Actor Ed Asner, television’s Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, dies at 91
- The liberal Asner was caught up in a political controversy in 1982 when he spoke out against US involvement with repressive governments in Latin America
- Asner voiced the elderly hero in the 2009 Pixar film Up and played Santa Claus in Will Ferrell’s Christmas film Elf
Ed Asner, the burly and prolific character actor who became a star in middle age as the gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant, first in the hit comedy The Mary Tyler Moore Show and later in the drama Lou Grant, died on Sunday. He was 91.
Asner’s official Twitter account included a note from his children: “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.”
Built like the football lineman he once was, the balding Asner was a journeyman actor in films and television when he was hired in 1970 to play Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. For seven seasons he was the rumpled boss to Moore’s ebullient Mary Richards at the fictional Minneapolis TV newsroom where both worked. Later, he would play the role for five years on Lou Grant.
The part brought Asner three best supporting actor Emmys on Mary Tyler Moore and two best actor awards on Lou Grant. He also won Emmys for his roles in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1975-1976) and Roots (1976-1977).
He had more than 300 acting credits and remained active throughout his 1970s and 1980s in a variety of film and television roles. In 2003, he played Santa Claus in Will Ferrell’s hit film Elf. He was John Goodman’s father in the short-lived 2004 CBS comedy Center of the Universe and the voice of the elderly hero in the hit 2009 Pixar release, Up. More recently, he was in such TV series as Forgive Me and Dead to Me.
