Trivia: The son of a Wall Street broker, towering (6'5") actor Fred Gwynne was born sucking on the proverbial silver spoon. Gwynne attended the prestigious Groton prep school, where he made his acting bow in a student production of Henry V. He then attended Harvard, where he studying drawing with artist R.S. Merryman and was active in dramatics and as a staffer of the Harvard Crimson. Upon graduation, Gwynne played Shakespeare with the Cambridge repertory before heading to New York City. He appeared in such Broadway plays as Mrs. McThing and was cast in a bit role in the Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront, but for many years his principal source of income was as a book illustrator and commercial artist (his first published work was titled The Best in Show). In 1961, Gwynne was co-starring in the Broadway musical Irma La Douce when TV producer/writer Nat Hiken, who'd cast Gwynne in a handful of guest roles on the 1950s sitcom Sgt. Bilko, hired the actor to play NYPD officer Francis Muldoon on the weekly comedy Car 54, Where are You? A year after the series' cancellation, Gwynne was starred in his most famous TV role: bolt-necked, soft-hearted Herman Munster in The Munsters (1964-66). Afterwards, Gwynne distanced himself from television for the most part. In the 1970s and 1980s, he distinguished himself on Broadway in powerful dramatic roles, often playing autocratic Southerners (e.g. Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and an elderly Klansman in Texas Trilogy). Fred Gwynne also returned to films during this period, playing key roles in such major productions as The Cotton Club (1984) and Shadows and Fog (1992); he died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completing his critically acclaimed role of the judge in My Cousin Vinny (1993).

Trivia: Born Peggy Yvonne Middleton, Yvonne De Carlo began studying dance in childhood, and in her teens appeared in nightclubs and on-stage. She debuted onscreen in 1942, going on to a number of secondary roles. Finally she was cast in the title role of Salome -- Where She Danced (1945) and played leads in The Song of Scheherazade and Slave Girl (both 1947), after which she was typecast as an Arabian Nights-type temptress in harem attire; she also appeared frequently in Westerns, and occasionally showed talent in comedies. De Carlo was a co-star of the '60s TV sitcom The Munsters. In 1971 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Follies. She married and divorced stuntman and actor Robert Morgan. She continued appearing in occasional films through the '90s and authored Yvonne: An Autobiography (1987). De Carlo died of unspecified causes at age 84 on January 8, 2007.

Trivia: White-haired, dignified, avuncular Swiss-born character actor Felix Locher (pronounced "Lo-Shay") didn't begin acting until the age of 73, completely on a whim and through an accident of fate. The father of 1940s action star Jon Hall (born Charles Locher), Felix Locher had made his living in a multitude of capacities for much of his adult life, including inventor (he held 100 copyrights and patents relating to a unique mapping system that he used when lecturing military officers) and salesman (principally of insurance). He chanced to visit his son while the latter was preparing for the movie Hell Ship Mutiny (1957) and, seeing the script, remarked that he would be perfect to play the elderly Tahitian chief. The elder Locher not only believed that he looked the part but also that he knew how to play it, having lived in Tahiti. His son dismissed the idea, pointing out that his father had never acted, much less done anything else in front of a camera; but then he was spotted by the director of the movie, who decided that the dignified, well-spoken 73-year-old would, in fact, be perfect for the chief. Following that screen debut, Locher spent the next couple of years reading plays and doing scenes in his agent's office, and gradually started attending auditions. He got small parts on Have Gun Will Travel, The Loretta Young Show, and movies, including the ultra low-budget horror film Frankenstein's Daughter. Later that same year, Locher got the biggest movie part of his career, a Basque leader in the drama Thunder in the Sun (1959) starring Susan Hayward and Jeff Chandler. Locher remained busy on television and in movies into the '60s, appearing in more than 30 productions, and, ironically, was active for several years after his son's career had ended. His most well-remembered roles were in Frankenstein's Daughter, portraying the loving scientist uncle of the heroine, and in the second season Star Trek episode "The Deadly Years," portraying the prematurely aged and senile expedition leader Robert Johnson. Locher died in 1969 at the age of 87.

Trivia: There is more to character actor Al Lewis than meets the eye. Best known to baby boomers for playing the roles of Officer Schnauzer in Car 54 Where Are You? and Grandpa in The Munsters, he holds a doctorate in child psychology from Columbia University, has penned two children's books, produced a kid-oriented home video, and once hosted a series of Saturday morning television shows on WTBS. He has also been a circus performer, a school teacher, and a vaudevillian. Lewis became an actor after earning his degree, teaching, and writing his books. He studied with the Paul Mann Actor's Workshop in New York. On television, he first appeared in "Trouble-In-Law" on The U.S. Steel Hour (1959). The following year, Lewis appeared in the feature film Naked City and then was cast opposite Fred Gwynne in Car 54, Where Are You? The show ran until 1963 and within a year, he was playing the vampiric Grandpa against Gwynne's Frankenstein, Herman Munster. Though The Munsters lasted two years, it has developed a cult following and has re-aired endlessly in syndication and spawned a feature-length sequel, Munster Go Home (1964), and a made-for-TV reunion movie, Munster's Revenge (1981). In 1994, he reprised his role as Schnauzer for the TV-movie version of Car 54 Where Are You? Lewis has gone on to continue making occasional guest appearances on television and a sporadic movie career. In addition to his other endeavors, Lewis has been a high school basketball scout and the owner of a restaurant in New York.

Trivia: First acting gig was a Kellogg's commercial in 1960. Formed a band called Eddie and the Monsters, who released a single in 1983, recalling his role as Eddie (who looked like a wolf boy) on the 1964-66 sitcom, The Munsters. "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" was followed, in 2007, by another song, "It's Only Halloween." Took part in a motorcycling event in Carthage, NY, in 2010 to benefit the blind. Has frequently appeared at Halloween events in his Eddie Munster costume.

Trivia: Of Latin-Native American heritage, Ned Romero began his show-business career as an opera singer in 1943. From his first film, 1966's Talisman, to his most recent, Children of the Corn 2 (1993), Romero has been typecast as an Indian, usually a chief or medicine man. He played Chingachgook in two made-for-TV James Fenimore Cooper adaptations, Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans (both 1977). Ned Romero's other TV roles include Sgt. Joe Rivera in the 1970 Burt Reynolds cop series Dan August and assistant district attorney Bob Ramirez in the Jack Webb-produced The DA (1970-71).

Trivia: Character actor Len Lesser worked steadily in film and television since his film debut in Shackout on 101 (1955). Lean, dark, and bushy-browed, he was typically cast as a crook or hitman. Fans of the television sitcom Seinfeld will recognize Lesser as Uncle Leo.