Fred Gwynne

Fred Gwynne (born July 10, 1926, New York, New York, U.S.—died July 2, 1993, Taneytown, Maryland, U.S.) was an American actor and writer who possessed a lanky and towering physique, which, coupled with his distinctive high forehead and long-jawed, dour face, made him a natural to portray the Frankensteinian Herman Munster, a lugubrious funeral director and patriarch of the ghoulish yet kindly family on the hit television series The Munsters (1964–66).

The Harvard-educated Gwynne, who once aspired to become a portrait painter, was for several years an advertising copywriter for the J. Walter Thompson agency and, from 1958 to 1988, wrote and illustrated a number of children’s books. He made his Broadway debut as a gangster named Stinker in Mrs. McThing (1952), with Helen Hayes, following that role with another onstage as a police officer in Irma La Douce. That portrayal led to Gwynne’s being cast as Francis Muldoon, a bumbling New York City policeman who partnered officer Gunther Toody on the television comedy series Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–63).

Though Gwynne was best remembered as lovable Herman Munster, he enjoyed a diverse career that encompassed serious roles, notably Big Daddy in the celebrated 1974 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He also won an Obie award for best actor for his work in the Off-Broadway play Grand Magic (1979). Gwynne’s film credits include On the Waterfront (1954), Munster Go Home (1966), The Cotton Club (1984), and Fatal Attraction (1987), and he won particular notice for his performances in the horror film Pet Sematary (1989) and the comedy My Cousin Vinny (1992).