The number of excellent character actors on TV in the 1960's is huge. Jonathan Harris & Al Lewis are just the tip of the iceberg. Well worth watching vintage TV to see simply incredible performers almost everywhere.
I just watched the interview with Al Lewis here at YT where he was told they were 4 min short & he came up with this schtick to wrap up the episode. All those years in vaudville & burlesque paid off !
I (also) just watched an interview with Al Lewis describing his vaudeville experience coming to bear in stretching this scene . . . but it appears to be nothing like what he described in the interview ... perhaps it was the interview that he was padding minutes to ? I also recently saw a clip of Norm MacDonald on his improve stretching a moth joke when Conan needed him to fill a 2nd spot... Hollywood ! B-)
@@solarnaut I'll bet by the time that interview aired the guys were so old the story simply didn't jive. They were actors. I'm sure the stories were embellished.
They improvised the scene because there wasn’t enough time for the show. Irwin Allen was too cheap to hire writers to fill out the needed time so Al Louis help coach Jonathan Harris in improvising the scene
I actually met Al Lewis years ago at his restaurant in NYC Grandpas!! While I was in NYC I had purchased a Lost In Space robot. He spotted it in my bad and He told me the actual story how the episode ran short and they had to extend it by doing that whole routine with Jonathan Harris! On another note Al Lewis was not a nice man and thats all im going to say
The Munsters were no longer being produced when Lost in Space switched to color. Jonathan Harris later plays a Pied Piper on Land of the giants and voice of a robot on Battle Star Galactica Bill Mumy and the guy that played Chekof on Star Trek each appear on some episodes of Babylon 5. Before there was a Lost in Space; Bill Mumy appeared on the Twilight Zone a similar but older character was called Charlie X on Star Trek. Will Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelly all appeared in different episodes of Bonanza and Leonard Nimoy mentioned the Enterprise and Deforest Kelly said he was not a Doctor. William Shatner was on The outer limits in an episode called Project Vulcan and Leonard Nimoy appeared in an episode about a robot put on trial as a journalist and in a remake of it as an attorney. In one robot destroyed saving little girl from a truck in remake robot saves prosecuting attorney from a truck.
Al Lewis appeared in a Gomer Pyle episode in 1968. He played a high strung husband who had a wife that damaged their new car and Sgt. Carter was blamed for it. Gomer solved the problem, as usual.
Two of my favorite actors when I was a kid. I wonder if Jonathan had been asked about this scene, would he have said that it was he who created the improvised scene and not Al Lewis? Jonathan Harris admitted that he actually rewrote many of his own lines in the show. He also created all the colorful nicknames for the "Bubble headed booby".
Actually it was Al Lewis who, realising that the show needed extra dialogue, reheated one of his old vaudeville routines and him and Jonathan Harris went for it
@@tombstoneharrystudios584 Yes, Irwin Allen told them the show was something like 3 minutes short and think something up. Harris often rewrote his dialogue, but this is 100% Al Lewis.
In an interview, Al Lewis stated that producer Don Richardson informed him that the show was 3 minutes short and could HE come up with an idea?....Lewis suggested bringing in another writer but Richardson protested; stating it would cost another $5000....so Lewis developed this idea and shared it with Richardson, Jonathan Harris, Billy Mumy, and Bob May (The Robot)...Mumy confirmed in another interview that it DID IN FACT happen that way...
Al Lewis Himself told me this story years ago. He said it was a routine they did way back in burlesque when running short. This particular episode was running short so they devised this routine. By the way Al Lewis was a major prick
The scene as described by Al isn't anywhere to be found in the final cut. Maybe it did happen and they decided to edit it out because it wasn't good enough or maybe Al has a rich imagination and didn't think anyone would look up the scene.
Albert Meister (Nueva York, 30 de abril de 1910-Nueva York, 03 de febrero de 2006), conocido en los medios artísticos como Al Lewis, fue un actor estadounidense, inmortalizado en televisión como el Abuelo Munster. 114 AÑOS 095 AÑOS 019 AÑOS.
Jonathan Harris (nacido Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin; en hebreo: ג'ונתן האריס; Nueva York, 6 de noviembre de 1914-Encino, 3 de noviembre de 2002) fue un actor estadounidense.
Lost in space on Me TV 1 am eastern time as part of scifi saturday which runs from 8 pm with Svengoolie which has old science fiction horror and monster movies and other Science fiction shows until 7 am Sunday Morning.
