Yitzhak Edward "Ed" Asner (November 15, 1929 - August 29, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actor, voice actor, and a former president of the Screen Actor Guild. He was known for his role as Lou Grant during the 1970s and the early 1980s, on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series Lou Grant.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Asner was born on November 15, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri. His Jewish-Russian born parents, Lizzie and David Morris Asner ran a second-hand shop. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family.
Asner attended Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
He worked on the assembly line for General Motors. Asner served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps and appeared in plays that toured Army camps in Europe.
Career[]
Following his military service, Asner joined the Playwrites Theater Company in Chicago, but left for New York City. At the beginning of his career he made guest appearances on several shows.
In 1970, Asner was cast as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore show which became one of his best known roles. In 1977 after The Mary Tyler Moore ended Asner reprised his role as Lou Grant in the spin-off series The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Asner was acclaimed for his role in the ABC miniseries Roots, as Captain Davies, the morally conflicted captain of the Lord Ligonier, the slave ship that brought Kunta Kinte to America. That role earned Asner an Emmy Award.
Aser also has an extensive voice acting career. Some of his best known cartoon roles include J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Hoggish Greedly in Captain Planet and the Planteers, Hudson on Gargoyles, Roland Daggett in Batman: The Animated Series, and Granny Goodness in Superman: The Animated Series.
In 2001, Asner was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
In 2009, Asner provided the voice of Carl Fredricksen in the Academy Award-Winning Disney-Pixar film Up. He received great critical praise for the role, which one critic going so far as to suggest "They should create a new category for this year's Academy Award for Best Vocal Acting in an Animated Film and name Asner as the first recipient.
Asner has won more Emmy Awards for performing than any other male actor. In 1996, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.
Personal life[]
Asner served two terms as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. Asner was married to Nancy Sykes from 1959 until 1988. Together they have three children. In 1987 Asner had a son with Carol Jean Vogelman. Asner is the grandfather to a child with autism and is deeply involved with Autism Speaks. In 1998 he married Cindy Gilmore but filed for divorce in 2007.
Death[]
Asner died of natural causes at his home on August 29, 2021, at age 91 in Los Angeles, California.
Roles[]
(Spider-Carnage Universe)
(Silver Armor Spider-Man Universe)
(Disguised as J. Jonah Jameson)
Credits[]
Actor[]
J. Jonah Jameson[]
- Night of the Lizard
- The Spider Slayer
- Return of the Spider Slayer
- Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous
- The Menace of Mysterio
- The Sting of the Scorpion
- Kraven the Hunter
- The Alien Costume, Part I
- The Alien Costume, Part II
- The Alien Costume, Part III
- The Hobgoblin, Part I
- Day of the Chameleon
- The Insidious Six
- Enter the Punisher
- The Immortal Vampire
- Tablet of Time
- The Final Nightmare
- Make a Wish
- Attack of the Octobot
- Enter the Green Goblin
- Framed
- The Man Without Fear
- The Ultimate Slayer
- Venom Returns
- Carnage
- Goblin War!
As J. Jonah Jameson (Spider-Carnage Universe)[]
- Spider-Wars, Chapter I: I Really, Really Hate Clones
As J. Jonah Jameson (Silver Armor Spider-Man Universe)[]
- Spider Wars, Chapter II: Farewell, Spider-Man
As Chameleon (Disguised as J. Jonah Jameson)[]
- Day of the Chameleon
Trivia[]
- Ed Asner also voiced Officer Barr in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and Uncle Ben in The Spectacular Spider-Man.
- Ed Asner may have been cast as J. Jonah Jameson because of his role as Lou Grant.
- According to Christopher Daniel Barnes, Asner was fearless, willing to say anything, anytime to anyone. Barnes also said that Ed Asner could deliver a perfect reading in one take, despite taking little naps between his lines.