I ENTERTAINMENT 1
T
wo
ways to enjoy
This Jewish Grandpa
Was a TV Vampire
a home-cooked
Thanksgiving dinner
without doing
the home cooking.
RITA CHARLESTON
Special to The Jewish News
H
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At Your Place. Or serve our Thanksgiving Day Feast To Go in the privacy of your
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You're spared the work, but get all the pleasure. Suitable for 8-10 people, $15000. Place your
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JE
NOVI HILTON
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V
AL
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.gine
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92
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1990
e may not be like
any Jewish grand-
father you or I ever
had. But you can call him the
funniest Jewish grand-
father-turned-vampire who
ever lived and Al Lewis won't
mind the comparison one bit.
After all, as Grandpa in the
old TV series "The
Munsters," Mr. Lewis gained
more recognition than almost
any of his other professional
roles ever afforded him. And
the little boy who ran away
from his home in upstate New
York when he was just 12
years old to join the circus,
takes the recognition, and
even the role which gave his
face worldwide prominence,
in stride.
He says his portrayal of the
patriarchal vampire never
stigmatized him or prevented
him from doing anything else
he's ever wanted to do. "If be-
ing Grandpa hindered me in
any way professionally," Mr.
Lewis says, "I've never been
aware of it. Oh, people might
have said things like, 'We're
not hiring funny vampires
this week,' or 'This is not the
season for comic vampires.'
But I never heard it. After all,
that show was done 26 years
ago and I've never been out of
work since."
Prior to the series that
made him a hit, Mr. Lewis ap-
peared in another TV classic,
"Car 54 Where Are You?"
He's recently returned from
Toronto where he recreated
his role as Leo Schnauzer in
a new "Car 54" movie. The
only other member of the
original cast to appear in the
film, which is due for release
sometime next year, is Nipsy
Russell, who played the
dispatcher on TV and returns
as the captain of police in the
movie.
"I'm also working on
another movie deal for a film
that may be made in New
Zealand and will be another
vampire-type spoof," says Mr.
Lewis, who, despite his 80
years, seems as playful as
ever. "I just keep going and
going. I promise you I'll still
be around for the next 80
years doing whatever I can to
make people laugh. That's
what I love doing the most.
That's my particular kind of
insanity. Or perhaps that's
my penance."
Hardly. Mr. Lewis has used
his comedic and acting
talents in every entertain-
ment venue. There was radio,
Al Lewis:
26 years of comedy.
including stints on "The Mer-
cury Theater," "The Shadow"
and "Jack Armstrong." There
were pictures like They Shoot
Horses, Don't They? and Mar-
ried to the Mob. There was
Broadway, including Do Re
Me. And there were commer-
cials, TV pilots and much,
much more.
Indeed, he seems to have
done it all. And the thing he
finds most enjoyable is work-
ing in front of live audiences.
"It's not that I find the
other things distasteful," Mr.
Lewis explains. "I did 18
years of radio, for instance,
and enjoyed those days im-
mensely. I enjoy playing with
people's imagination. But the
immediacy and the at-
mosphere and all the live
kinetic energy that goes with
doing a live performance,
from the circus to a Broadway
show, can't be beat. You know,
audiences don't care how good
you were last night. They
paid their money for tonight's
performance and that's all
they care about. So it's a
challenge. And although peo-
ple obviously know me best
from the little screen, emo-
tionally, metabolically and
every other way, for me per-
forming in front of live au-
diences is where it's at. Ah
yes, I've done it all and have
loved every minute of it.
"About the only thing I
haven't done yet is Willy
Loman," he says, speaking of
the dramatic Death of a
Salesman role. "But maybe
that's next, who knows?
About the only thing he
does know for sure is that he
has no intention of ever retir-
ing from the limelight. Right
now, besides being a frequent
guest on the Howard Stern
show and making dozens of