Eddie Asner[1] (/ˈæznər/; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor. He is most notable for portrayingLou Grant on the sitcomThe Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) and dramaLou Grant (1977–1982), making him one of the few television actors to portray the same character in both a comedy and a drama.
Asner attendedWyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and theUniversity of Chicago. He studied journalism in Chicago until a professor advised him there was little money to be made in the profession. He had been working in a steel mill,[10] but he quickly switched to drama, debuting as the martyredThomas Becket in a campus production ofT. S. Eliot'sMurder in the Cathedral. He eventually dropped out of school, going to work as a taxi driver, worked on the assembly line forGeneral Motors, and other odd jobs before being drafted in the military in 1951.[11]
Following his military service, Asner helped found the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, but left forNew York City before members of that company regrouped as theCompass Players in the mid-1950s.[13] He later made frequent guest appearances with the successor to Compass,The Second City.[14] In New York City,Off-Broadway roles included Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum in the revival ofThreepenny Opera and in Otway'sVenice Preserv'd in late 1955.[15] Asner scored his firstBroadway role inFace of a Hero alongsideJack Lemmon in 1960, and began to make inroads as a television actor, having made his TV debut in 1957 onStudio One.[2] In two notable performances on television, Asner played Detective Sgt. Thomas Siroleo in the 1963 episode ofThe Outer Limits titled "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork" and the reprehensible ex-premier Brynov in the 1965Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Exile". He made his film debut in 1962, in theElvis Presley vehicleKid Galahad.[2]
Asner was best known for his characterLou Grant, who was first introduced onThe Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. In 1977, after Moore's series ended, Asner's character was given his own show,Lou Grant (1977–82). In contrast to theMary Tyler Moore series, a thirty-minute award-winning comedy about television journalism, theLou Grant series was an hour-long award-winning drama about newspaper journalism. For his role as Grant, Asner was one of only two actors to win an Emmy Award for a sitcom and a drama for the same role (the second beingUzo Aduba). In addition he made appearances as Lou Grant on two other shows:Rhoda andRoseanne.[17] Other television series starring Asner in regular roles includeThunder Alley,The Bronx Zoo, andStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He also starred in one episode of theWestern seriesDead Man's Gun (1997), as well as portraying art smuggler August March in an episode of the originalHawaii Five-O (1975) and reprised the role in theHawaii Five-0 (2012) remake.[18] He also appeared as a streetwise veteran police officer in an episode of the 1973 version ofPolice Story.[19]
Asner was acclaimed for his role in the ABC miniseriesRoots, as Captain Davies, the morally conflicted captain of theLord Ligonier, the slave ship that broughtKunta Kinte to America. The role earned Asner anEmmy Award,[20] as did the similarly dark role of Axel Jordache in the miniseriesRich Man, Poor Man (1976). In contrast, he playeda former pontiff in the lead role ofPapa Giovanni: Ioannes XXIII (Pope John XXIII 2002), an Italian television film forRAI.[21]
Asner provided the voice of the main protagonistCarl Fredricksen in theAcademy Award-winningPixar filmUp (2009). He received critical acclaim for the role, with one critic going so far as to suggest "They should create a new category for this year's Academy Award for Best Vocal Acting in an Animated Film and name Asner as the first recipient."[28] He appeared in the mid- to late-2000s decade in a recurring segment onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno, entitled "Does This Impress Ed Asner?"[29][30] He was cast in aCountry Music Television comedy pilot,Regular Joe.[31]
