Fred Gwynne (Actor)

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(07-10-1926 - 07-02-1993) Age 67

Fred Gwynne was a popular character actor who used his rich baritone to great effect in many roles, including Officer Francis Muldoon in Car 54 Where Are You? and Herman Munster. He also appeared in Broadway musicals.




He appeared in the following 82 episodes of Radio Mystery Theater
Date Episode Title Plot
01/11/1975 0202 The Tell-Tale Heart An unlucky family is forced to live with their perverted uncle, where they are forced to face endless chores, hunger, and even sexual harassment.
03/12/1975 0237 The Dark Closet A young girl who is a severely claustrophobic insomniac is locked up as the primary suspect in a robbery. When her father disinherits her, a government psychologist grows interested in her case.
07/04/1975 0303 The Slave When two friends agree to be the other's slave for a year in the event that they lose the bet they made, to what length's will they go in order to win?
10/13/1975 0361 The Last Lesson In order to pay off his huge debts, a compulsive gambler shackles himself to a plain but extremely wealthy woman. Things don't go according to plan when she makes him work for his money and he must kiss his lazy and idle days goodbye.
01/12/1977 0582 Tobin's Palm
01/24/1977 0590 License to Kill Billy (Chappie) Chapman is a huge 6-foot 260-pound player is cut from the football squad because he lacks the killer instinct. When his wife is seriously injured in an auto accident and the medical bills start piling up, Chappie asks the coach for another chance. The coach renames him \'The Chopper,\' and tells him to go out on the field and destroy his opponents. Unfortunately, Chappie takes his coaches words literally to heart.
04/12/1977 0633 Man-Sized in Marble Americans on an extended working holiday find that one of them is a part of local prophecy and legend. The woman is linked to a blasphemous act in a cursed church.
06/09/1977 0662 Dialogue with Death A man is reunited with a childhood love and wants to marry her. He has difficulty dealing with her one peculiarity: she regularly talks to her dead parents and her dead horse.
09/26/1977 0715 The Guy de Maupassant Murders The sensational tale of a serial murderer is followed by a judge and his attendant. The killer seems to exclusively choose young women as his victims and leaves tantalizing notes next to their corpses. The erudite attendant tries to trace the style of writing that seems oddly familiar to her but the judge keeps aloof.
09/29/1977 0717 The Solitary The story of an unlikely friendship between a prisoner and the security officer. The prisoner is hated and tortured by another guard regularly and the warden tries to find a way to resolve the conflict.
10/17/1977 0725 Return Engagement An intriguing tale of an aged actor turned small time hoodlum. He steals arbitrarily but can he be a murderer too?
02/28/1979 0958 Shadows from the Grave A photographer and his wife move into his uncle's house upon his death. When the local priest denies his blessing, the estate grounds soon become haunted by evil spirits.
06/18/1979 0989 The Unquiet Tomb A remote island is home to an old ship captain and his assistant. Their peace is disturbed when a young family move to the island. When their children suffer mysterious deaths, they are entombed under the house and condemned to eternal damnation.
08/29/1979 1008 Ninety Lives Suspicious of his motives, a brother does a background check on a supposed amnesia victim that his waitress sister has taken a fancy to.
09/12/1979 1012 The Two Sams After starting their own private firm, an ex-cop and lawyer take on the kidnapping of the child of a wealthy noble as their first case. They uncover the family's dark secrets as they follow the clues.
11/19/1979 1031 The God That Failed On the way home after visiting a third world country on a diplomatic mission, a U.S. senator is knocked unconscious during a plane crash. He wakes up in the midst of a primitive tribe willing to hail him as a god once he fulfills two requirements: to marry a local woman and perform a miracle.
01/14/1980 1050 The Better Half Despite having murdered her in a fit of envious rage, a young ad agency executive continues to receive advice from his brilliant and deceased wife.
04/14/1980 1076 Star Sapphire After adopting a teenage girl to keep his wheelchair bound spouse company, a man teaches the girl how to hunt and kill using the sapphire ring she has become obsessed with.
04/16/1980 1077 The Face in the Coffin In a visit to the funeral home to pay their respects to a deceased family member, a young couple unwittingly discover the body of a federal judge in charge of a huge trial for a suspect in an organized crime case. Soon, they are pursued by the felons and must take flight.
10/06/1980 1124 Second Sight In order to evade capture during an attempted robbery of a wealthy man, Arthur Dickson aka Fingers accidentally blinds the detective leading the task force. Dickson is later charged with murder when the millionaire turns up dead. The blind detective comes out of retirement to once again work on the case, this time he believes Dickson's claims of innocence and sets out to exonerate him.
11/12/1980 1135 Natural Sugar When an actor turns up dead in the middle of a play, a police detective must sift through all the scenarios to find the killer.
01/20/1981 1150 The Fountain Of Truth Behind Ponce de Leon's journey to discover the Fountain of Youth in Florida lies another treasure-hunting quest for lost, ancient gold.
02/11/1981 1158 The Shadow of a Killer The lines between reality and fantasy blur when an actor portraying a police detective on a television drama agrees to help a woman, investigate into the case of her missing husband.
04/17/1981 1186 But With Blood A classic retelling of the famed siege at Harpers Ferry, which brought the anti-slavery faction of John Brown and his followers to trial.
06/12/1981 1210 When in Rome After becoming the ambassador of a small, European country at his wife's urging, wealth man discovers that all is not well in his new city.
07/24/1981 1225 Once a Thief A young punk exacts revenge against the detective that had him arrested years before by having him fired. However, former cop turned security consultant has devised the perfect plan for payback.
08/03/1981 1229 Honor Among Thieves In order to give their friend a proper funeral, a group of old men rob the local bank. They are unsure of what to do with the money on hand when they become plagued by their guilty conscience.
09/04/1981 1239 Double Cross Death Upon examining the body, the surprised expression on the visage of his deceased niece causes her coroner uncle to suspect foul play and the involvement of her good-for-nothing husband.

