Hvem er skuespilleren der spillede herman munster?
Fred Gwynne
Fred Gwynne
I 1954 havde han sin første filmoptræden i en ukrediteret rolle som den lakoniske karakter "Slim" i den Oscar-vindende film On the Waterfront, hvor han spillede over for Marlon Brando og Lee J. Cobb. Kort efter søgte Phil Silvers ham til sit tv-show, fordi han var blevet imponeret af Gwynnes komiske arbejde i Mrs. McThing. Som følge heraf havde Gwynne i 1955 en mindeværdig optræden i The Phil Silvers Show i afsnittet "The Eating Contest" som korporal Ed Honnergar, hvis depressive spisevanvid udnyttes af sergent Bilko (Phil Silvers), der søger præmiepenge ved at tilmelde Honnergar til en ædekonkurrence. Gwynnes anden optræden i The Phil Silvers Show (i afsnittet "Its For The Birds" i 1956, hvor Bilko overtaler fugleeksperten Honnergar til at deltage i The $64.000 Question) og mange andre shows fik forfatteren og produceren Nat Hiken til at give ham rollen i sitcom'en Car 54, Where Are You? som patruljemand Francis Muldoon, over for Joe E. Ross. I løbet af de to sæsoner af programmet mødte han sin mangeårige ven og senere medspiller, Al Lewis. Gwynne var 1,96 m høj, hvilket var en egenskab, der bidrog til, at han blev castet som Herman Munster, en fjollet parodi på Frankensteins monster, i sitcom'en The Munsters. Til sin rolle måtte han bære 40 eller 50 pund polstring, makeup og 4-tommers asfaltsprederstøvler. Hans ansigt blev malet i en lysende violet farve, fordi det fangede mest lys på den sort-hvide film. Gwynne var kendt for sin humoristiske sans og bevarede gode minder om Herman og sagde senere i sit liv: "... Jeg kan lige så godt fortælle dig sandheden. Jeg elsker gamle Herman Munster. Selvom jeg prøver at lade være, kan jeg ikke holde op med at holde af den fyr." Efter sin ikoniske rolle i The Munsters fandt han sig selv typecastet og var ude af stand til at få nye karakterroller i over to år. I 1969 fik han rollen som Jonathan Brewster i en tv-produktion af Arsenic and Old Lace. (Brewster-figuren var oprindeligt blevet spillet af Boris Karloff i Broadway-teateropsætningen af stykket; Karloff havde også spillet den berømte Frankenstein-figur i filmene, som Gwynnes Herman Munster-figur senere skulle være baseret på).
Fred Gwynne
Fred Gwynne
In 1954 he made his first cinematic appearance playing - in an uncredited role - the laconic character "Slim" in the Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront opposite Marlon Brando and Lee J. Cobb. Shortly afterwards Phil Silvers sought him out for his television show because he had been impressed by Gwynne's comedic work in Mrs. McThing. As a result, in 1955, Gwynne made a memorable appearance on The Phil Silvers Show, in the episode "The Eating Contest" as the character Corporal Ed Honnergar, whose depressive eating binges are exploited by Sgt. Bilko (Phil Silvers), who seeks prize money by entering Honnergar in an eating contest. Gwynne's second appearance on The Phil Silvers Show (in the episode "Its For The Birds" in 1956 in which Bilko persuades bird expert Honnergar to go on The $64,000 Question) and many other shows led writer-producer Nat Hiken to cast him in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? as Patrolman Francis Muldoon, opposite Joe E. Ross. During the two-season run of the program he met longtime friend and later co-star, Al Lewis. Gwynne was 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall, an attribute that contributed to his being cast as Herman Munster, a goofy parody of Frankenstein's monster, in the sitcom The Munsters. For his role he had to wear 40 or 50 lbs of padding, makeup, and 4-inch asphalt-spreader boots. His face was painted a bright violet because it captured the most light on the black-and-white film. Gwynne was known for his sense of humor and retained fond recollections of Herman, saying in later life, "... 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." After his iconic role in The Munsters, he found himself typecast, unable to gain new character roles for over two years. In 1969, he was cast as Jonathan Brewster in a television production of Arsenic and Old Lace. (The Brewster character had originally been played by Boris Karloff in the Broadway theater production of the play; Karloff had also famously played the movies' Frankenstein character that Gwynne's Herman Munster character would later be based on.)
Fred Gwynne