| Ed Asner  AKA Yitzak Edward Asner
Born: 15-Nov-1929
Birthplace: Kansas City, KS
Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Democratic Nationality: United States
Executive summary: TV's Lou Grant Military service: US Army Signal Corps (1951-53) Ed Asner played the heavy-boozing wisecracking sitcom news producer Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Then, in a spin-off series, Lou Grant suddenly kicked the bottle and became a serious editor at a big city newspaper, facing overwrought ethical dilemmas every week. Asner became the only actor to win Emmys for both Comedy and Drama playing the same character.
Asner has been a regular on a dozen other TV series, not counting all his cartoon voice work. He has guested on everything from Route 66 in the 60s to ER in the 00s. He played Santa Claus in three Christmas specials, an episode of Ellen, and the Will Ferrell film Elf. From 1981-85, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild.
As a young man, Asner worked at a General Motors plant near Kansas City, where he became a believer in strong unions to protect workers' rights. Over the years he evolved into an outspoken activist for many leftist causes, earning him the nickname "Lou Rant" in some circles. Right-wingers call Asner a socialist, and it's not hyperbole -- he is a prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He helped fund Michael Moore's first film, Roger & Me, and he has taken outspoken stands against racism and nuclear power, for a pardon for Leonard Peltier and a retrial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. And he has tiptoed toward the lunatic fringe by making contributions to Lyndon LaRouche's perpetual candidacy for President.
In 1982, Asner signed a letter seeking to raise funds for medical aid to rebels in El Salvador, who were fighting against the U.S.-backed but very oppressive regime there. Vidal Sassoon and Kimberly Clarke quickly withdrew their ads from Lou Grant, and two weeks later CBS cancelled the show, though its ratings were considerably higher than several shows that the network renewed. Asner has long said he took the cancellation as a personal "fuck you" from CBS Chairman William S. Paley.
Father: Morris David Asner (ran second-hand shop)
Mother: Lizzie (Seliger) Asner (homemaker)
Brother: Ben Asner (record shop owner, d. 1986, cerebral hemorrhage)
Wife: Nancy Lou Sikes (m. 1957, div. 1988, three children)
Son: Matthew Asner (Liza's twin, director, The Bible Code II: Apocalypse and Beyond)
Daughter: Liza Asner (Matthew's twin, executive, Cascade Blues Association)
Daughter: Kathryn "Kate" Asner (actress, Wedding Bell Blues)
Girlfriend: Carol Jean Vogelman
Son: Charles Vogelman (b. 1987, with Carol Jean Vogelman)
Wife: Cindy Gilmore (producer, Sister Act, b. 1940, engaged 1991, m. 2-Aug-1998)
Son: Robin Gilmore (stepson)
High School: Wyandotte High School, Kansas City, KS
University: University of Chicago
Democratic Socialists of America
Disarm Education Fund National Advisory Board
MoveOn.org
Screen Actors Guild President (1981-85)
General Motors (assembly plant worker)
Emmy 1971 for Mary Tyler Moore
Emmy 1972 for Mary Tyler Moore
Emmy 1975 for Mary Tyler Moore
Emmy 1976 for Rich Man, Poor Man
Emmy 1978 for Lou Grant
Emmy 1980 for Lou Grant
Golden Globe 1972 for Mary Tyler Moore
Golden Globe 1976 for Mary Tyler Moore
Golden Globe 1977 for Rich Man, Poor Man
Golden Globe 1978 for Lou Grant
Golden Globe 1980 for Lou Grant
Hollywood Walk of Fame 6363 Hollywood Blvd.
Risk Factors: Obesity
TELEVISION
Center of the Universe Art Barnett (2004-)
ER Dr. James McNulty (2003)
The Closer Carl Dobson (1998)
The Practice Judge Marcus Winnaker (1997-2004)
Thunder Alley Gil Jones (1994-95)
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill Walter Kovacs (1991-92)
The Bronx Zoo Joe Danzig (principal, 1987-88)
Lou Grant Lou Grant (1977-82)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show Lou Grant (1970-77)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (20-Dec-2003)
Elf (7-Nov-2003)
The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay (15-Jun-2003)
The Animal (21-Mar-2001)
Island Prey (2001)
Above Suspicion (7-Jun-2000)
Common Ground (29-Jan-2000)
Olive, the Other Reindeer (17-Dec-1999) [VOICE]
The Bachelor (3-Nov-1999)
Love and Action in Chicago (15-Sep-1999)
Our Friend, Martin (1999) [VOICE]
Armistead Maupin's More Tales of the City (7-Jun-1998)
Hard Rain (16-Jan-1998)
The Long Way Home (19-Sep-1997) [VOICE]
A Christmas Carol (1997) [VOICE]
Gone in the Night (25-Feb-1996)
Gypsy (12-Dec-1993)
Happily Ever After (28-May-1993) [VOICE]
Cruel Doubt (17-May-1992)
JFK (20-Dec-1991)
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (8-Dec-1991)
Switched at Birth (28-Apr-1991)
Moon Over Parador (9-Sep-1988) Himself
Daniel (26-Aug-1983)
Fort Apache the Bronx (6-Feb-1981)
The Gathering (4-Dec-1977)
Roots (23-Jan-1977)
Gus (7-Jul-1976)
Rich Man, Poor Man (1-Feb-1976)
The Girl Most Likely to... (6-Nov-1973)
Skin Game (30-Sep-1971)
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (08-Jul-1970)
Change of Habit (10-Nov-1969)
Gunn (28-Jun-1967)
The Venetian Affair (18-Jan-1967)
El Dorado (17-Dec-1966)
The Slender Thread (23-Dec-1965)
The Satan Bug (26-Mar-1965)
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