@Un Believer Yeah, Al Lewis explained it differently as if Harris put his hand by his head and hesitated then came down a long way to ask simple a question, got reassured, and then walked back. Lewis acted like he invented penicillin, but this scene padding is easy. Jackie Gleason did shit like this all the time and didn't ask for praise.
Johnathan Harris ruined Lost in Space ...even as a child I saw the silly banter to be so juvenile I could no longer watch. It is so sad because the early episodes had so much promise. If Dr Smith could have been thrown out the airlock into space early on...the show would have been so much better.
Lewis was very unreliable. There does not seem to be ANY improvisation going on in this scene--props are in hand and in place, the robot is ready and in place, Billy Mumy was ready and in place. Al Lewis also claimed to have a Phd.! There is no record of that either.
In the original script (which a copy is available at L.O.S. conventions, Lewis is supposed to hand Harris the suitcase and Harris simply gets in the spaceship but Lewis improvises and forgets to hand him the suitcase, and create this delay and confusion, all improvised by Harris and Lewis to extend the scene and create more time. Mumy and the robot are scripted and has nothing to do with the improvisation.
The show needed a few extra minutes, didn't want to pay for a writer, so Al coached Jonathan through a bit of improve for this scene. ruclips.net/video/RaljmzklkZI/видео.html
Many have said Jonathan Harris caused the show to be renewed by the network alot longer than it otherwise would have, many say without Jonathan's rewriting of scripts and his improvised interaction with Billy and the robot it would have been canceled after its first season.
Many on the show admitted Jonathan's script rewritting and his rebuilding of the Dr Smith character actually caused the show to be extended alot longer than it otherwise would have been.
The number of excellent character actors on TV in the 1960's is huge. Jonathan Harris & Al Lewis are just the tip of the iceberg. Well worth watching vintage TV to see simply incredible performers almost everywhere.
Well said and well put !
I just watched the interview with Al Lewis here at YT where he was told they were 4 min short & he came up with this schtick to wrap up the episode. All those years in vaudville & burlesque paid off !
Yes indeed, all true!
Two of my all time favorite character actors alongside my favorite Robot. And Billy Mumy is one of the greatest child stars of all time as well.
I love Al Lewis’s remark about Harris. ‘Everyone thinks he’s British, but he’s a Brooklyn Jew. ‘
Except that Harris was a "Bronx Jew" !
And Al Lewis was a Manhattan Jew.
He hated the Bronx accent so copied the British accent
Grandpa with the greatest laugh
I heard him talk about this. They needed to add a few minutes to the episode but didn't want to pay writers to come back. Good stuff.
I (also) just watched an interview with Al Lewis describing his vaudeville experience coming to bear in stretching this scene . . . but it appears to be nothing like what he described in the interview ... perhaps it was the interview that he was padding minutes to ? I also recently saw a clip of Norm MacDonald on his improve stretching a moth joke when Conan needed him to fill a 2nd spot... Hollywood ! B-)
@@solarnaut I'll bet by the time that interview aired the guys were so old the story simply didn't jive. They were actors. I'm sure the stories were embellished.
Al Lewis Classic.
Al Lewis is the man
He ROCKED !
They improvised the scene because there wasn’t enough time for the show. Irwin Allen was too cheap to hire writers to fill out the needed time so Al Louis help coach Jonathan Harris in improvising the scene
Yup! This little bit saved old Allen more or less five grand.
Grandpa Munster without makeup!!! And the laugh. Awesome!!!
I've seen him in plenty of other movies and TV shows before.
It's Grandpa Dracula.
Al Lewis. A gem. He lived and loved life. watch the comedy movie Used Cars. He was the judge.
I actually met Al Lewis years ago at his restaurant in NYC Grandpas!! While I was in NYC I had purchased a Lost In Space robot. He spotted it in my bad and He told me the actual story how the episode ran short and they had to extend it by doing that whole routine with Jonathan Harris! On another note Al Lewis was not a nice man and thats all im going to say
Thanks for sharing. What a disappointment to find out that Lewis wasn't a nice fellow. Bummer.
Loved that man--BOTH OF THEM!
About two years earlier Billy Mumy appeared on an episode of the Munsters.
I expected him to say "Hoimann.." any second.
i never knew al lewis appeared on lost in space hahahahaha , harris and lewis , the greatest LOLOL
New to me too ! He & Dr Smith made a great team !
