the munsters was one of the most successful sitcoms of the 60s taking advantage of the
public's infatuation with classic monster movies the show followed a family whose members were all
based off of classic monsters from frankenstein's monster to dracula in the role of father herman
munster was fred quinn tasked with playing a spot-on caricature of frankenstein's monster
as one might imagine the heavy makeup and costume took an incredible toll on the actor and his
health join facts first as we explore how fred quinn almost died for the monsters the monsters
ran from 1964 to 66. although the series only lasted two seasons it continued to air in reruns
after its initial airing and is still considered one of the most popular sitcoms of its time
the show was centered on the novel premise of following a typical sitcom family that happened to
be made up of caricatures of classic monsters the grandfather was essentially dracula and the father
was essentially frankenstein's monster fred guin played the latter he was born in new york city
on july 10 1926. his father was a partner in a notable securities firm known as gwen brothers and
his mother was a performance artist who had gained some fame around the city thanks to her various
comedic characters such as sunny jim fred's parents had two other children who both died well
before their time these were the first of several tragic deaths fred experienced over his lifetime
much of fred's childhood was spent in the states of colorado florida and south carolina despite
the fact he was born and initially raised in new york city fred's father was forced to move
around continuously due to his work sadly his father died while fred was still young he had
gone to the doctors for a fairly innocuous sinus operation that freakishly turned deadly after
an unfortunate mistake the loss of his father was devastating to fred who was only eight at the time
a few years later he began going through the growth spurts that would lead him towards his
eventual staggering height of 6'5 of course this came to his advantage when playing frankenstein's
monster many years later on the monsters however fred still had a long ways to go before life took
him on the path to success fred had a hard time fitting in with his peers before his growth spurts
however he managed to escape his anxieties by dedicating his time to his school's theater
department he had a predilection for performance at an early age thanks to his mother and found
he had a natural talent for acting on stage after graduating high school he enlisted in the u.s navy
there he was given a job as a radio operator aboard a submarine chaser this was during world
war ii which meant fred was given plenty of work to do legend has it the job took a toll on fred
due to the cacophonous and monotonous nature of the morse code beeps apparently he broke
down in tears on one occasion due to the noise and was subsequently given a different position
he returned from world war ii in the 40s and worked for a time as a swimming instructor in
massachusetts he continued his education attending harvard and graduating in 1951. while there he was
a cartoonist for the harvard lampoon and sang with an acapella group and he continued performing on
the stage in theater productions for the school's drama department after graduating from harvard
in 1951 he moved back to new york city there he continued performing in small theater productions
while working as a copywriter for a local ad agency in 1952 fred was given his first
role in a broadway production it was called mrs mcfing and fred was cast as a gangster due to his
intimidating demeanor he fit the bill perfectly he then quit his job as a copywriter fred continued
performing on stage for a few years before making his first appearance on the cinema screen
this came via a role in the film on the waterfront although the role was so small he didn't even
get a credit the film was a major success and it allowed fred to be seen by more people than ever
hey if you're enjoying this video be sure to give it a like and subscribe to facts first for more
soon after making his first appearance on cinema screens and on the waterfront fred
guinn made his first tv appearance apparently phil silvers had taken notice of fred's small
role in on the waterfront and tracked him down to cast him on a show he appeared on the phil silver
show shortly afterwards playing the character of corporal ed honegar the character proved popular
with the audience and was brought back again in another episode after his appearances on
that show fred was given an even more notable role on the cop sitcom car 54 where are you
he was cast as patrolman francis muldoon and was perfect for the role thanks to his size
however his time on the show led him to the role that was even more perfect
and that was herman munster on the monsters fred was said to have nearly turned down the role
and he possibly should have though both the show and the character were incredibly successful
they took a toll on fred that haunted him for the rest of his life as one might imagine the costume
and makeup required for fred to accurately portray herman munster was both daunting for
the actor to have applied and daunting for him to perform it he had to take supplements so he
didn't suffer from dehydration during his time in the makeup and costume due to how much he sweated
he began losing a great deal of weight while on the show and many became concerned for his health
despite this fred managed to survive filming the munster's two seasons but other tragedies
occurred around that time period in 1952 fred had married his first wife she was named jean
renard together they had five children they named them gainer kieran evan madden and dylan dylan was
the youngest born in 62 when he was less than a year old he drowned in the family's swimming pool
the dark shadow of his youngest son's death loomed over the production of the monsters
a year after second child kieran's birth in 1954 he suffered a brain injury that left him
seriously disabled for the rest of his life fred and jean remained married until 1980.
a year after they divorced fred returned to the role of hermann munster in a made-for-tv
reunion film the munster's revenge following this he had an unlikely career renaissance
that saw him being cast in various films over the course of the decade through the
80s fred appeared in the secret of my success the cotton club fatal attraction pet cemetery
and many more notable films in 1992 fred gave the most acclaimed performance of his later career
in the hit film my cousin vinnie sadly the actor's newfound fame was cut short only a year later due
to his untimely death the actor sadly passed away in 1993 from pancreatic cancer he was 66 years old
in 1988 fred had married his second wife deborah flater and they were still together when he died
his final acting role was performing the voice of real-life historical figure edwin stanton in the
1992 made for tv educational feature depicting the life of abraham lincoln titled lincoln the actor's
most iconic role remains hermann munster despite the fact the monsters only ran for two seasons
many believe the monsters was canceled after only two seasons because of the success
of batman that show came on the air in 1966 the year the monsters was cancelled
now it's time to hear from you comment down below to share if you're a fan of fred's portrayal
of the iconic character herman munster or if you were surprised to learn the role was so hard for
him to perform and before you go make sure you give this video a like and subscribe to facts
first if you haven't already click the bell icon to stay updated on all our latest content
you