Entertainment's Greatest Grandparents

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

I debated doing this as an all wrestling blog, but thought it might be more appealing if I included other famous grandparents as well.   There are plenty of great third generation wrestling superstars out there, and I've talked about that recently in my Legacy blog.  So here are some of my favorite grandparents from TV, movies, and wrestling.  I posted a more serious grandparent blog recently, you can read it here.

Mama in the ring

Thelma "Mama" Harper is one of my all time favorite television characters.  I remember when I was really young catching Vicki Lawrence play the character on the Carol Burnett Show.  The skits were popular enough to take Mama to prime time and eventually into syndication.  In the early episodes of Mama's Family, she had two grandkids living with her, Buzz and Sonja.  I preferred the relaunch of the show with Bubba.  Mama was a grumpy old woman who really did love her family, but didn't always express it.  Memorable Mama moments include her and Naomi teaming up to wrestle the Masked Mables, Mama donning a white beard and red suit and playing Santa, and the family's trip to Hawaii.  I was fortunate enough to interview Vicki Lawrence about 10 years ago when I lived in Indiana.  A few years ago I was able to see her Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two Woman Show in Carbondale.  If Mama's Family is ever on, you can bet I am tuning in and laughing at the jokes that are now 30 years old.

Hot call for Grampa Simpson

Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, like his dimwitted son Homer, makes me laugh whenever he's on the Simpsons.  In the nearly 25 years of the show, Grampa has provided plenty of laughs.  Some of my favorite quotes from him include, "It'll be a cold day in hell before I recognize Missouri as a state.", "I'm gonna smooch her like a mule eating an apple.", and "I'm in love... no it's a stroke."  Grampa has a rich history too, at least according to him.  He was a war hero, former professional wrestler, and the creator a love potion.  We've seen on the show, he was a tough dad when Homer was growing up, but has turned into a lovable old man who annoys his family when given the chance.  His grandkids Bart, Lisa, and Maggie take full advantage of him when they can. He's one of Springfield's most interesting characters in my opinion.

Grandpa Munster

Sam Dracula was not your typical grandfather.  He was a vampire and a funny one at that.  Better known to viewers of The Munsters as Grandpa, he was the live in, thorn-in-the-side of his son-in-law Herman Munster.  Even though he and Herman would fight a lot, they also had some very funny and entertaining adventures together. When trouble started brewing, Grandpa would turn himself into a bat and fly away.  The one thing that stuck out to me was the way he'd laugh. Grandpa always did his best to pass on advice to his little grandson Eddie and mortal granddaughter Marilyn.  This show too has a wrestling connection (I didn't plan this), as Herman donned a mask and wrestled in an episode as Grandpa watches on TV.  Even though the show lasted less than two years, it lives on today in syndication and will make generations to come laugh.

These are just a few of my favorites.  Here's a whole lot of honorable mentions (in no particular order).  Thanks for reading.

Sophia Petrillo
The Golden Girls

Grandpa Huxtable
The Cosby Show

Grandpa Joe
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Grandma Foreman
That 70's Show

Grandpa Smurf
The Smurfs

Grandpa & Grandma Walton
The Waltons

The McMahon Family
WWWF/WWF/WWE

Grandparents are Grand

The Klaus, Hunsperger, & Hoffman families in 2007

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

My kids are fortunate enough to have three sets of loving grandparents.  All six of them eagerly sat in the waiting room of the hospital in Lafayette, Indiana on a cold January night for their oldest grandson to be born.  That was nearly 14 years ago.  They missed their second grandchild's birth because they were all on their way to Indiana (it's a 5 hour drive from St. Louis to Lafayette) and my wife had gone into labor and had our son 10 minutes after arriving at the hospital.  They all six waited in anticipation as our daughter was born nearly eight years ago.  They've all been a part of our kids' lives.

The Breslers & Hunspergers

It's something I did not have as a child.  My Grandpa Hunsperger died shortly after my parents got married.  My Grandma Hunsperger lived long enough to see the births of me and my brother, but she died right before my second birthday, so I don't remember her at all.  My maternal grandpa, Harry Bresler, Sr. died in an accident at work.  He was only 38 years old.  That left my Grandma Bresler a widow before age 40 with two teenagers and a special needs child at home.  I was fortunate to be able to know my grandpa's mother, my Great Grandma Hoskins.  My grandma's mom, Great Grandma Florian lived in Florida, but we saw her several times through the years until her death in 1998.

Grandpa & Grandma Bresler
1950

My grandma did find love again, in the only grandpa I ever knew.  She and Grandpa Kenny never married, but were partners in life none-the-less.  One of my favorite stories (and I debated telling this publicly, but what the heck) was when my brother and I were about in our tween years.  I'm guessing I was about 11 years old, and we were spending the night at my grandparents' house.  We went out that evening to a nearby tavern.  As we ate lots of fried foods and drank our root beer, there was a movie playing on the TV behind the bar.  This was the early days of cable, and "The Last American Virgin" was on the screen.  We just happened to look up at the TV at the same time one of the characters was getting undressed.  Needless to say it was the first time I'd seen a George W. and obviously the image burned into my prepubescent brain.  I actually told this story as a part my grandma's eulogy last year.  It broke up the sadness of the day and brought a smile to everyone's face.

"Granny" at our wedding

While Grandma Bresler was my only blood grandparent I ever knew, there was another lady in our lives who loved and cared for us as if we were her family.  We loved her just as much.  We simply called her Granny.  Granny Ely was the mother of a close friend of our family.  I remember meeting her for the first time when I was in elementary school.  Granny watched after us several times, including once for an entire week when our parents and our friends' parents went on a cruise together.  It was Granny who introduced me to The Golden Girls, a show I still watch to this day and think of her each time it's on.

Like my own grandma, Granny recently passed away.  She had been battling Alzheimer's disease for more than a decade.  The last time I saw her was at the baby shower for my oldest son who is almost 14 now.  I miss her.  I miss my grandma.  I wish I would have had a chance to meet my other grandparents.  But I know they're all in a better place and helped to make me the person I am today, even if they were not here on Earth to do it.

If you have your grandparents in your life still, cherish the moments you spend with them.  Learn your family history, and share that with your children too.  It's one of the best gifts you can give them.  If you're a grandparent and are reading this, Happy Grandparents Day!