Actor Fred Gwynne Dies At 66

BALTIMORE - Actor Fred Gwynne, whose Lincolnesque physique and dour face delighted audiences of television's "Car 54, Where Are You?" and "The Munsters," died today. He was 66.

Mr. Gwynne, who most recently appeared as the Southern judge in the movie "My Cousin Vinny," died at his home outside Baltimore of complications of pancreatic cancer, said Roger Haber, an attorney representing the family.

Mr.Gwynne began his career with the Broadway production of "Mrs. McThing" with Helen Hayes in 1952 and he went on to alternate between stage, screen and television for the next 40 years.

Among other plays, he appeared in "Love's Labours Lost," a revival of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof," "Our Town" and "Hamlet." He won an Obie award, the off-Broadway equivalent of the Tony awards, in 1979 for "Grand Magic."

Mr. Gwynne's film career included roles as a mobster in "The Cotton Club," a thief in "Disorganized Crime," a co-worker of Michael Douglas in "Fatal Attraction" and a curmudgeon in "Pet Sematery."

He also wrote and illustrated children's books and did voice work for commercials.

He played Officer Francis Muldoon in "Car 54, Where Are You," as one of a pair of New York City cops. Joe Ross was his short, chubby partner Officer Gunther Toody. The show ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963.

The following year, he began a run as Herman Munster in "The Munsters," playing a comic Frankenstein in the popular CBS series.

Frederick Hubbard Gwynne was born July 10, 1926, in New York City, the son of a stockbroker. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended Harvard University.

He is survived by his wife, Deborah Gwynne, and four children.