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Ed Asner, Of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ Fame, Dead At 91

Ed Asner, Of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ Fame, Dead At 91
Posted at 12:57 PM, Aug 30, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-31 14:51:17-04

Legendary TV and film actor Ed Asner died Sunday, Aug. 29, at the age of 91. The actor passed away in the morning hours, surrounded by his family.

News of Asner’s death quickly spread around the internet with a post from the actor’s Twitter handle from his family.

“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” the Twitter statement read. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head — Goodnight dad. We love you.”

Asner won seven Emmy awards for his work on television dating back to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the 1970s and his own spinoff show “Lou Grant,” which ran until 1982.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Asner is one of only two actors to win comedy and drama Emmys for the same role (the other person who achieved this is Uzo Aduba). Asner also earned Emmy awards for the limited series “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.”

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Younger audiences know Asner from his role as Santa Claus in the classic holiday film “Elf” and as the voice of Carl Fredericksen in the animated movie “Up.”

Reactions to Asner’s death came from fans across the world, including some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

Comedian Wanda Sykes took to Twitter to share her memories of Asner’s “generosity and compassion.”

Singer Richard Marx recalled recent comforting words from Asner shortly after Marx’s mother passed on Aug. 24.

Bob Saget shared memories of talking to Asner as recently as Aug. 16, when Asner was a guest on Saget’s podcast.

Not only was Asner involved in Hollywood through performance, the actor also advocated for his colleagues as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985. However, in recent years, he protested the organization’s health care plan and joined nine other actors in filing a class-action lawsuit against SAG, according to NPR.

Asner gave his last public media interview just on Aug. 16 with Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter. During the conversation, Asner shared memories of his childhood and his career that spanned more than 50 years. He even talked about how he was feeling at his age.

“If it weren’t for my bad left leg, I would feel younger,” he said in the interview. “I’ve got many parts that need to be bolstered and refurbished. And I haven’t got time to undergo all those changes.”

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