Edward Asner: Lou Grant
The Lou Grant character could have gone to Gavin MacLeod, had Gavin not suggested he was the wrong man for the part. When Edward Asner read for Lou, his reading was apparently so flawed that the producers dismissed him as a possibility. Less than five minutes after he walked out of the audition, Ed returned and asked if he could re-read the scene with Mary, amazed everyone, and was immediately hired. But the story didn't end there. Even after production started, there were those who thought Asner was not right for the role. Even Mary voiced her doubts more than once. In the very early days of The Show, Lou Grant was branded as an insensitive, overabrasive WWII veteran who boozed on the job. As the years went by, that image faded. He remained somewhat of a party animal, but we saw his softer side on occasion, the most notable instance being the mid-series divorce from his wife after twenty-six years of marriage. Just as Mary Richards transcended from her "perky office girl" persona of the early years, so too did Lou Grant similarly.
Yitzak Edward Asner was born on November 15, 1929 in Kansas City. He was the youngest of five boys born to Jewish parents. Ed has admitted that he "used a lot of his brothers" in his characterization of Lou Grant. He played quarterback on the football team in high school. After graduating in the late 1940's, he started college at the University of Chicago, and participated actively in campus dramatic groups. For two years he served in the US Army, and after discharge, he returned to Chicago and resumed his acting chores. In the early 1950's he was a member of the Playwright's Theater Club, ultimately leaving for New York to co-star with Jack Lemmon in "Face of a Hero". He also appeared in multiple theatrical productions, some of which were Shakespearean. Around 1960, Ed headed for Hollywood and launched his film and TV career, which included appearances on "Naked City", "Route 66", "Gunsmoke", "The Fugitive", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and the films "El Dorado" and "The Venetian Affair". He worked steadily through the 60's, and became known as one of TV's "tough guys". Ed and Mary Tyler Moore both worked on the film "Change of Habit", the notoriously mediocre Elvis Presley/MTM flick of 1967, wherein he played a cop (see photo below). But their first meeting didn't come until 1970 when he read for the role that would change his life.
Edward Asner claimed Emmys for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in 1971, 1972 and 1975, and was nominated every other year from 1973-77. He also claimed Golden Globes in 1972 and 1976. During his last two years on MTMS, he also starred in "Roots" and "Rich Man, Poor Man", for which he won Emmys. Asner's seven-Emmy record has not been surpassed by any other actor. When MTMS concluded, he was offered his own series. The groundbreaking "Lou Grant" lasted five years and brought in multiple awards. It was the only spinoff of MTMS to survive more than two seasons, and until its conclusion in 1982, was always high in the Nielsens. Naturally, "Lou Grant" represented the second segment of Lou's career...he turned from television news to investigative journalism in L.A.
From 1981-85, Ed Asner was president of Screen Actors Guild. For many years he has been active as a civil rights advocate, participating openly and tirelessly in numerous political demonstrations. He was married to Nancy Sykes from 1957-88, and they raised three children. He has over two hundred acting credits on record, some of which include voice credits for cartoon series such as "Batman" and "Gargoyles". His recent work (2005) includes He also owns and operates a production company called Quince Productions, and his son Matthew Asner co-produced the material on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" DVDs.
It is hoped that Asner will someday publish an autobiography, as the amount of information on him is (unjustly!) limited. Also check out this E-mail interview with Edward Asner.
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