Count Sam Dracula
The Munsters character
Al Lewis as Grandpa.
First appearance	"Munster Masquerade"
Last appearance	"A Visit from the Teacher"
Portrayed by	Al Lewis (1964-1966; 1973; 1981) Howard Morton (1988-1991) Robert Morse (1995) Sandy Baron (1996)
Episode count	70
Information
Nickname(s)	Grandpa
Species	human (vampire)
Gender	male
Age	597a
Date of birth	1367
Date of death	?
Occupation	former voivode
Spouse(s)	166, all unnamed (see Grandma)
Children	Lily Munster, Lester Dracula, and Marilyn's mother
Relatives	numerous
Address	1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights
Nationality	American (formerly Romanian)

Sam Dracula, Count of Transylvania (known as "Grandpa"), is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, played by Al Lewis. The doting, irritable, and sarcastic father of Lily Munster, Grandpa is an undead vampire. The role was later played by Howard Morton in the 1980s television series The Munsters Today.

[edit] Origins

A running gag in the television series is his ancient age, with his car, the DRAG-U-LA bearing his gravestone reading "born 1367-?", and he talks of having personally known various figures through history, including Nero, King Arthur, Richard the Lionheart and Jack the Ripper. He describes having been married many times, and although his wives are all dead, he still keeps in touch with them.

His identity as Count Dracula is also alluded to in the series, for instance, in the episode "The Musician", Mr. Gateman refers to him as "Count Dracula" when he comes to dinner.

[edit] Description

Grandpa keeps a laboratory in the cellar of the house, often referred to as going "down in the lab." Various potions and magic spells that he devises there are central to many of the show's stories. Many of his inventions are less than successful, but he never stops thinking up new ones. Grandpa appears to be able to transform into a wolf and a bat, as per Bram Stoker's Dracula, but in "Herman's Sorority Caper" and "Munster, Go Home!", it shows that he takes special pills that turns him into these creatures.

Grandpa has an extremely sarcastic personality, especially when insulting his son-in-law, Herman. Despite this, Grandpa and Herman are actually very close, and most of the episodes of the series revolve around their zany schemes, usually ending with Lily chewing them out or fixing the problem. In one episode Lily says that if it wasn't for Herman, Grandpa would be "living in a cave picking fleas out of his wings".

Grandpa also has a pet bat named Igor, who sometimes hangs around to watch Grandpa work in his lab.

[edit] Other media

In The Munsters Today, Grandpa's name was Vladimir Dracula (reflecting Vladislav Dracula).

In an episode of The Simpsons, when Marge Simpson exclaims that she can see "grandpa", Homer Simpson responds expectantly "Grandpa Munster?", only to be disappointingly told "no, Grandpa Simpson".

[edit] Notes

• Note A: His age at the beginning of Season 1.

[edit] References