The Motivating Life and Career of Acting Legend Ed Asner - Going Strong at 90-Years-Young
In a role that earned him three Emmy Awards, Ed Asner played the gruff Lou Grant, Mary Richard’s boss (who “hates spunk”), good friend, and almost-lover (at least in one episode that toyed with the idea).
Before and after The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Asner has appeared in TV classics like The Fugitive, and Hawaii Five-0 (the original and then more recently, the rebooted edition), and Route 66, the latter of which was created by Sterling Silliphant, who also wrote most of the show’s compelling episodes. “He was a genius,” said Asner.
But after the Moore Show ended, Asner suited up once more as Lou Grant for a CBS spin-off series of the same name, which became the first one-hour weekly drama to spawn a half-hour sitcom. Because he was now the lead in his own series, network executives and producers thought it might benefit his Grant persona (as well as potentially his own real-life health) if he slimmed down for the role. He did so, but the shift in body weight was not fully embraced by his fans.
[Click the link below to keep reading]