Al Lewis, known to many
as Grandpa Munster on The Munsters, died last night at his home in New York. Lewis had suffered from years of
failing health and died with his wife at his bedside.Lewis only spent two years on television as Grandpa Munster, but he apparently carried on the persona for years. He owned a New York restaurant called Grandpa's and, a few years ago, he ran as a Green Party candidate against NY Gov. George Pataki where he tried to have the name 'Grandpa Al Lewis' on the ballot but was unsuccessful. He did get 52,000 votes in the election, however. Most recently, he hosted a weekly radio program on WBAI-FM. This morning, in place of his regularly scheduled show, the station's program director announced Lewis' death.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-04-2006 @ 7:24PM
Jason Anderson said...
Noooo! Oh man! This is so sad. I'm only 26, but I grew up watching old sitcoms. And even for me it's sad that so many of my beloved characters are dying out like light bulbs on the Christmas tree of life.
I dread the day I read the "Dick Van Dyke" headline. :-(
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2-05-2006 @ 4:36PM
Joel Keller said...
It's kind of odd that his family corrected the initial reports of Al's age; he was first reported to be 95. I mean, how can people slip up by thirteen years!? I get the feeling that Al really *was* 95; I find it hard to believe he was 42 years old when he played Grandpa on The Munsters....
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2-06-2006 @ 12:03PM
Sean P. Aune said...
He was born in 1910...do the math folks, or watch any of the gajillion news stories that said he was 95.
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3-09-2006 @ 9:10AM
Joel said...
Al Lewis was born in 1923. My father (who was born in 1923) was a classmate of his in elementary school in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.
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