Huh… while digging for material about Yvonne DeCarlo, I learned that her Munsters co-star Al Lewis died just under a year ago, on February 3, 2006, at the age of 82. Somehow that little tidbit slipped past my notice. Here is an NPR obit for him.

He must’ve been quite a character. According to that article, he operated a restaurant in Greenwich Village, at which he was frequently present to sign autographs and pose for pictures. He once got the radio time-delay button pressed on him for getting obscene on the Howard Stern show. He even turned up on a DVD about punk band The Ramones. But this was the bit that made me chuckle:

In 2000, a ponytailed Lewis ran as the Green Party candidate against incumbent Gov. George Pataki. Lewis campaigned against draconian drug laws and the death penalty, while going to court in a losing battle to have his name appear on the ballot as “Grandpa Al Lewis.”

In 2000, he must’ve been around 76 years old. I hope I’m still rattling chains and wearing a ponytail when I’m 76. Rest in peace, Grandpa Munster…