797. NARA Access to Archival Databases, Record Group 47 (Social Security Administration), Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), file_05. (This states the date of birth as April 30, 1923, and states the "place of birth city" as "MANHATTAN N", in New York state. It also states mother's last name as "NEDAL".) Summarized in:; ; ), a house painter from Minsk and a garment worker respectively, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire; His two brothers were Phillip and Henry.Record of "Al Lewis"; April 30, 1923 – February 3, 2006; SSN: 050-18-4924. Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2006.
Lewis originally gave his birth year as 1910. His reputed early radio work in the mid-1930s would indicate the earlier birth date, as did an off-the-cuff remark on the TVLegends interview, 2002, where he says "not a bad memory for 92". Ted Lewis, his son, firmly said his father was born in 1923 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York."'Grandpa Munster' Al Lewis dies", abc.net.au, May 2, 2006. The official marriage records show Al's parents were married in Manhattan on October 29, 1922. Other sources placed his birth in Wolcott, New York, but no official record of his birth has been published to date (2006), and officials in Wolcott say they have no record of any Meister. The Times wrote: "Lewis was born Albert Meister, probably in 1923, but he insisted that he was born in 1910. This, and Lewis's many other questionable stories, means that much of the actor's life is a broth of conjecture that his fans will no doubt squabble over for years to come." On his application for a Social Security number, completed in February 1941, and on a World War II draft registration card completed on 30 June 1942,https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WWRW-1DT2, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3WP-ZG5S?cc=3288447: D.D.S. Form 1, serial number M327, order number 11753, for Albert Meister Lewis gave his date of birth as April 30, 1923. The 1925 New York State census lists Abe Meister, age 2, living with his parents Alexander and Ida Meister on 99th Street. The 1940 census lists an Albert Meister "age 16" living on Douglass (today's Strauss) Street in Brooklyn, New York.Ancestry.com
In a 1998 interview with Walt Shepperd, Lewis said:
Education
According to a report in The Jewish Week, Al Lewis attended Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, New York, in his youth and "asked annoying questions to the teachers." Lewis then attended Thomas Jefferson High School, which he left in his junior year. He claimed to have attended Oswego State Teachers College (now SUNY Oswego), notwithstanding his lack of a high school diploma, and to have earned a Ph.D. in child psychology from Columbia University in 1941, of which Columbia has no record. Lewis did send at least one of his children to Yeshiva in the San Fernando Valley.
Career
In 1949, after a suggestion from a friend, he decided to pursue a career as an actor after joining the Paul Mann Actors' Workshop in New York. 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 crime drama Decoy and The Phil Silvers Show. From 1959 to 1963, he appeared in four episodes of Naked City. Lewis's first well-known television role was as Officer Leo Schnauser on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961 to 1963, 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 and a property developer in two early first-season episodes, then landed the more familiar role of Officer Schnauser. He is best remembered as Grandpa on The Munsters, which ran on CBS from 1964 to 1966.
In 1967, Lewis played the part of Zalto the magician 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), and They Might Be Giants (1971). He appeared as Hanging Judge Harrison in Used Cars (1980), played a security guard on an episode of Taxi, and had a minor role in Married to the Mob (1988). His last film role was in Night Terror (2002).
In 1991, he appeared as Grandpa in an episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home on ABC. In 1991, he appeared in a low-budget movie titled Grampire (My Grandpa Is a Vampire in the U.S. version), wearing much of the same costumes as he did in The Munsters. From 1987 to 1989, Lewis hosted Super Scary Saturday on TBS in his Grandpa outfit. This was parodied in Gremlins 2: The New Batch with the character of Grandpa Fred (Robert Prosky). Lewis also used the role to promote a 1-900 number known as "the Junior Vampire Club" and in a series of public domain VHS compilations for Amvest Video.
Other pursuits Lewis was a proponent of free speech and frequently spoke out in the late 1980s and early 1990s against government entities such as the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and non-government entities such as the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center). A recurring guest on The Howard Stern Show, Lewis famously uttered the phrase "fuck the FCC", during a 1987 speech at a "Howard Stern Freedom Rally" held in Manhattan and organized by the radio personality. Lewis shouted the phrase repeatedly until Stern was able to take the microphone away from him. The FCC did not punish Stern or the station for Lewis's comments and Stern later used the speech as the opening track of Stern's Crucified By the FCC comedy album in early 1999.
Lewis appeared in an episode of The American Experience where he recalled his experiences at Coney Island, which he frequently visited and worked at as a game barker. He was featured in the Atari 7800 videogame Midnight Mutants,AtariAgeAtari 7800Midnight Mutants (Atari) , atariage.com; accessed June 9, 2015. an action-adventure title with a Halloween theme. His appearance in the game mirrored his Grandpa persona in The Munsters.
In 1987, he opened an Italian restaurant named Grampa's Bella Gente at 252 Bleecker Street in Manhattan. In September 1989, he licensed a comedy club named Grampa's to an entrepreneurial mafia family named Cataldo in New Dorp Plaza in Staten Island.
