Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 - July 2, 1993) was a 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) American actor, best known for starring in the television sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters. For his role as Herman Munster he had to wear 40 or 50 lb (20 kg) of padding and makeup, and a story goes that once he sweated off ten pounds (5 kg) in a day of filming. Earlier he was in the cast of The Phil Silvers Show as a man of enormous appetite that Sgt. Bilko entered in a pie-eating contest--then found out he could only consume mass quantities when depressed.

His performance as Jud Crandall in Pet Sematary was based on author Stephen King himself, who is also quite tall--only an inch shorter than the actor--and has a thick Maine drawl.

Gwynne's last performance was as the judge in the 1992 movie comedy, My Cousin Vinny.

Gwynne graduated from Harvard University in 1951. In addition to his acting career, Gwynne sang professionally and wrote and illustrated children's books, including A Chocolate Moose for Dinner.

He died after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer in Taneytown, Maryland at the age of 66.

External links

• Gwynne tribute on munsters.com
• The Fred Gwynne Appreciation Page