The World’s Greatest Frankenstein

When we think of Fred Gwynne, we obviously think “Herman Munster,” which was his most popular role. But have you ever wondered if there was more to him than just that friendly Frankenstein? Fred Gwynne had a life quite far from Herman Munster. He did manage to prove himself a versatile actor, but not until the later years of his career. He had bit, but notable supporting roles in blockbuster Hollywood films (i.e. Ironweed (1987), Fatal Attraction (1987), My Cousin Vinny (1992)). 

In addition to being a very gifted actor, he was also an accomplished artist and children’s book author. He used drawing as a way of escaping the depression of his father passing away when he was very young, and he continued to study art in school as he matured into an adult. He decided to become an actor, however, in college at Harvard University. Although, he began drawing again, as a way of escaping the depression of being typecast as “Herman Munster.” So, drawing is basically what kept him from ever giving up on life, despite the depressions that he suffered as a child and as an adult, and that’s what lead to him becoming a book publisher. His widow, Deborah Flater-Gwynne, was also a book publisher when they met, and that played a huge part in drawing them together as a couple. 

I recently had the good fortune of reading one of his books, which was entitled “The King Who Rained.” It told a funny story about a little girl taking everything her parents said literally which is very similar to my own, personal life. Fred Gwynne based that book on the reactions of his daughter, Madyn, to puns and unusual sights.

Whenever monsters come to life in movies, television, literature, etc., in general, we as an audience, immediately jump to the conclusion that they’re scary and we try to shut our eyes away from the horrifying sight, unless we happen to like horrific stories. But occasionally, there’s an extraordinary man who lies behind the monster, and that’s definitely true of the character of “Herman Munster,” because although Fred Gwynne was not one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors, he managed to be quite extraordinary in the entire history of storytelling. He gave the term Frankenstein’s creature an entirely new meaning by making him friendly, and he wrote books to acknowledge the beauty and the humor of children’s imaginations.

The Voice You’ve Always Heard But Never Knew

            Whenever Walt Disney was casting the voices for his animated films he always hired newcomers with generally no acting experience whatsoever in the lead roles and radio/television personalities in the supporting roles. He cared much more about the quality of the peoples' voices in his pictures rather than their popularity, which is why he never cast a major Hollywood movie star in any of his cartoons. Many of the actors that he cast were fortunate enough to be hired by him more than once because of their distinctively unique voices. One actress, in particular, had such a warm and beautiful speaking voice, that Walt used her more than other actor he ever hired, and her name was Verna Felton.

              Verna Felton made her Disney debut on Dumbo (1941) first by playing Dumbo’s mother, Mrs. Jumbo, and the Matriarch Elephant. She then voiced the Fairy Godmother inCinderella (1950). The very next year, she was the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (1951). After that, she voiced Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp (1955). Her role after that was Flora (the good fairy) in Sleeping Beauty (1959). Next, she portrayed Eloise the Elephant in a short called Goliath II (1960), and her very last role for the studio was Winifred the Elephant, Colonel Hathi’s wife in The Jungle Book (1967). Coincidentally, she passed away on the exact same day the Walt Disney himself passed away, December 15th, 1966. Unfortunately, neither lived to see the final cut of The Jungle Book (1967).

            I don’t know for certain that Walt Disney and Verna Felton had a pleasant business relationship, but it’s difficult to imagine that not being the case. She portrayed so many heartwarming characters in each of these movies, with the exception of some villainesses. And in addition to hiring her, it was a family affair, because Walt also hired her husband, Lee Millar Sr. as the voice of Pluto and her son, Lee Milllar Jr. as the voice of Jim Dear in Lady and the Tramp (1955). It seems that Walt saw magic in all of their voices making them the right people for every one of those roles. Walt's, number one goal was to tell stories in magical ways, not to make movies that would be conspicuously entertaining. Verna Felton was definitely part of the magic!