Here is the biography of Fred Gwynne:
Fred Gwynne was a talented character actor, best known for his starring roles in the television situation comedies "Car 54, Where Are You?" (1961) and "The Munsters" (1964). He was born Frederick Hubbard Gwynne in New York City in 1926, the son of a wealthy stockbroker and his wife. Gwynne's grandfathers emigrated from Northern Ireland and England, respectively, and his grandmothers were native-born New Yorkers.
Gwynne attended the exclusive prep school Groton, where he first appeared on stage in a student production of Shakespeare's "Henry V". After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he went on to Harvard, where he majored in English and was on the staff of the "Harvard Lampoon". At Harvard, he studied drawing with artist R.S. Merryman and was active in dramatics. A member of the Hasty Pudding Club, he performed in the dining club's theatricals, appearing in the drag revues of 1949 and 1950.
After graduating from Harvard in 1951, Gwynne acted in Shakespeare with a Cambridge, Massachusetts repertory company before heading to New York City, where he supported himself as a musician and copywriter. His principal source of income for many years came from his work as a book illustrator and as a commercial artist. His first book, "The Best in Show", was published in 1958.
Gwynne made his Broadway debut in 1952 in the comic fantasy "Mrs. McThing", and went on to appear in several other Broadway productions, including "The Frogs of Spring" and "Irma La Douce". He also appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "On the Waterfront", "The Phil Silvers Show", and "The Munsters".
In the 1970s and 1980s, Gwynne continued to work in television and film, appearing in shows such as "The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre" and films such as "The Cotton Club" and "Pet Sematary". He also wrote and illustrated several children's books, including "The King Who Rained", "A Chocolate Moose for Dinner", and "A Little Pigeon Toad".
Gwynne was married twice, first to Foxy in 1952, with whom he had five children, and then to Deb in 1981. He died on July 2, 1993, in Taneytown, Maryland, after a battle with cancer of the pancreas.
