
Al Lewis
Actor · 1923 – 2006 · New York City, New York, USA
An American character actor best known for his role as Count Dracula lookalike "Grandpa", opposite Fred Gwynne's and Yvonne De Carlo's characters on the CBS television series The Munsters from 1964 to 1966 and its subsequent film versions. Later in life, he was also a restaurant owner, political candidate, and radio broadcaster. His acting career begins the well-documented portion of his life. He worked in burlesque and vaudeville theaters, then on Broadway in the dramas The Night Circus (1958) and One More River (1960) and as the character Moe Shtarker in the musical comedy Do Re Mi (1962). His earliest television work includes appearances on the Beverly Garland crime drama Decoy and The Phil Silvers Show. From 1959–63, he appeared in four episodes of Naked City. Lewis' first well-known television role was as Officer Leo Schnauser on the NBC sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961–63, also starring Fred Gwynne (Lewis reprised the role in the 1994 movie of the same name). In the series, Lewis first played Al Spencer the Auto Body Man in two early first-season episodes before landing the more familiar role of Officer Schnauser. But he is best remembered as "Grandpa" on The Munsters, which ran on CBS from 1964–66. In 1967, Lewis played the part of Zalto the wizard in the Lost in Space episode, Rocket to Earth. His first role in a movie was as Machine Gun Manny in Pretty Boy Floyd (1960). He had small roles in The World of Henry Orient (1964), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), They Might Be Giants (1971). He appeared as Hanging Judge Harrison in Used Cars (1980) and had a minor role in Married to the Mob (1988). His last film role was in Night Terror (2002). Lewis was a recurring guest on The Howard Stern Show. In 1987, during a "Howard Stern Freedom Rally" against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that was broadcast live, Lewis repeatedly shouted "F*** the FCC!" until Stern was able to take the microphone away from him. Stern and the station were not punished for Lewis' comments. Unlike some actors, Lewis did not mind being typecast. He enjoyed acting out his "Grandpa" character—in the original costume—and got a surprising amount of mileage from such a short-lived role. "Why not?" he said. "It pays the bills." In 1991, he appeared as Grandpa Munster in an episode of Hi Honey, I'm Home on ABC. In 1991, he appeared in a low-budget New Zealand family movie called Grampire (My Grandpa Is a Vampire in the U.S. version), wearing much the same costume as he did in The Munsters. From 1987–89, Lewis hosted Super Scary Saturday on TBS in his Grandpa Munster outfit. This would later be parodied in Gremlins 2: The New Batch with the character of "Grandpa Fred" (Robert Prosky). [Biography from Wikipedia]
Movies23
Movie6.9CrimeDramaAfter his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.
Death Wish
1974 · 988 votes
Movie6.4ComedyWhen the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Used Cars
1980 · 306 votes
Movie6.0ComedyCrimeAngela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an affair with the mistress of mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo, Angela and her son depart for New York City to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, Tony has set his sights upon Angela -- and so has an undercover FBI agent looking to use her to bust Tony.
Married to the Mob
1988 · 342 votes
Movie7.6DramaIn the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
1969 · 383 votes
Movie6.9ComedyMysteryAfter the death of his wife, retired judge Justin Playfair creates a fantasy world for himself in which he is the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, even dressing like the character. Out of concern for Justin's money more than his health, his brother Blevins puts him under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Mildred Watson. As Dr. Watson grows fond of Justin, she begins to play along with his theories, eventually becoming an assistant in his investigations.
They Might Be Giants
1971 · 60 votes
Movie3.4HorrorEveryone in town knows the old Vincent place is haunted, but when the local Frat inherits it, we find out if the rumors are true. Two stories about witches getting ready to meet with the Devil, and a schoolteacher who never ages
Fright House
1989 · 5 votes
Movie3.4ActionComedyBrash NYC policeman Officer Gunther Toody is partnered with stiff, by-the-book Officer Francis Muldoon to protect an important mafia witness prior to testifying against orgainzed crime in Brooklyn, all the while dealing with their personal lives, overbearing spouses, common criminals, arms dealers, and their officious boss Captain Anderson.
Car 54, Where Are You?
1994 · 30 votes
Movie5.9DocumentaryPorn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy offers audiences a penetrating look inside the world of Ron Jeremy, America's most unlikely sex star and hero to millions. With nearly 25 years in the adult film industry and over 1,600 films to his credit, Ron Jeremy is huge. In his world, Ron reigns supreme-he's made millions of dollars and slept with thousands of beautiful women, and is indisputably the industry's biggest star. And everyone who's anyone knows Ron-a pop icon to millions, he is a beacon of hope for many American male, since he stands as living proof that pretty much anyone can get some. So how did such a classically unhandsome, big and hairy guy ever get to be suchia super stud? In one of the most fascinating and entertaining comedies of the last year, audiences finally get a chance to get inside the life and times of Ron Jeremy, and find out what's really behind the hardest working man in show business.
Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy
2001 · 34 votes
Movie5.2HorrorComedyThe Munsters come to America to search for Herman's brother-in-law Norman Hyde, only to find out that he has turned himself into Brent Jekyll, who is running for congress, and Grandpa must make a formula to change Norman back.
Here Come the Munsters
1995 · 27 votes
Movie6.1DramaAnimationA multi-layered satire of race relations in America. Live-action sequences of a prison break bracket the animated tale of Brother Rabbit, Brother Bear, and Preacher Fox, who rise to the top of the crime ranks in Harlem by going up against a con-man, a racist cop, and the Mafia.
Coonskin
1975 · 152 votes
Movie6.3HorrorMysteryA mad scientist captures young women and drains their blood, in order to keep alive an ancient, evil duchess.
Movie6.7TV MovieHorrorAfter being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
The Night Strangler
1973 · 85 votes
Movie8.0HistoryDocumentaryBefore there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny piece of New York real estate was internationally famous. On summer Sundays, three great pleasure domes--Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland--competed for the patronage of a half-million people. By day it was the world's most amazing amusement park, by night, an electric "Eden".
Coney Island
1991 · 2 votes
Movie6.4ComedyFamilyHerman discovers he's the new lord of Munster Hall in England. The family sails to Britain, where they receive a tepid welcome from Lady Effigy and Freddie Munster, who throws tantrums because he wasn't named Lord Munster. An on-board romance had blossomed between Marilyn and Roger, but on land Marilyn discovers Roger's family holds a longstanding grudge against the Munsters.
Munster, Go Home!
1966 · 75 votes
- Movie7.0Comedy
This action comedy is based on The New York City Cab Driver's Joke Book by Jim Pietsch and centers on a painfully shy cab driver who discovers that telling jokes brings him badly needed attention, and so he goes a little overboard.
Comic Cabby
1987 · 1 votes
Movie5.9ComedyDramaA mischievous, adventuresome fourteen-year-old girl and her best friend begin following an eccentric concert pianist around New York City after she develops a crush on him.
The World of Henry Orient
1964 · 52 votes
Movie6.0ComedyCrimeThe lovable Munster family finds their placid world turned into turmoil by the diabolical Dr. Diablo, the mastermind of an art heist using monster robots, including clones of Herman and Grandpa.
The Munsters' Revenge
1981 · 34 votes
Movie8.0ComedyFantasyIt’s the frighteningly funny Munsters like you’ve never seen them before! For the firs time ever, the unforgettable “Family Portrait” comes to DVD in full color as well as the original black and white. Get ready for thrills, chills and laughs as the quirky Munsters sine the title of “The Average American Family,” but Grandpa jeopardizes their prize money.
The Munsters: Family Portrait
2008 · 2 votes
Movie5.3ComedyFamilyYoung and awkward, The Coast-Guard's ensign Thomas Garland suffers from the comparison with his late father, a war hero. Which does not prevent him from falling for pretty Kate Fairchild, a young woman who runs a sailing school. Of course the way he expresses his deep sympathy for the lady leaves to be desired. And the situation does not improve when a trio of bumbling jewel thieves interferes.
The Boatniks
1970 · 30 votes
Movie5.3ActionAdventureWhen a car thief can't resist stealing one more car, she finds herself in possession of $2.7 million mob money, and the mob's counterfeit printing plates. The mobsters and corrupt cops don't take kindly for this, and the chase soon begins.
Fast Money
1996 · 6 votes
Movie3.4ComedyBrothers come to the aid of their uncle, who bet his Miami beach-sports school on a fixed volleyball game.
South Beach Academy
1996 · 11 votes
Movie5.0DocumentaryAl Goldstein, the controversial adult magazine publisher, is up against the odds as he takes on the D.A., the press and an even larger nightmare: irrelevancy all in a little courthouse in Brooklyn.
Porn King: The Trials Of Al Goldstein
2005 · 8 votes
Movie4.3HorrorCollege kids investigating a derelict fun house, unwittingly resurrect Donnie, a psychopath who died in the haunt twenty-years earlier. Mayhem ensues.
