Today the world lost another legend in the world of entertainment: Edward “Eddie” Asner. He died at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, California, the cause of death which has yet to be determined. Ed Asner will be forever remembered for creating the character of Lou Grant on the beloved sit-com The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977), and reprising the character for the dramatic spin-off Lou Grant (1977-1982). He won five Emmys for his portrayal of the character (three for the original show and two for the spin-off.) It’s a rare thing for an actor to receive accolades for portraying the same character in both a comedy and dramatic show, though Asner’s career consists of an incredibly wide range of roles, much more versatile than Lou Grant.
Asner made his acting debut appearing in three episodes of the series Studio One (1948-1958), each of the episodes airing on television in 1957. Three years after that, he won Broadway role in the play Face of Hero in 1960, starring opposite Jack Lemmon. Soon Hollywood came calling. He made his film debut in The Satan Bug in 1965 and El Dorado in 1966, starring with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.
When CBS was casting “Mary Tyler Moore,” both Asner and Gavin MacLeod read for the character of Lou Grant. While the network felt MacLeod was better suited for the role of Murray Slaughter, Asner’s initial reading for the role didn’t go well. He begged for a second chance, which they granted, and he was cast in the role. During the show’s run, he became close friends with each of his co-stars on the show: MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore (with whom Asner had appeared in the Elvis Presley film Change of Habit (1969)), Betty White, and Ted Knight. And, just like Asner, Moore, White and Knight all won Emmys for their respective characters. (Moore and Asner both won Golden Globes as well!) In addition to reprising the character of Lou Grant in “Lou Grant,” the series, Asner reprised the character again in episodes of another “Mary Tyler Moore,” spin-off, Rhoda (1974-1978), and again in Roseanne (1988-2018).
The year before “Mary Tyler Moore,” ended, Asner was hired by Disney to star in the film Gus (1976) opposite Don Knotts. He won a six and seventh Emmy for his work in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) and Roots (1977) and began work in radio in L.A. Classic Theatre Work’s radio production of Babbitt in 1987. He returned to Broadway in 1989 for the revival of the play Born Yesterday. He continued various voice-over work throughout the 90s, voicing the characters of J. Jonah Jameson and Uncle Ben Paker in Spiderman: The Animated Series (1994-1998) and Disney Channel original shows, including Gargoyles (1994-1996) and Hercules: The Animated Series (1998-1999).
Asner gained an entirely new generation of fans when he cast in two different roles in the 2000s. The first: Santa Claus in the holiday cult classic Elf (2003) opposite Will Ferrell and James Caan (who had starred with Asner in “El Dorado.”) While “Elf” is arguably his most iconic portrayal of St. Nick, Asner also voiced St. Nick in the television films, The Story of Santa Claus (1996), Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999), and he even played Claus in an episode in a 2001 episode of The Ellen Show (2001-2002). Asner’s second most beloved, “modern-day” role would undoubtedly be the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Disney/Pixar’s Up (2009), a film that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and also became the first film since Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) to be nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year. Before his tragic death, Asner reprised the character of Carl Fredricksen in the Disney+ spin-off series, Dug Days (2021) which will be available to stream on Disney+ on September 1st. He also appeared in the Netflix series Dead to Me (2019-present) which was executive produced by “Elf” co-star, Will Ferrell, and in the Youtube/Netflix “Karate Kid,” reboot series, Cobra Kai (2018-present).
Edward Asner was fortunate enough to act in every medium of entertainment throughout his 71-year-career. While older fans will most often recognize him as Lou Grant, younger fans will cherish him as the voice of Carl Fredricksen or as Santa Claus in “Elf.” He was a true legend who will indeed be missed!
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