Ed Asner (1929-2021)
Seven-time Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner, known for playing the gruff Lou Grant in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its titular spin-off and a poignant voice role in Pixar's Oscar-winning movie "Up", passed away on August 29th, 2021. He was 91 years old.
Ed worked for many years as a character actor in films and television series before rising to fame in the 1970s as the curmudgeonly newsroom head in the sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", which earned him three Emmys for Best Supporting Actor. When that sitcom ended, he returned as the same character in the hour-long dramatic spin-off that brought him two leading actor Emmys and five nominations. Ed won Emmys for the miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" and "Roots" and was even honoured with seven. He recently appeared in hit shows like "Grace and Frankie", "Modern Family", and "Cobra Kai" and has remained active on television for decades in numerous roles. Asner also worked in film, beginning in 1961 with his debut role in the Elvis Presley vehicle "Kid Galahad" as well as other movies like "The Satan Bug", "The Slender Thread", "El Dorado", "Gunn", and "Change of Habit" (again with Elvis and Mary Tyler Moore). He made occasional appearances in films such as "Skin Game", "Fort Apache the Bronx", "Daniel", and "JFK". Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Asner continued to work steadily on the big screen with features including "Academy Boyz", "Hard Rain", "The Bachelor", "Above Suspicion", "Elf" (where he played Santa for the fifth consecutive time) and "Enchanted Cottage".
Aside from his film and television work, Ed has done voiceovers in animation like "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" (which drew him a Daytime Emmy nomination), "Fish Police", Batman", "Gargoyles", "Spider-Man", "Freakazoid", "Superman", "The Boondocks", "WordGirl", etc. Perhaps, his finest work on voice acting would be his emotional role as Carl Fredericksen in the animated Pixar film "Up", which won two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature.
The acclaim of "Up" reinvigorated interest in the actor's presence, resulting in guest spots on shows like "Law & Order: SVU", "The Middle", and "Hawaii Five-O".
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