Car 54 Where Are You? 1961-1963

Joe E Ross and Fred Gwynne

Car54.jpg


Joe E. Ross (Joseph Roszawikz)  Ross's personal life was as noisy and troubled as his screen characters. According to fellow nightclub comedian Hank Garrett, Ross was "married eight times and they were all ex-hookers. It was cheaper to marry them than keep visiting them." Co-workers also complained that Ross was continually vulgar, even cursing around children. Imogene Coca, who played Ross's caveman wife in the sitcom "It's About Time," hated working with Ross and referred to him as "that awful man


Ross died of a heart attack on August 13, 1982. He was stricken while performing in the clubhouse of his apartment building in Van Nuys, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.[2] He was buried in Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery. Ross' gravestone is inscribed with the double entendre "This man had a ball!"


Frederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny. He was also recognised for his distinctive baritone voice.

Gwynne was born in New York City, a son of Frederick Walker Gwynne, a partner in the securities firm Gwynne Brothers, and his wife Dorothy Ficken. His paternal grandfather was an Episcopal priest born in Camus, near Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, and his maternal grandfather was an immigrant from London, England. Gwynne attended the Groton School, and graduated from Harvard University in 1951. Gwynne spent most of his childhood in South Carolina, Florida, and Colorado because his father travelled extensively. At Harvard, he was a member of the Fly Club, sang with the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes, was a cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon, (eventually becoming its president), and acted in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals shows.