In July 2010, Asner completed recording sessions forShattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders; a documentary on the 1974 DeFeo murders in Amityville, New York. Asner served as the narrator for the film, which covers a forensic analysis of the murders, the trial in which 23-year-old DeFeo son Ronald DeFeo Jr., was convicted of the killings, and the subsequent "haunting" story which is revealed to be a hoax.[35] Also in 2010, Asner played the title role inFDR, a stage production about the life ofFranklin Delano Roosevelt;[36] he subsequently continued to tour the play throughout the country. In January 2011, Asner took a supporting role on CMT's first original sitcomWorking Class. He made an appearance in the independent comedy featureNot Another B Movie, and had a role as billionaireWarren Buffett inHBO's economic dramaToo Big to Fail (2011).[37] In 2013, he guest starred as Mr. Finger inThe Crazy Ones.[38]
Asner also provided voice-over narration for many documentaries and films about social activism, includingTiger by the Tail, a documentary film detailing the efforts ofEric Mann and the Campaign to keepGeneral Motors'Van Nuys assembly plant running.[39] He also recorded for a public radio show and podcast,Playing On Air, appearing inWarren Leight'sThe Final Interrogation of Ceaucescu's Dog withJesse Eisenberg, andMike Reiss'sNew York Story.[40][41] Asner was the voice-over narrator for the 2016 documentaryBehind the Fear: The Hidden Story of HIV, directed by Nicole Zwiren, a controversial study on theAIDS debate.[42] A 2014 documentary titledMy Friend Ed, directed by Sharon Baker, focused on the actor's life and career. It won Best Short Documentary at theNew York City Independent Film Festival.[43] During interviews for a 2019 book on the history of Chicago theater, Asner told the author he preferred to be credited for his work as "Edward" rather than "Ed" because he felt the longer name held the page or screen better.[44]
In 2018, Asner was cast in theNetflix dark comedy,Dead to Me, which premiered on May 3, 2019. The series also starsChristina Applegate,Linda Cardellini, andJames Marsden. Asner also had a recurring guest role in the 2018–2025 seriesCobra Kai, portrayingJohnny Lawrence's step-father, Sid Weinberg, in seasons one and three.[45] A memorial tribute to Asner preceded the credits in Cobra Kai season 4, episode 1, "Let's Begin". In 2020 he guest starred in an episode of the eleventh and final season ofModern Family and in 2021 played himself in a sketch onLet's Be Real.[46] The 2019 feature documentary by Kurt Jacobsen and Warren Leming entitledEd Asner: On Stage and Off premiered at the American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs, which Asner attended,[47][48] and since screened at a dozen more festivals, including a European premiere at the Oxford International Film Festival.[citation needed] In 2013, he played Santa inChristmas on the Bayou.[49]
Beginning in 2016, Asner took on the role ofHolocaust survivor Milton Salesman inJeff Cohen's acclaimed playThe Soap Myth in a reading atLincoln Center's Bruno Walter Theatre in New York City.[50] He subsequently toured for the next three years in "concert readings" of the play in more than a dozen cities across the United States.[51] In 2019, PBS flagship stationWNET filmed the concert reading at New York'sCenter for Jewish History for theirAll Arts channel. The performance, which is available for free, world-wide live-streaming, co-starsTovah Feldshuh,Ned Eisenberg, and Liba Vaynberg.[52]
In the week before his death, Asner told his frequent collaborators,Greg Palast and Leni Badpenny, that he soon would be doing three one-act plays.[10]
Asner had completed several roles in a number of TV series and films at the time of his death in August 2021, including three of his final productions released posthumously on theDisney+ streaming service. He returned to reprise his voice role as Carl Fredricksen from thePixar filmUp in the Disney+ animated miniseries of shortsDug Days (2021), which was the first to premiere, just three days after his death. Asner's cameo appearance as the Ghost of Claude in the Halloween specialMuppets Haunted Mansion (2021) was posthumous, and he provided the voice of Grandpa Heffley in the Disney+ animated film adaptationDiary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2022), released over a year after his death. The final short film in theDug Days series,Carl's Date, which includes Asner's recorded voice-over performance as Carl Fredricksen, did not premiere on Disney+, but it was released separately in theaters along with the Pixar animated feature filmElemental on June 16, 2023, nearly two years after his death and also served as the finale of theUp franchise. These were Asner's last acting works overall for Disney and were all dedicated to his memory.
