Grandpa (The Munsters)
| Count Sam Dracula | |
|---|---|
| The Munsters character | |
 Al Lewis as Grandpa. |
|
| First appearance | "Munster Masquerade" |
| Last appearance | "A Visit from the Teacher" |
| Portrayed by | Al Lewis (1964–1966; 1973; 1981) Howard Morton (1988–1991) Robert Morse (1995) Sandy Baron (1996) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Grandpa |
| Species | human (vampire) |
| Gender | male |
| Occupation | former voivode |
| Spouse(s) | 166, all unnamed (see Grandma) |
| Children | Lily Munster, Lester Dracula, and Marilyn's mother |
| Relatives | Marilyn Munster (granddaughter) Eddie Munster (grandson) Ronald (cousin) Humphrey (cousin) Boris (uncle; deceased) George (uncle; deceased) |
| Nationality | American (formerly Romanian) |
| age | 597[note 1] |
| born | 1367 |
| residence | 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights |
Sam Dracula, Count of Transylvania (known as "Grandpa"), is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Al Lewis.[1] The doting, irritable, and sarcastic father of Lily Munster, Grandpa is an undead vampire.[2] The role was later played by Howard Morton in the 1980s television series The Munsters Today.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
A running gag in the television series is his extreme age - his car, the DRAG-U-LA bearing his gravestone reading "born 1367–?" - and he talks of having personally known various figures through history, including Nero, King Arthur, Richard the Lionheart and Jack the Ripper. He describes having been married many times, and although his wives are all dead, he still keeps in touch with them.
His identity as Count Dracula is also alluded to in the series. For example, in the episode "The Musician", Mr. Gateman refers to him as "Count Dracula" when he comes to dinner.
[edit] Description
Grandpa keeps a laboratory in the cellar of the house, and often refers to "going down to the lab." The potions and magic spells he devises there are central to many of the show's stories. Many of his inventions are less than successful, but he never stops thinking up new ones.
Grandpa can transform himself into a wolf or a bat, as per Bram Stoker's Dracula. In "Herman's Sorority Caper" and Munster, Go Home! it is revealed that he takes special pills to turn himself into these creatures.
Grandpa has an extremely sarcastic personality, and often insults his son-in-law Herman. Despite this, Grandpa and Herman are quite close; in one episode, Lily says that if not for Herman, Grandpa would be "living in a cave picking fleas out of his wings". Most of the Munsters episodes revolve around the zany schemes Grandpa and Herman concoct, which either end successfully or result in Lily scolding the two for their failure.
Grandpa has a pet bat named Igor who "hangs around" in Grandpa's lab.
Grandpa doesn't always display the traits that are commonly associated with vampires. For example, in one episode he looks in the mirror and casts a reflection. Traditionally, vampires do not cast reflections. However, a running gag on the show is Grandpa's attempts to bite someone on the arm which usually end in failure. Instead, Grandpa is depicted as a goofish yet loveable mad scientist.
[edit] Other media; cultural references
In The Munsters Today, Grandpa's name was Vladimir Dracula (reflecting Vladislav Dracula).
In an episode of The Simpsons, when Marge Simpson exclaims that she can see "grandpa", Homer Simpson responds expectantly "Grandpa Munster?", only to be disappointingly told "no, Grandpa Simpson". In the intro of a "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Grandpa was parodied as the similar character.
Robert Prosky as Grandpa Fred, in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, is dressed in a similar outfit, hairstyle, and makeup.
In 1987, Al Lewis reprised the character as the host of TBS's Super Scary Saturday movie. The program aired each Saturday at noon from October of 1987 to the fall of 1989. The name "Munsters" was never referred to in the show or its promotion and Lewis's character was simply referred to as "Grandpa".
Atari licensed the likeness of Al Lewis for the video game Midnight Mutants. However, as with the "Super Scary Saturday" movie, the name "Munster" does not appear anywhere in the game.
Democratic Senator (MI) Carl Levin bears some resemblance to Al Lewis, which inspired Jon Stewart of The Daily Show to jokingly refer to Sen. Levin as "Grandpa Munster".
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- ^ "Al Lewis, 95, Is Dead; Played Grandpa on 'The Munsters'". The New York Times. 2006-02-05. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE4DE173EF936A35751C0A9609C8B63&scp=6&sq=the%20munsters&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ King, Susan (1991-06-16). "Old Munsters Never Die". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-16/news/tv-1211_1_munsters-today. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
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