Al Lewis was also in Car 54
He played a hobo in the second "Kolchak" tv movie.
He also had a brief role as the owner of a small drug store in the 1964 feature film comedy "The World of Henry Orient".
Al Lewis? On Lost in Space?? My mind is b-l-o-w-i-n-g!!
Me too ! I never saw this episode on TV & was flagergasted to find out here at YT that he had guest starred on this 60s sci fi series !
Here is Al Lewis telling the story behind this scene:
ruclips.net/video/RaljmzklkZI/видео.html
Grandpa.......... You're on the wrong set. Darn Darn Darn Darn..........
Ooh...Ooh!
The Munsters were no longer being produced when Lost in Space switched to color. Jonathan Harris later plays a Pied Piper on Land of the giants and voice of a robot on Battle Star Galactica Bill Mumy and the guy that played Chekof on Star Trek each appear on some episodes of Babylon 5. Before there was a Lost in Space; Bill Mumy appeared on the Twilight Zone a similar but older character was called Charlie X on Star Trek. Will Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelly all appeared in different episodes of Bonanza and Leonard Nimoy mentioned the Enterprise and Deforest Kelly said he was not a Doctor. William Shatner was on The outer limits in an episode called Project Vulcan and Leonard Nimoy appeared in an episode about a robot put on trial as a journalist and in a remake of it as an attorney. In one robot destroyed saving little girl from a truck in remake robot saves prosecuting attorney from a truck.
So weird seeing Al Lewis playing a character other than Grandpa Munster - and in color! 😉
He was in "Taxi" as a Security Guard real briefly in the 2 part episode when Sunshine Cab is broke
Also a few years before he co-starred with Fred Gwynn on “Car 54, where are you?” on NBC
@@willdrucker4291 as Leo Schnauzer. What a guy.
Al Lewis and Fred Gwynne each played police men on Car 54 where are you? Fred Gwynne was a judge in movie My cousin Vinny.
Al Lewis appeared in a Gomer Pyle episode in 1968. He played a high strung husband who had a wife that damaged their new car and Sgt. Carter was blamed for it. Gomer solved the problem, as usual.
Two of my favorite actors when I was a kid. I wonder if Jonathan had been asked about this scene, would he have said that it was he who created the improvised scene and not Al Lewis? Jonathan Harris admitted that he actually rewrote many of his own lines in the show. He also created all the colorful nicknames for the "Bubble headed booby".
He might have been a great riddler in Batman
Actually it was Al Lewis who, realising that the show needed extra dialogue, reheated one of his old vaudeville routines and him and Jonathan Harris went for it
@@tombstoneharrystudios584 Yes, Irwin Allen told them the show was something like 3 minutes short and think something up. Harris often rewrote his dialogue, but this is 100% Al Lewis.
I think both Al and Harris were bullshitters
And don't forget "Neanderthal Ninny!"
He. Ha. He. Ha. This is just what I needed at this very moment..
Me too!!!❤
In an interview, Al Lewis stated that producer Don Richardson informed him that the show was 3 minutes short and could HE come up with an idea?....Lewis suggested bringing in another writer but Richardson protested; stating it would cost another $5000....so Lewis developed this idea and shared it with Richardson, Jonathan Harris, Billy Mumy, and Bob May (The Robot)...Mumy confirmed in another interview that it DID IN FACT happen that way...
Except it isn't three minutes
They filled the remaining time with 2 30 second commercials and a 15 second network promo....potayto/potahto
@@willdrucker4291 Richardson also said that if they did find a writer he'd probably be in a bar and if he was drunk, he'd probably cost $10,000.
Al Lewis Himself told me this story years ago. He said it was a routine they did way back in burlesque when running short. This particular episode was running short so they devised this routine. By the way Al Lewis was a major prick
Here is the Al Lewis interview:
ruclips.net/video/RaljmzklkZI/видео.html
My favorites
that was pretty wild!
Grandpa Munster and the Queen of the Galaxy. That's entertainment!
The scene as described by Al isn't anywhere to be found in the final cut. Maybe it did happen and they decided to edit it out because it wasn't good enough or maybe Al has a rich imagination and didn't think anyone would look up the scene.
Both from New York
Lewis joked; Harris plays like he's British and he's a Jew from Brooklyn. He meant it as a compliment.
