LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ed Asner, the domineering and prolific character actor who became a star in middle age as gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant, first in the hit comedy "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and later in the drama "Lou “Grant in,” passed away on Sunday. He was 91 years old.
Asner's reps confirmed the actor's death in an email to the Associated Press. Asner's official Twitter account included a note from his children: "We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away peacefully this morning. The sadness we feel cannot be expressed in words. With a kiss on your head Goodnight Father. We love you."
Once built like a football lineman, the bald Asner was a travelman actor in films and TV when he was hired in 1970 to play Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". For seven seasons he was the rumored boss of Moore's enthusiast Mary Richards (he called her "Mary", he called her "Mr. Grant") in the fictional Minneapolis TV newsroom where the two worked. Later, he would play the role on "Lou Grant" for five years.
Asner's character took hold from the first episode of "Mary Tyler Moore", when he told Mary at their initial meeting, "You've got courage. ... I hate courage!" The inspired cast included Ted Knight as Ted Baxter, the retarded news anchor; Gavin McLeod as Murray Slaughter, satirical news writer; and Betty White as manipulative, sex-obsessed home show hostess Sue Ann Nivens. Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman, playing Mary's neighbors, both saw their characters in their respective shows.
Asner is the third "Mary Tyler Moore" alum to die in recent months. Leachman died in January and MacLeod died in May.
The 99-year-old White is the only surviving main cast member from "Mary Tyler Moore".
"Mary Tyler Moore" was still a hit when Starr decided to pursue other interests, and so ended the seventh season with a hilarious finale in which all principals except Baxter were fired.
Asner immediately moved to "Lou Grant", his character moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to become the city editor of the Tribune, a crusade newspaper under the firm hand of publisher Margaret Pinchon, played memorably by Nancy Marchand.
Asner won 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 over 300 acting credits and remained active in a variety of film and TV roles throughout his 70s and 80s. In 2003, he played Santa Claus in Will Ferrell's hit film "Elf". He was the father of John Goodman in the 2004 CBS comedy "Center of the Universe" and was the voice of the elderly protagonist in the 2009 Pixar release, "Up". Most recently, he was in TV series like "Forgive Me" and "Dead to Me".
Nonetheless, Asner told The Associated Press in 2009 that finding interesting roles was difficult.
"I never get enough work," he said. "It's the history of my career. Nothing to turn down, let me put it that way."
"I would say most people are probably in the same boat, old people, and that's a shame," he said.
As president of the Screen Actors Guild, the liberal Asner was embroiled in a political controversy in 1982, when he sided with repressive governments in Latin America in the U.S. spoke out against participation. "Lou Grant" was canceled during the uproar that followed and did not run for a third SAG term in 1985.
"There are few actors of Ed Asner's prominence who have risked their positions to fight for social causes," said actor Gabrielle Carteris, president of SAG-AFTRA. He said that his advocacy "did not stop with the artists. He fought for victims of poverty, violence, war, and legal and social injustice in the United States and around the world."
Asner discussed his politicization in a 2002 interview, noting that he began his career during the McCarthy era and had been afraid to speak for fear of being blacklisted for years.
Then he saw a film of a nun depicting the brutality inflicted by the government of El Salvador on the citizens of that country.
"I stepped into El Salvador to complain about my country's constant weapons and army fortifications that were oppressing its people," he said.
Former SAG president Charlton Heston and others accused him of making un-American statements and abusing his position as head of their actors union.
“At that time we also received bomb threats. I had armed guards," Asner recalled.
The actor blamed the controversy for ending the five-year run of "Lou Grant", though CBS insisted that the show's cancellation was the reason for the drop in ratings.
Although the show had its lighter moments, its scripts touched on a variety of deeper social issues that most series didn't touch at the time, including alcoholism and homelessness. Asner remained politically active for the rest of his life and published the book "The Grouchy Historian: An Old-Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right-Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs" in 2017.
Born in 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, Asner had almost become a newsman in real life. He studied journalism at the University of Chicago until a professor told him there was little money in the profession.
TS Elliot's "Murder in the Cathedral."
He eventually dropped out of school before being drafted in 1951, going on to work as a taxi driver and other jobs. He served with the Army Signal Corps in France.
Returning to Chicago after military service, he appeared in the Playwrights Theater Club and Second City, the famed satirical troupe that launched the careers of dozens of top comedians.
Later, in New York, he joined the long-running "The Threepenny Opera" and appeared with Jack Lemmon in "Face of a Hero".
Arriving in Hollywood in 1961 for an episode of television's "Naked City", Asner decided to stay and appeared in several films and TV shows, including the film "El Dorado" opposite John Wayne; and the Elvis Presley vehicles "Kid Galahad" and "Change of Habit". He was a regular in the 1960s political drama series "Slatri's People".