Inside Fred Gwynne’s Life: Secrets About The Munsters Actor Revealed

The Fact About His Top

The Munster household patriarch regarded extremely tall in costume whereas starring within the sitcom as Frankenstein’s monster from 1964 to 1966. So how tall was he when the boots got here off?

“Everybody regarded as much as Herman Munster — he was 7 toes tall!” Butch Patrick, who performed son Eddie on The Munsters, revealed. Fred was 6’5″ with out his Frankenstein boots.

Fred Gwynne Was a Man of Many Abilities

“When he wasn’t on digital camera, he was taking part in a guitar or telling jokes. He was a multitalented man,” Butch stated. He was even in a position to put his guitar expertise to make use of throughout episodes of the present!

His Sense of Humor Translated Off Display Too

“Fred was very educated and had an important humorousness, however he was a really critical man and an important artist and musician,” Butch revealed.

He Had a Nice Bond With Butch Patrick

A father of 5 who died at 66 in 1993, Fred was additionally beneficiant along with his time. “He took me to my first hockey sport,” Butch shared. “We went into the locker room after, and it was wonderful to see the gamers up shut — none of them had any tooth!”

Fred Gwynne Performed Pranks on Set

Fred stored issues enjoyable and light-hearted on set by taking part in pranks on the solid.

“I keep in mind doing an exterior shot within the Munster Koach,” Butch advised Nearer in August 2024. “We get in, Fred takes off, and as a substitute of turning round, he continues out the entrance gate of Common Studios and leaves the property, driving as much as the Hollywood Bowl. The funniest factor about it was the individuals on the road watching us drive by in full make-up, freaking out!”

It Wasn’t Simple Being a Munster

It wasn’t all the time straightforward channeling the Munsters character, which required a dramatic make-up transformation.

“The Munsters was terribly laborious for Fred to do. He was already 6-foot-5-and-a-half inches they usually put him in these buildup footwear through which he may hardly stroll,” Geoffrey Mark, author and codirector of the 2002 documentary Behind the Fame: The Munsters/Addams Household, as soon as advised Nearer. “And, after all, make-up that took hours to placed on day-after-day. Al Lewis was 6-foot-2, and he’s staring up at Fred, as a result of now he’s a lot taller. On prime of that, it’s not straightforward to do comedy with out an viewers. After which, anytime you play a personality like Herman, there’s a boomerang impact. If the present goes nicely, you received’t be regarded as the rest.”

He Confronted Private Tragedy

Fred welcomed 5 youngsters with spouse Jean “Cunning” Reynard. Their son Dylan tragically drowned in a household pool in 1963 earlier than his 1st birthday.

“It had such a devastating impact on him,” Geoffrey stated, “however he stored that very a lot to himself. When he was appearing, he acted, however offscreen he was a bereaved dad or mum. Between all of that and the way laborious he was discovering it to get work, he purchased a farmhouse in Maryland and retreated into that very personal life.”

Inside His Profession After The Munsters

Following his success on The Munsters, Fred returned to Broadway for Cat on a Sizzling Tin Roof.

“It’s not that he didn’t work in any respect, it’s simply that there wasn’t one other excessive profile sitcom. What he grew to become was a beautiful, well-paid character actor,” Geoffrey stated. “He went again to Broadway and was a star there, as a result of he may play all types of elements. He was Broadway-trained and will reside quietly working onstage, after which slipping away again to the suburbs to get distant from all of it. That’s how he lived his life.”