It was while performing in a Shakespeare play, according to Binger, that Gwynne was discovered by Broadway actress Helen Hayes, who helped launch his Broadway debut in 1952, as a gangster in the play "Mrs. McThing."

He next played a police officer in "Irma La Douche."

Those early roles eventually led to a supporting role in the Oscar-winning Marlon Brando film "On the Waterfront."

Next up was "Car 54," and finally the role that put Gwynne on the map.

It's Alive!

From 1964-1966, Gwynne starred as Herman Munster in the CBS show "The Munsters."

Every shoot day, a reported three-hour makeup procedure would be required to make Gwynne into the Frankenstein character he played.

He was also affixed with a costume that, according to Binger, "put a lot of weight on his head and shoulders." By the end of his life, Gwynne had difficulty turning his head from side to side--a condition Binger blames on the Munster costume.

But those who knew Gwynne say the image the Munster part left him with was much worse than the pain of the make-up and costume.

"He was a consummate actor in that he had so many personalities," Madyn Gwynne says. "He was a far more complex character than the one he played on The Munsters."

"The role gave America a perception of him," she adds. "Most people didn't think he would be so bright."

Binger also calls The Munsters a waste of Gwynne's talent.

"The Munsters was a dog," Binger says. "Once I said `Freddy, what're you doing?' He said 'Making $200,000 a year. What're you doing?'"

However Binger says a role like Herman Munster was the only sort that Gwynne could consistently find.

"He was tall and funny-looking and had the kind of face that casting directors have trouble with," Binger says. "His looks prevented him from having a better career in Hollywood."