When Ed Asner died at 91 on Aug. 29, the headlines largely focused on his legendary role as Lou Grant, the “gruff but lovable newsman” who debuted on The Mary Tyler Moore Show before being spun off into the lead of Lou Grant. Asner’s achievements as an actor are undeniable: He won seven Emmy Awards, five of them for Lou Grant—three as a supporting actor in a comedy and two as a lead actor in a drama. He also won Emmy Awards for roles in Rich Man, Poor Man, and Roots. Late in life he gained fame with a new generation for his roles in Elf and Up.
But as much as he was an actor, Asner was an activist. He remained convinced that the 1982 cancellation of Lou Grant was because of his politics, not because of the show’s ratings: The show was cancelled just three months after Asner participated in a high-profile fundraising drive for medical aid to leftist rebels fighting a U.S.-backed military dictatorship in El Salvador. In 2003, Asner told the Deseret News that any regrets he had about his activism were “Never for myself. Only for the people I put out of work.”
Asner was active in a three-month Screen Actors Guild (SAG)/AFTRA strike in 1980. The next year, he became SAG’s president, serving until 1985. Asner remained active in the union, joining a lawsuit against cuts to its health care plan in 2020, and in the last weeks of his life, several times he tweeted support for the insurgent Membership First candidates in SAG/AFTRA’s current election.
In the wake of his death, many people offered testimonials to Asner’s activism and generosity in service of causes he believed in.
But as much as he was an actor, Asner was an activist. He remained convinced that the 1982 cancellation of Lou Grant was because of his politics, not because of the show’s ratings: The show was cancelled just three months after Asner participated in a high-profile fundraising drive for medical aid to leftist rebels fighting a U.S.-backed military dictatorship in El Salvador. In 2003, Asner told the Deseret News that any regrets he had about his activism were “Never for myself. Only for the people I put out of work.”
Asner was active in a three-month Screen Actors Guild (SAG)/AFTRA strike in 1980. The next year, he became SAG’s president, serving until 1985. Asner remained active in the union, joining a lawsuit against cuts to its health care plan in 2020, and in the last weeks of his life, several times he tweeted support for the insurgent Membership First candidates in SAG/AFTRA’s current election.
In the wake of his death, many people offered testimonials to Asner’s activism and generosity in service of causes he believed in.