A memorial service for (Grandpa) Al Lewis
by Mark Dunlea
Capital District of the Green Party of New York State

Grandpa Lewis once said, "The secret of life is to find something you absolutely love to do...then along the way, if you are fortunate, you get to love the way you do it...If you don't have a life-long romance with yourself, hah! You better lay down on the couch-you got problems." This reflected Al Lewis' message he gave to those who went uncared for and unrecognized.

Grandpa Al Lewis in the studios of WBAI FM in New York City. Lewis used his fame and weekly radio show to champion causes like drug and prison reform. In 1998, he helped the Green Party gain ballot status in New York State by running for governor. Photo by Chris Flash

Mourners and celebrants packed Riverside Church in Manhattan on February 18 for a rousing memorial service for Lewis. Known worldwide as Grandpa Munster, Lewis qualified the Greens as an official party in New York State when he ran for governor in 1998. 

Speakers at the service spoke to his passion for social justice combined with a razor sharp satirical approach to public commentary. They spoke of his intelligence, his voracious reading habits, his crazy cackle and wild hair, his ever-present cigar. All spoke of Grandpa's passion for speaking truth to power. 

Columnist Jimmy Breslin observed that Lewis not only habitually joined any picket line that he passed, but he particularly insisted on supporting the smallest protests. Breslin said if there was a solitary protestor, Al wanted to double the size of the protest. 

Dr. Alice Green, Lewis' lieutenant governor running mate in 1998 said, "He was never one to sugar-coat life for people. Unlike other candidates for Governor, he did not offer up empty platitudes... Instead, he talked about the realities poor people and people of color faced in their daily lives, about racism and capitalism and greed. He would help out reporters by slowly spelling out on his hand what a campaign contribution really was-B - R - I - B - E. He loved calling his republican opponent "Potato Head Pataki."

	Al Lewis is best know for his role as 'Grandpa' from the TV series The Munsters

Lewis, a former union organizer and long-time labor activist, had a long-running public affairs talk show on WBAI. He was popular in the prisons in the metro New York area. He and his wife Karen Lewis started a major pen pal program for prisoners through WBAI.

Many of the speakers spoke to the pivotal role Lewis played in building the movement to repeal New York's draconian Rockefeller Drug Law. Margaret Kunstler, activist and widow of William Kunstler, read the names of scores of individuals Al had helped freed from prison.

Randy Credico, the comedian said "Al showed up week after week in front of the Rockefeller Center. He came no matter what the weather. His constant presence eventually convinced more of the relatives of those imprisoned to join the line, leading to the creation of the Mothers of the Disappeared. Al never gave up and he wouldn't let anyone else give up either." 

"Grandpa was never afraid to use his celebrity to make a better world. But while he was quick to criticize the powerful, he was always an educator and a master entertainer, trying to reach people," said Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, who worked for years with Lewis at WBAI.

Goodman added that Lewis spoke of protecting W.E. Dubois at the funeral for the Rosenburgs, who were executed allegedly for being spies. A majority of the mourners were African-American women who understood persecution. "He said that these were the pictures you don't get from the NY Times. His show every Saturday was a lifeline to all those people on the other side of prison bars right now."

Many of the speakers noted Lewis was always a warm to people on the street. He would take a few minutes to talk to them, to share a story, to give them a memory they could keep. A mourner said "Walking around town with Al was being at the head of a parade that would instantaneously form as people poured out of stores and homes to greet Grandpa."

To view interviews with Grandpa Al Lewis, go to http://thirdplanetvideo.com/AlLewis.html 

Mark Dunlea helped Lewis run for governor and represented Lewis' suit to have "Grandpa" added to his name on the ballot.

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