Asner also appeared posthumously inDeadly Draw (2023),A Fargo Christmas Story (2023), andAltered Reality (2024). At least two other projects, which would include Asner's final film roles, have yet to announce release dates:Scarlett (a television drama film)[53] andUnplugged (an animated film).[54]
The sudden cancellation ofLou Grant in 1982 was the subject of much controversy. The show had high ratings, being in theACNielsen top ten throughout its final month on the air. However, the CBS television network declined to renew it. Asner believed that hisleft-wing political views, as well as the publicity surrounding them, were the actual root causes for the show's cancellation.[55] In 2011, Asner endorsedDemocratic candidate Marcy Winograd who finished 4th in the 16-candidate primary behind eventual winnerJanice Hahn, inCalifornia's 36th congressional district special election.[58] From 2011 to 2015, Asner worked with filmmaker Nicole Zwiren on the feature-length documentaryBehind the Fear which addressesHIV/AIDS denialism. The film was released in 2016 with Asner as the narrator.[59]
Asner endorsed9/11 conspiracy theories, including voicing qualified support for the9/11 truth movement. In 2004, he signed a statement released by the group9/11 Truth that included a call for a new investigation into some elements of theSeptember 11 attacks that he questioned.[60] Asner confirmed his support for the statement in 2009.[61] In April 2004, Asner wrote an open letter to "peace and justice leaders" encouraging them to demand "full 9–11 truth" through the organization9-11 Visibility Project.[62] In 2011, Asner hosted theArchitects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth documentary on the collapse of7 World Trade Center, which endorses the theory that the building was taken down bycontrolled demolition.[63][64] Asner also narrated the documentary filmThe Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror.[65]
Asner andDennis Weaver picketing during an advertising agency strike in Los Angeles, 1978
Asner was on the Entertainment Board of Directors for The Survivor Mitzvah Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing direct emergency aid to elderly and impoverishedHolocaust survivors inEastern Europe.[66] Asner was a member of theComic Book Legal Defense Fund, a free speech organization that is dedicated to protecting comic book creators and retailers from prosecutions based on content. He served as an advisor to theRosenberg Fund for Children, an organization founded by the children ofJulius and Ethel Rosenberg, which provides benefits for the children of political activists, and was a board member for the wildlife conservation organizationDefenders of Wildlife. Asner also sat on the advisory board forExceptional Minds, a non-profit school and a computer animation studio for young adults on theautism spectrum.[67]
Asner was a supporter of Humane Borders, an organization based inTucson, Arizona, which maintains water stations in theSonoran Desert for use by undocumented migrants, with the goal of preventing deaths by dehydration and exposure. He was the master of ceremonies at that organization's volunteer dinner in fall 2017.[68]
In November 2017, The Ed Asner Family Center was founded by Asner's son, Matt, and daughter-in-law, Navah Paskowitz. The Center provides arts and vocational enrichments, counseling services, and support groups and camps to special needs individuals and their families.[69]
Asner served two terms as president of theScreen Actors Guild, in which capacity during the 1980s he opposed United States policy inCentral America, working closely with the Alliance for Survival.
Asner was married to Nancy Lou Sykes from 1959 to 1988. They had three children, twins Matthew and Liza, and Kate. In 1987, he had a son named Charles with Carol Jean Vogelman.[76][77] Asner was a parent and a grandparent toautistic children and was involved with the501(c)(3)nonprofit organizationAutism Speaks.[78] He also served as aboard member and adviser for Aspiritech, a nonprofit organization that trains high-functioning autistic persons to test software and performquality-assurance services for companies.[79][80]
Asner became engaged to producer Cindy Gilmore in 1991. They married on August 2, 1998. Gilmore filed forlegal separation on November 7, 2007.[81] Asner filed fordivorce in 2015.[82]
Asner died of natural causes at his home in theTarzana neighborhood ofLos Angeles,California, on August 29, 2021, at the age of 91.[7][83][84] He is buried at Sheffield Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 12.[85] Several publications, includingThe New York Times,Rolling Stone andNME, included a full name of "Edward David Asner" in articles about his death.[86][87][88]
^"Jane Bucklin Petty". Obituaries.Deseret News. December 5, 2017 – via legacy.com.In 2006 at age 90, she appeared on the Jay Leno Show where she won the segment, 'Does This Impress Ed Asner?'
^Fischbach, Bob; Stickney, Dane (December 28, 2008)."Iowa man appears on 'Tonight Show'". Entertainment News & Notes.Omaha World-Herald. Archived fromthe original on March 8, 2009.Fett ... took part in the 'Does This Impress Ed Asner?' segment.
^"mickeynews.com". Archived fromthe original on July 20, 2006. RetrievedJune 29, 2009., writing "James Denton ... applauded hosts of the organization's autism awareness public service announcements, including celebrity parents of children with autism, Ed Asner,Gary Cole,Joe Mantegna andJohn Schneider."
