Ed Asner, the burly and prolific character actor who rose to fame as the gruff but charming newsman Lou Grant in middle life, first in the classic comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and subsequently in the drama “Lou Grant,” died on Sunday. He was 91 years old when he died.
In an email to The Associated Press, Asner’s representative confirmed the actor’s death. “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.”
When he was hired in 1970 to play Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” the balding Asner was a journeyman actor in films and television, built like the football player he once was. He was Moore’s rumpled employer at the fictional Minneapolis TV newsroom where they both worked for seven seasons (he called her “Mary,” she called him “Mr. Grant”). He would later reprise the role on “Lou Grant” for five years.
Asner’s character had picked up on it since the first episode of “Mary Tyler Moore,” when he told Mary, “You’ve got spunk…. I detest spunk!” Ted Knight played the dimwitted news presenter Ted Baxter, Gavin MacLeod played the sardonic news writer Murray Slaughter, and Betty White played the manipulative, sex-obsessed home show hostess Sue Ann Nivens. Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman, who played Mary’s neighbors, each had their own program based on their roles.
Asner is the third member of the “Mary Tyler Moore” cast to pass away in recent months. MacLeod died in May and Leachman died in January.
White, who is 99 years old, is the only surviving primary cast member of “Mary Tyler Moore.”
When the star decided to pursue other interests, “Mary Tyler Moore” remained a hit, and it was brought to a close in the seventh season with a funny ending in which all of the principals were fired except for the bumbling Baxter.