Post by Mathius Young

On July 2nd, 1993, American actor, artist, & author, Fred Gwynne, died of complications from pancreatic cancer, in the cigar room at his home, 8 days short of his 67th birthday. He was known for his roles in Car 54, Where Are You? & as Herman Munster in The Munsters, as well as his later roles in The Cotton Club, Pet Seminary, & My Cousin Vinny. During World War II, Gwynne served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman on a submarine chaser. Gwynne studied art under the G.I. Bill, before attending Harvard, where he graduated in 1951. He was a member of the Fly Club, sang with the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes, was a cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon, becoming its president, & acted for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Gwynne joined the Brattle Theatre Repertory Company, after graduating, then moved to New York. In 1952 he played in his 1st Broadway role, a gangster in Mrs. McThing. Another early role was a production at City Center of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost in 1953. In 1954, he made his 1st film debut playing – in an uncredited role, the laconic character Slim, in On the Waterfront. Phil Silvers sought him for his TV show, because he had been impressed by Gwynne's comedic work in Mrs. McThing. Gwynne appeared in 2 episodes of The Phil Silvers Show, & appearances on many other shows led writer-producer, Nat Hiken, to cast him in Car 54, Where Are You?. Gwynne was 6 ft 5, which helped him be cast as Herman Munster, in The Munsters. For his role, he had to wear 40 or 50 lbs of padding, makeup, & 4-inch asphalt-spreader boots. His face was painted a bright violet, because it captured the most light on the black-&-white film. After this iconic role, he was typecast, unable to gain new character roles for over 2 years. In 1969, he was cast as Jonathan Brewster in a TV production of Arsenic & Old Lace. Gwynne then found success as a stage actor in productions across the U.S., while maintaining a low Hollywood profile. A talented vocalist, Gwynne sang in a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV production The Littlest Angel, went on to perform in a variety of roles on stage & screen. In 1974, he appeared in the role of Big Daddy Pollitt, in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In 1975, he played the Stage Manager in Our Town at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. He returned to Broadway in 1976 as Colonel J.C. Kinkaid in 2 parts of A Texas Trilogy. In 1984, Gwynne auditioned for Henry on the Punky Brewster, then withdrew, when a director identified him as Herman Munster, & not his name. Gwynne's performance as Jud Crandall in Pet Sematary was based on author Stephen King, who is an inch shorter, & uses a similarly thick Maine dialect. Gwynne also had roles in the movies Simon, On the Waterfront, So Fine, Disorganized Crime, The Cotton Club, Captains Courageous, The Secret of My Success, Water, Ironweed, Fatal Attraction, & The Boy Who Could Fly. Gwynne played Judge Chamberlain Haller in his last film, My Cousin Vinny.