Albert Meister (Nueva York, 30 de abril de 1910-Nueva York, 03 de febrero de 2006), conocido en los medios artísticos como Al Lewis, fue un actor estadounidense, inmortalizado en televisión como el Abuelo Munster.
114 AÑOS
095 AÑOS
019 AÑOS.
This is The Scene Al Lewis Always Talked About. Improv
Love those zany machines
Happy flight pattern!
that's what i thought
Wanderful Dr.Smith 😁
Can you imagine Dr. Smith on the Munsters?
Grandpa Munster wasn't on "Lost In Space". Al Lewis was.
Flip flip, dr smith!
Hmmm... never knew Grandpa was in color :)
The pilot for The Munsters was made in colour, it's on YT.
Jonathan Harris (nacido Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin; en hebreo: ג'ונתן האריס; Nueva York, 6 de noviembre de 1914-Encino, 3 de noviembre de 2002) fue un actor estadounidense.
Al
Lewis!! Grandpa Munster!!!
They needed to fill about 200 seconds and Al Lewis gave em the 200 seconds.
According to this clip, they only added another 105 seconds.
@@gc4644 potato, potahto...
@@antonewilson4310 tomato, tomahto....
Al Lewis should have been a Batman Gillian
Everything appears and disappears with an explosion on this show. Often many times an episode. It literally gives me a headache.
Lost in space on Me TV 1 am eastern time as part of scifi saturday which runs from 8 pm with Svengoolie which has old science fiction horror and monster movies and other Science fiction shows until 7 am Sunday Morning.
funny 😂😂😂
Al claims they did this to fill "three or four minutes" of extra time. It's not even 2 minutes.
This is the part they used. Probably slipped in another commercial used the shortest version to tickle a sponsor.
I saw the interview, I think he was full of shit and himself. Strange guy.
@Un Believer That's why I wouldn't trust a vainglorious vampire or blatherskite bat any more than I would trust a tin plated traitor.
@Un Believer Yeah, Al Lewis explained it differently as if Harris put his hand by his head and hesitated then came down a long way to ask simple a question, got reassured, and then walked back. Lewis acted like he invented penicillin, but this scene padding is easy. Jackie Gleason did shit like this all the time and didn't ask for praise.
Grandpa and Dr Smith...oh the pain
Grandpa!!!!
Which one was this?
Great spelling job there on the lead panel
Exactly. Not an impressive start right off the bat, eh?
Ha ha Doctor Smith my Hilary circuit are over loading
No shortage of shtick here.
That thumbnail with IMRPOV is so annoying
Batman villain
People did way too many drugs in the 60's
Johnathan Harris ruined Lost in Space ...even as a child I saw the silly banter to be so juvenile I could no longer watch. It is so sad because the early episodes had so much promise. If Dr Smith could have been thrown out the airlock into space early on...the show would have been so much better.
He’s someone you love to hate. Really was over the top but what a character to watch every day after school as a kid!
Lewis was very unreliable. There does not seem to be ANY improvisation going on in this scene--props are in hand and in place, the robot is ready and in place, Billy Mumy was ready and in place. Al Lewis also claimed to have a Phd.! There is no record of that either.
In the original script (which a copy is available at L.O.S. conventions, Lewis is supposed to hand Harris the suitcase and Harris simply gets in the spaceship but Lewis improvises and forgets to hand him the suitcase, and create this delay and confusion, all improvised by Harris and Lewis to extend the scene and create more time. Mumy and the robot are scripted and has nothing to do with the improvisation.
Improvised. Please. It's called a whole lot of bad acting.
Improv is bad acting. But it occasionally gets the job done.
The show needed a few extra minutes, didn't want to pay for a writer, so Al coached Jonathan through a bit of improve for this scene. ruclips.net/video/RaljmzklkZI/видео.html
Dr Smith ruined this show that's why the ratings went down the only thing i liked about him was his killer screams
Many have said Jonathan Harris caused the show to be renewed by the network alot longer than it otherwise would have, many say without Jonathan's rewriting of scripts and his improvised interaction with Billy and the robot it would have been canceled after its first season.
He didn't ruin it, he made it great.
Many on the show admitted Jonathan's script rewritting and his rebuilding of the Dr Smith character actually caused the show to be extended alot longer than it otherwise would have been.
@@gc4644 Correct!
Nonsense, the show was boring, generic sci-fi before Dr. Smith and the Robot's comedy act. They saved the show in the ratings.
Imorpov?