STAR HAD SPUNK
Ed Asner of ‘MTM’ & ‘Lou Grant’ dead at 91
Ed Asner — the veteran actor who starred as the hard-driving but lovable TV newsman Lou Grant on the classic sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and in its more serious spinoff, “Lou Grant” — has died, his family said on Sunday. He was 91.
“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” Asner’s official account tweeted. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head — Goodnight dad. We love you.”
The longtime actor died of natural causes at home in Tarzana, Calif., his publicist said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Asner won a career seven Emmy Awards — more than any other male actor in history — taking five for his role as Grant and two more for his work in “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.”
He may be best remembered for his ornery, gruff portrayal of the news producer Grant in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” in which he acted opposite Moore, playing the wide-eyed associate producer Mary Richards.
“You’ve got spunk — I hate spunk!” Asner’s character famously tells her in the hit 1970s sitcom’s first episode.
Starting in the late ’70s, the actor went on to star in “Lou Grant” as the city editor of a Los Angeles newspaper toiling under a publisher played by Nancy Marchand.
Younger audiences are more likely to remember Asner for his later voiceover roles — including as the curmudgeonly widower Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s Oscarwinning 2009 film, “Up.”
The Kansas City, Mo., native was a staunch advocate for left-wing causes and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985, using his position to speak out in support of such causes as Salvadoran guerrillas.
Before his election as union leader, Asner was a prominent voice during a 13-week actors strike in 1980. He then led a group of dissidents who opposed the contract agreed upon by the union’s leadership.
“I always felt I was fighting for justice and equality. If I’m not doing that, I should be put out to pasture,” he told The Post in 1989.
The twice-married father of four “never expected” to be famous, he told Chicago Daily News columnist Frank Swertlow at the peak of his success in 1977.
“I just wanted to make enough money to send my kids to college,” he said. “I guess that’s what all of us ever hope for. We call that our stake, our birthright.”