Exclusive Portraits, Audio: Ed Asner, TV Icon & Character Actor

CHICAGO – When Mary Tyler Moore passed away in January, it was another reminder of her groundbreaking 1970s TV series “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” One of her co-stars – who portrayed bossman Lou Grant, and made his own mark in TV and movies thereafter – was Ed Asner. The actor appeared at “The Hollywood Show.”

Ed Asner at The Hollywood Show in March of 2017
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Edward Asner was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his acting career in the Army, touring in plays while in the Signal Corp. He attended the University of Chicago, and joined an early version of The Second City troupe, the Playwrights Theatre Company of Chicago (Asner is considered a Second City alumni). He was a consummate character actor in the 1960s, appearing in such diverse series as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Route 66,” “The Untouchables,” “The Outer Limits,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and “Mission: Impossible.” His recognition breakthrough came with the role of Lou Grant on the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and he also has a footnote in TV history by transferring the Lou Grant character from a comedy sitcom to a one hour drama. That show lasted for five seasons before being cancelled, in part due to Asner’s progressive political positions.

Most recently he has been doing voiceover work, such as on “The Boondocks,” “The Cleveland Show” and the Pixar Studio animated box office hit, “Up” (2009, as Carl Fredricksen). His work in front of the camera has included the HBO film “Too Big to Fail” (2011), plus roles on “Hot in Cleveland” (2012) and “The Good Wife” (2015).

Ed Asner is Still Smokin’ at Age 87
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

“The Hollywood Show” is a gathering of celebrities and memorabilia for movies, TV and pop culture fans. Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com got these Exclusive Photos of the still vital 87 year-old Ed Asner at the event in Chicagoland in March of 2017. The following audio clip combines two interviews with Asner conducted by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, it starts with The Hollywood Show in 2017, and is combined with a phone interview from 2012.

[22]	By PATRICK McDONALD [23] Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [22]