Munster

Sad news this weekend which I almost missed on a news full of burning embassies - Al Lewis, forever beloved to cult TV fans for playing the eldery vampire Grandpa in the Munsters show, passed away at the age of 95. I loved the Munsters and the Addams Family shows; I think it was this delightful mix of comedy with horror iconography, along with the campness of some of the later Vincent Price horrors re-screened on TV in the 70s and 80s lead me to the delightfully funny yet macabre cartoons of Edward Gorey. Today when I read Richard Moore's excellent Gothic comedy-romance Boneyard, or Roman Dirge's Lenore or any number of other similar titles I think about those shows and how they influenced - and still influence - my reading habits and how much enjoyment I've had from them all over the years.