Al Lewis, remembered for his wacky and endearing performance as Grandpa Munster on the 1960s sitcom The Munsters, died Friday in New York after several years of failing health. His son Ted said that his father was 82, though he was widely reported to have been 95. With his arched eyebrows, prominent nose and starchy tuxedo, Lewis' role as a recognizable TV icon never was eclipsed by his work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate. He got his start in show business as a teenager, working as a circus roustabout and performing as a clown, unicycle rider and trapeze artist. For the Big Tent, Lewis had created his own medicine show, conjuring up elixir in his bathtub. He played in a couple of 1950s Broadway comedies. Then came live television, and soon Lewis became known to sitcom fans for his wheezy performance as Lt. Leo Schnauzer on Car 54, Where Are You? (1961-63). He appeared in the 1994 movie of the same title.
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