Al Lewis (actor)
| Al Lewis | |
|---|---|
Lewis in The Munsters
|
|
| Born |
Albert Meister April 30, 1923 Wolcott, New York or Brooklyn, New York City |
| Died | February 3, 2006 (aged 82) Roosevelt Island New York City |
| Other names | Grandpa Al Lewis |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1949–2006 |
| Spouse(s) |
Marge Domowitz (m. 1956; div. 1977) Karen Ingenthron (m. 1984; his death 2006) |
| Children | 3 |
Al Lewis (born Albert Meister; April 30, 1923 – February 3, 2006) was an American character actor best known for his role as Count Dracula lookalike "Grandpa", opposite Fred Gwynne's and Yvonne DeCarlo'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.
Lewis was born Albert Meister on April 30, 1923. He had originally given 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. to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. 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, although 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 sometime between 1936 and 1950, Lewis gave his date of birth as April 30, 1923. The 1940 census lists an Albert Meister born "age 16" living on Douglass Street in Brooklyn, New York.
In a 1998 interview with Walt Shepperd, Lewis said:
My mother was a worker, worked in the garment trades. My mother was an indomitable spirit. My grandfather had no sons. He had six daughters. They lived in Poland or Russia, every five years it would change. My mother being the oldest daughter, they saved their money, and when she was about sixteen they sent her to the United States, not knowing a word of English. She went to work in the garment center, worked her back and rear-end off and brought over to the United States her five sisters and two parents. I remember going on picket lines with my mother. My mother wouldn't back down to anyone.
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