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Quick Facts
- NAME: Ed Asner
- OCCUPATION: Animal Rights Activist, Television Actor
- BIRTH DATE: November 15, 1929 (Age: 83)
- EDUCATION: University of Chicago
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Kansas City, Missouri
- Full Name: Edward David Asner
- AKA: Edward Asner
- AKA: Ed Asner
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
Ed Asner is an American actor best known as gruff-but-lovable newsman Lou Grant, who debuted on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Videos see all videos
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Ed Asner - Full Biography (44:57)
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Valerie Harper - I, Rhoda (3:54)
Ed Asner - Full Biography
Short, stocky character actor Ed Asner won fame playing Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and made enemies off the screen with his fiery liberal politics while starring in his own spin-off.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Making it After All
During an era that showcased actresses in young wives and mother roles, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" revolutionized the image of women on TV.
Valerie Harper - I, Rhoda
Actress Valerie Harper ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda") discusses her new autobiography, "I, Rhoda." Video courtesy of Simon & Schuster. Click "Buy Now" to learn more about the book.
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Play NowEd Asner. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:57, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339.
Ed Asner. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Ed Asner." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 03:57 http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339.
"Ed Asner," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Ed Asner," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Ed Asner [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339.
Ed Asner, http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Ed Asner. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/ed-asner-259339. Accessed May 25, 2013.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s and '90s, Asner worked on a variety of projects. He returned to series TV a number of times, making appearances on Hearts Afire with John Ritter,
Contents
Thunder Alley with Haley Joel Osment and The Closer with Tom Selleck. He also appeared on The Practice and held a regular role on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In 2011, he returned as the star of his own show, Working Class. In this CMT original series, Asner starred as a butcher who befriends a struggling single mom.
Big-Screen Work
Asner has also brought his talents to feature films, including a comic turn as Santa Claus in the 2003 comedy Elf, starring opposite Will Farrell. In 2007, the actor garnered an Emmy Award nomination for his work on the TV movie The Christmas Card.
Over the years, Asner has also lent his trademark voice to a number of animated series, including Fish Police, The Magic School Bus and Spider-Man. Perhaps most notably, in 2009, he did voiceover work for the award-winning Pixar film Up.
In addition to his acting work, Asner served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to '85.
Personal Life
Asner has been married twice and has three children—Matthew, Liza and Kate—from his first marriage to Nancy Sykes. He also has a son, Charles, from his relationship with Carol Jean Vogelman. Asner married Cindy Gilmore in 1998; the couple divorced in 2007.
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