Whether he was whipping up magical potions in the basement of 1313 Mockingbird Lane or being lewd on the Howard Stern Show, it was hard not to love the late Al Lewis, of course best known for playing Grandpa Munster on the original Munsters TV series as well as in three subsequent films. Though he played the role for the last time in the 1981 TV movie, The Munsters' Revenge, Lewis' last hurrah as America's grampire came later in the 80's, in the form of a 1-900 hotline number. It was a time when pretty much everyone had one, including Freddy Krueger, and the idea of Lewis' was that a call to the number would enroll children in the 'Jr. Vampires Of America' club ... and cost their parents a ton of money in the process.
Check out the vintage commercial for the hotline, which features ole Al as a sort of hybrid of himself and the Grandpa Munster character. I'd imagine since the hotline had nothing to do with the actual show, Al wasn't allowed to look exactly like the character he made famous. Or he just didn't care to.
Either way, enjoy this week's Vintage Video Of The Week, fellow Munsters lovers!
Al Lewis sadly passed away back in 2006, a few years after losing most of his right leg and the toes on his left, due to complications from an angioplasty. The end isn't pretty folks, even for a vampire.
Love ya Al, always and forever.
1 comment:
I'm surprised they didn't tell kids to call at night instead of the day
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