Count Vladimir Dracula | |
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The Munsters character | |
Al Lewis as Grandpa.
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First appearance | "Munster Masquerade" |
Last appearance | "A Visit from the Teacher" |
Portrayed by |
Al Lewis (1964–1966; 1973; 1981) Howard Morton (1988–1991) Robert Morse (1995) Sandy Baron (1996) Eddie Izzard (2012) |
Information | |
Nickname(s) | Grandpa |
Species | human (vampire) |
Gender | male |
Occupation | former voivode |
Spouse(s) | 166, all unnamed (see Grandma) |
Children | Lily Munster, Lester Dracula, and Marilyn's mother |
Relatives |
Marilyn Munster (granddaughter) Eddie Munster (grandson) Ronald (cousin) Humphrey (cousin) Boris (uncle; deceased) George (uncle; deceased) |
Nationality | American (formerly Romanian) |
age | 597 |
born | 1367 |
residence | 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights |
Vladimir Dracula, Count of Transylvania (known as "Grandpa"), is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Al Lewis. The doting, irritable, and sarcastic father of Lily Munster, Grandpa is an undead vampire. The role was later played by Howard Morton in the 1980s television series The Munsters Today.
A running gag in both the original series and follow up The Munsters Today is his extreme age - his car, the DRAG-U-LA bearing his gravestone - reading "born 1367–?". Grandpa talks of having personally known various figures throughout history, including Nero, King Arthur, Richard the Lionheart and Jack the Ripper. Grandpa declares his age as 378 years in the episode "Grandpa's Lost Wife" (airdate: February 3, 1966), placing his date of birth in the year 1588. In The Munsters Today episode "Its My Party and I'll Die if I Want To" (airdate: October 2, 1991) Grandpa celebrates his 402nd birthday. The family uses a time machine and brings back significant people from his life, including his friend Genghis Khan, brother Yorga (played by Sandy Barron who played Grandpa in the 1995 TV movie The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas), a former girlfriend "Shirley Zlebnik", and his overbearing Mother (played by actress Ruth Buzzi).
In the episode "Munster Masquerade", Grandpa describes having been married "167 times", and although his wives are "all dead", he still keeps "in touch with them". Grandpa's wife, Lily's Mother, makes an emotional appearance in The Munsters Today series in 1990, in the episode "Once In a Blue Moon" (airdate: September 18, 1990).