33 Responses to Gwynne Fred

I always loved when Fred Gwynne made an appearance on CBSRMT. Something about his voice was very satisfying, and he was an excellent actor. Thankfully he was a FREQUENT worker, and we have alot of great stuff to enjoy.

D. B.

I always enjoyed when Fred Gwynne was on CBSRMT. To me, Gwynne and E. G. Marshall were the two keystones of CBSRMT. Without either one, it just would not have been the same. I was barely 16 when CBSRMT returned to radio, and I enjoyed listening to the shows each night before I went to sleep. The shows were always relaxing.


Beyond all doubt my all time favorite radio actor voice was The late, great Fred Gwynne. I always enjoyed his voice and characters. He could also change his voice, it also!!! I would get off work at midnight, and listen to the going home from work (it was an hour drive from Mesquite, TX to Arliongton where I attended college at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). I loved every show! E.G. Marshall was great. It was better using your imagination. I was born in 1953 and listened to radio shows with my late Mother. I listened to the shows with great interest. Some shows were chilling. Thanks!!! RJS


He was always great, but "The Slave" and "Confession" are wonderful examples of Fred Gwynne at his best. Plays men I would not want to mess with in those episodes.


Fred Gwynne is one of the finest actors to ever be on CBSRMT. An awesome talent!


My favorite actor is Fred Gwynne. He doesn't have much voice range in terms of characters but he was still able to carry the character all the way through. Unrelated to CBSRMT, one of my fav Fred Gwynne characters was his last movie. He played the judge in "My Cousin Vinny" opposite Joe Pesci.


Fred Gwynne was one of the best actors on CBSRMT. An amazing and versatile talent!


Fred Gwynne is one of the most underrated actors of all time. He has a way of understating his roles that is downright scary. He IS the character he plays, a character you might meet every day.


Loved the episode where he was the employer that got caught with a fee people in a plane that travelled forward in time






A Very Private Miracle, just listened to it for the first time this past week. Missed many episodes as I was in the military during most of its airings. Enjoying them just as much as I did while I was in High School. AWESOME!!!


Fred Gwynne is one of the finest actors and my favorite actor.


On of my all time favorite


My favorite actor


My favorite actor i love him


Fred Gwynne would have been awesome, as he was in the CBSRMT episodes




Can someone help me locate a Gwynne episode? Sadly, here's all I recall from Act 1: Gwynne and wife hear a knock at the door one evening. They answer, and all they find is a package of some sort on their porch... Wish I could remember more... Any clue, anyone?

Brian Williams

Hi Brian—you're thinking of The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg—I just re-listened to it—it's great! Pleasant Dreams! Lol

Frank Max

Episode 0412, "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyberg" is a is adapted from a Mark Twain story.


I think you mean the "The Man who corrupted Hadleyburg"


I'm hoping someone can help me locate an episode that i remember hearing from many years ago. I seem to remember Fred Gwynne playing a simple minded country boy who becomes infatuated with a city woman renting a cabin in the woods. Fred's character watches her from afar and begins to become concerned that she is in danger from an unseen man. Tension builds until she is attacked and the police are called out. Fred's character is horrified by all of the events transpiring and in the end it is revealed that Fred himself was the unseen man attacking the city woman. I really hope someone remembers this episode because I don't see anything like it in this list. Possibly it was for another radio show.

Steven Sims

Tomorrow is Fred Gwynne's birthday. If he were still living he would be 92 years old. As I'm sure fans of CBSRMT already know, he was a versatile character actor. One of my favorite actors from the series. But of course I first knew him as Herman Munster. But he was also a musician, a writer, and a talented visual artist. A true renaissance man!


I loved Fred on the show. He always turned in a great performance.


Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist, and author. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles in The Cotton Club, Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny. During World War II, Fred Gwynne served in the United States Navy, as a radioman on a submarine chaser. He later studied art under the G.I. Bill before attending Harvard, where he was affiliated with Adams House, graduating in 1951. He was a member of the Fly Club, sang with the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes, was a cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon (eventually becoming its president), and acted in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals shows. In 1954 he made his first cinematic appearance playing - in an uncredited role - the laconic character "Slim" in the Oscar-winning film On the Waterfront opposite Marlon Brando and Lee J. Cobb. Shortly afterward Phil Silvers sought him out for his television show because he had been impressed by Gwynne's comedic work in Mrs. McThing. Some of the films/tv shows he appeared in include On the Waterfront (1954), Car 54, Where Are You? (60 episodes, 1961–1963), The Munsters (72 episodes, 1964–1966), Dames at Sea (1971), Captains Courageous (1977), The Cotton Club (1984), The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) , Fatal Attraction (1987), and Pet Sematary (1989).




I met Fred briefly in the 1980s at a hotel lobby in Canada. He was very kind and to hear that voice in person was a real treat!


He was also a very talented cartoonist!


Fred does excellent jobs on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Whether he's a killer, a con man, or a nice guy trying to solve a mystery, he did adapt his distinctive voice to whatever character he was playing on that show. I think he did 80 plus episodes or so.


I love Fred Gwynne on his CBS Radio Mystery Theater performances but can't stand The Munsters.


Since he was mostly typecast as Herman Munster, these radio shows must have been a godsend to him. He really didn't break out of that role until he appeared as the bewildered judge in My Cousin Vinny. He was also good in The Cotton Club. He did a good performance, but the chaos in making that literally cursed film overshadowed his acting.




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