Night Terror
2002 · 3 votes
Series20
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Merv Griffin Show
1962 · 12 votes
TV6.2ComedyAn anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
Love, American Style
1969 · 21 votes
TV6.5DocumentaryTV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
American Experience
1988 · 48 votes
TV5.7DramaCrimeNaked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
Naked City
1958 · 13 votes
TV7.3ComedyDramaLouie De Palma is a cantankerous, acerbic taxi dispatcher in New York City. He tries to maintain order over a collection of varied and strange characters who drive for him. As he bullies and insults them from the safety of his “cage,” they form a special bond among themselves, becoming friends and supporting each other through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life.
Taxi
1978 · 182 votes
TV6.7DramaCrimeAfter discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.
Route 66
1960 · 20 votes
TV7.1ComedyFamilyGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy Griffith Show on May 18, 1964. The show ran for five seasons and a total of 150 episodes. In 2006, CBS Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD. The final season was released in November 2008. The series was created by Aaron Ruben, who also produced the show with Sheldon Leonard and Ronald Jacobs. Filmed and set in California, it stars Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, a naive but good-natured gas-station attendant from the town of Mayberry, North Carolina, who enlists in the United States Marine Corps. Frank Sutton plays Gomer's high-octane, short-fused Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter, and Ronnie Schell plays Gomer's friend Gilbert "Duke" Slater. Allan Melvin played in the recurring role of Gunnery Sergeant Carter's rival, Sergeant Charley Hacker. The series never discussed nor addressed the then-current Vietnam War, instead focusing on the relationship between Gomer and Sergeant Carter. The show retained high ratings throughout its run.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
1964 · 35 votes
TV7.8Sci-Fi & FantasyMysteryRod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.
Night Gallery
1970 · 112 votes
TV7.3Sci-Fi & FantasyComedyThe space family Robinson is sent on a five-year mission to find a new planet to colonise. The voyage is sabotaged time and again by an inept stowaway, Dr. Zachary Smith. The family's spaceship, Jupiter II, also carries a friendly robot who endures an endless stream of abuse from Dr. Smith, but is a trusted companion of young Will Robinson
Lost in Space
1965 · 137 votes
TV7.2ComedyGreen Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a rural country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965 to April 27, 1971. Receiving solid ratings during its six-year run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971 as part of the "rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been in syndication and is available in DVD and VHS releases. In 1997, the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
Green Acres
1965 · 80 votes
TV6.7ComedyLucille Ball's third network sitcom, following I Love Lucy (1951–57) and The Lucy Show (1962–68).
Here's Lucy
1968 · 31 votes
TV7.9ComedySci-Fi & FantasyA family of friendly monsters that have misadventures all while never quite understanding why people react to them so strangely.
The Munsters
1964 · 485 votes
TV7.1ComedyThe Phil Silvers Show, originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, was a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army. The series was created and largely written by Nat Hiken, and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly-regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator.
The Phil Silvers Show
1955 · 24 votes
TV6.3ComedyDramaThe United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation.
The United States Steel Hour
1953 · 6 votes
TV7.5DocumentaryThe history of the sport of baseball in America, told through archival photos, film footage, and the words of those who contributed to the game in each era. Writers, historians, players, baseball personnel, and fans review key events and the significance of the game in America's history.
Baseball
1994 · 46 votes
TV6.5DramaCrimeNew York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city. Decoy is a groundbreaking American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with thirty-nine 30-minute black-and-white episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist. Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.
Decoy
1957 · 8 votes
TV6.8ComedyWesternAn unwitting city slicker is made the marshal of a lawless town in this absurdist Western that pokes gentle but clever fun at the genre's stock plots and characters. Best of the West is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 1981 through August 1982.
Best of the West
1981 · 5 votes
TV7.3ComedyThe misadventures of two of New York's finest in the 53rd precinct in the Bronx. Toody, the short, stocky and dim-witted one, either saves the day or messes things up, much to the chagrin of Muldoon, the tall, lanky and smart one.
Car 54, Where Are You?
1961 · 15 votes
TV5.2Hi Honey, I'm Home! is an American television sitcom that ran from July 19, 1991, to July 12, 1992 for 13 episodes. Each week, a new episode of the series aired on ABC as part of its Friday night TGIF lineup. The same episode would re-air Sunday night on Nickelodeon as part of the channel's Nick at Nite lineup. ABC stopped airing the series after the sixth episode of the first season. The show's second season only aired on Nick at Nite before being cancelled in July 1992. The series was taped before a live audience in Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida.
Hi Honey, I'm Home!
1991 · 6 votes
- TVComedyDrama
A hosted horror movie show with Al Lewis as "Grampa", hosting a series of horror movies every Saturday on TBS Superstation.