When The Munsters premiered on CBS in 1964, it gave viewers one of television’s strangest sitcom families. The series followed Herman Munster, played by Fred Gwynne; his wife, Lily Munster, played by Yvonne De Carlo; Grandpa, played by Al Lewis; son Eddie Munster, played by Butch Patrick; and niece Marilyn Munster, first played by Beverley Owen and later by Pat Priest. They looked like monsters, but they lived like a regular suburban family. Gwynne played Herman, the father with a Frankenstein-like physique and a gentle soul. He made Herman one of the most beloved sitcom dads of the 1960s.
Gwynne was born Frederick Hubbard Gwynne on July 10, 1926, in New York City. His life before television was much more interesting than you may realize. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then went on to Harvard, where he became involved with the Harvard Lampoon, sang with the Harvard Krokodiloes, and performed with Hasty Pudding Theatricals.