Who is Fred Gwynne

In 1955 Fred appeared on The Phil Silvers Show as a character named Private Honigan along with Sergeant Bilko. He went on the appear as a guest in many different television programs which led to his being cast in his first regular television role as the character of Francis Muldoon in Car 54, Where Are You? which aired from 1961 to 1963 on NBC.

Perhaps his most well known, and loved, role was that of Herman Munster in the 1960s sitcom The Munsters (One of my all time favorite shows!) which ran from 1964 to 1966. The fact that Fred was 6' 5" tall certainly helped in getting him the role as Herman, a Frankenstein-like monster but he still had to wear 4 inch elevator shoes and nearly 50 pounds of makeup and padding! His role as Herman led him to being "type-cast" and caused him difficulty in finding new roles. Gwynne was asked whether he hated the Herman Munster character because of this and he replied, "I might as well tell you the truth. I love old Herman Munster. Much as I try not to, I can't stop liking that fellow."

Fred also worked in other movies such as Arsenic and Old Lace, Stephen King's Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny.

Munster, Go Home (1966)
The Littlest Angel (1969)
Captains Courageous (1977)
Sanctuary of Fear (1979)
Luna (1979)
Simon (1980)
The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg (1980)
The Munsters' Revenge (1981)
Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is a Friend of Mine (1981)
The Mysterious Stranger (1982)
The Christmas Star (1986)
Vanishing Act (1986)
The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
The Secret of My Success (1987)
Ironweed (1987)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
The Land Before Time (1988)
Pet Sematary (1989)
Disorganized Crime (1989)
Shadows and Fog (1992)
My Cousin Vinny (1992)