Politics As a left-wing activist, he hosted a politically oriented radio program on WBAI (whose theme song was King Curtis' "Foot Pattin'") and ran as Green Party candidate for governor of New York in 1998. In that race, he sought to be listed on the ballot as Grandpa Al Lewis, arguing that he was most widely known by that name. His request was rejected by the Board of Elections, a decision upheld in court against his challenge.
Despite this setback, he achieved one of his campaign objectives. His total of 52,533 votes exceeded the threshold of votes set by New York law (50,000) and hence guaranteed the Green Party of New York an automatic ballot line for the next four years (see New York gubernatorial elections). He said that, with no political machine and no money backing him, the likelihood of winning the governorship would be "like climbing Mount Everest barefooted". In 2000, he sought the Green Party nomination for US Senate; he ultimately placed second in the primary, with about 32 percent of the vote, losing to Mark Dunau.
Personal life and final years Lewis married Marge Domowitz in 1956, with whom he had three sons, Dave, Ted, and Paul. The marriage ended in divorce in 1977. In 1984, he married actress Karen Ingenthron, to whom he remained married for the rest of his life.
In his final years, he resided on Roosevelt Island in New York City. In 2003, he was hospitalized for an angioplasty, and complications from the surgery led to an emergency bypass and the amputation of his right leg below the knee as well as all of the toes on his left foot. He died on February 3, 2006, aged 82, of natural causes in Goldwater Memorial Hospital on Roosevelt Island. His memorial service was held at Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan on February 18, 2006.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1951 London Entertains HimselfDocumentary 1957 I Vampiri Assistant 1960 Pretty Boy Floyd Manny 'Machine Gun Manny' 1964 The World of Henry Orient Tobacconist 1966 Munster, Go Home! Grandpa Munster 1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Turkey 1970 The Boatniks Bert 1971 They Might Be Giants Messenger 1973 The Night Strangler Hobo 1974 Death Wish Guard At Hotel Lobby Uncredited 1974 Black Starlet Sam 1974 Coonskin The Godfather Voice, uncredited 1975 White House Madness Judge Cirrhosis 1979 That's Life unfinished film 1980 Used Cars Judge Harrison 1987 Comic Cabby Al the Cabsmith 1988 Married to the Mob Uncle Joe Russo 1988 Bum Rap Mr. Wolfstadt 1992 My Grandpa is a Vampire Vernon Cooger 1993 The Garden Holocaust survivor Abel short film 1994 Car 54, Where Are You? Leo Schnauzer 1994 Piedras rodantes short film 1996 Fast Money Poon 1996 South Beach Academy Uncle Gene 1998 Sidoglio Smithee Himself 2002 Night Terror Father Hanlon 2006 Goodbye, America HimselfDocumentary
Television Year Title Role Notes 1953–1957 The Big Story Willie 2 episodes 1957 Decoy Chi Chi Episode: "Queen of Diamonds" 1957 Brenner Logan Episode: "Thin Ice" 1959 The Phil Silvers Show Bruno the Mobster, Mobster Bengal, Mike 3 episodes 1959 Deadline Fletcher Episode: "Jail Break" 1959–1960 The United States Steel Hour Bartender, Paul Gordon 2 episodes 1959–1963 Naked City Mr. Carrari, Mr. Tanner, Harry McGoglan, Bookie, Gus, Mr. Pike 6 episodes 1961–1963Car 54, Where Are You? Officer Leo Schnauser 44 episodes 1962 The Defenders Sergeant Cross Episode: "The Search" 1964–1966 The Munsters Grandpa Munster 70 episodes 1967Lost in Space Zalto Episode: "Rocket to Earth"1968Gomer Pyle - USMCHarry Whipple Episode: "Hit and Write" 1971 Green Acres Charlie Episode: "Star Witness" 1971 Night Gallery Mishkin 1 episode 1972 Love, American Style Bernie 1 episode 1973 The Night Strangler Tramp Television film 1973 The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie Grandpa Munster Episode: "The Mini-Munsters" 1973 Here's Lucy Lionel Barker Episode: "Lucy Plays Cops and Robbers" 1978 Ring of Passion Mike Jacobs Television film 1980 CBS Children's Mystery Theatre Episode: "The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn" 1981 The Munsters' Revenge Grandpa Munster Television film 1981 Taxi Security Guard Episode: "On the Job: Part 2" 1981 Best of the West Judge Episode: "The Hanging of Parker Tillman" 1988 Super Scary Saturday Albert Einstein Grampa Episode: "War of the Gargantuas" 1990 Mathnet Ring Announcer Episode: "The Case of the Masked Avenger" 1991 Hi Honey, I'm Home Grandpa Munster Episode: "Grey Skies" 1995 Here Come the Munsters Restaurant Guest Television film
Theater Year Title Role Notes 1958 The Night Circus Owner/Bartender 1960 One More River Performer 1960–1962 Do Re Mi Moe Shtarker, Fatso O'Rear
Electoral history
References
External links