Written by: Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons
It shouldn’t have been a shock to hear Ed Asner died.
After all, he was 91.
But it was a sucker punch, and one of many we’ve had the past year and a half.
Of course Asner will always be Lou Grant. Lou Grant, the executive producer of the WJM News. The producer who had a bottle of alcohol in his desk drawer. You would too if you had to work with Ted Baxter, the anchorman who often was more concerned with his hair than the news. He wasn’t sure about women (let’s face it, he thought of them as girls) in the newsroom, hence his interview with Mary Richards, played by, of course, Mary Tyler Moore. Our Mary stood up to Lou. We then got this:
“You know what? You’ve got spunk!”
“Well, yeah,” Mary agreed.
“I hate spunk!”
Darling readers, a classic was born.
Lou called Mary “Mary,” while she called him “Mr. Grant.” Everyone else called him Lou. Gruff Lou, he also tried to be kind, like standing up to his nephew when the nephew was interested in Mary: “Listen you, let me remind you of something, and remember this forever. I think of this girl here as if she were my own daughter and that means she is your cousin, you get my drift?”
When Ted was going to take a job hosting a game show, Lou knew deep down Ted wasn’t right for the job, so said one word: “Stay.” Ted stayed.
Lou became the man to go to when someone at WJM needed a pep talk, or a shoulder to cry on. But he always strived for excellence in the news, even when the news was…well, odd. And nothing was odder when Chuckles the Clown shuffled off his mortal coil. Describing what happened, Lou said this: “It was a freak accident. He went to the parade dressed as Peter Peanut, and a rogue elephant tried to shell him.” Of course at Chuckles’ funeral, Mary (who had been appalled by the joking) burst into laughter. Then she cried.
Life changed Lou as well: His wife Edie left him. He started dating. He promoted Mary to a producer job. Then in the next to last episode, he and Mary went on a date. She even called him “Lou.” Yeah, it was awkward. When they kissed, they burst into laughter. They simply weren’t meant to be in romantic love. Only great friends.
After the finale when everyone was fired (except of course, Ted) when they all left the newsroom singing “It’s a Long Way to Tipparary” Lou Grant’s journey wasn’t over yet. This was television! They could spin him off into his own show! Off he went to Los Angeles to work for the Tribune. His name was on the show and this time, it was an hour long drama. He became an editor/mentor to the reporters. Every week there was an issue the paper was covering. One week Billie (Linda Kelsey) was interviewing a sex worker about her job; Lou was shocked by how young she was and how pretty. Another week was the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Lou demanded excellence of his reporters. He also was loyal, making sure Tribune owner Mrs. Pynchon’s nephews didn’t take over the newspaper while she was recovering from a stroke.
While on MTM, the Missouri-born Asner himself became more political. Not only was he a two-time President of the Screen Actors Guild, he was a supporter of equal rights and marched for the Equal Rights Amendment. One political position may have gotten him blacklisted: he objected to the U.S. government policy in Central America in 1982. Shortly after he made his views known, the show, still high in the ratings, was canceled. Asner said it was because of his political views. It’s never been officially confirmed that’s why the show was canceled (Howard Hessman made similar claims about WKRP being canceled at the same time; he too objected to the U.S. government’s dealings in Central America) but for the first time in twelve years, Asner was out of a job.
The seven-time Emmy Award winner kept acting, doing six more different shows that ended up canceled. He did many guest starring roles on TV shows, usually playing the grumpy grandpa with a heart of gold. It wasn’t until 2003 that he played an iconic role he was introduced to a new generation: Santa Claus in the movie Elf. Then he found a role that rivaled Lou in popularity, one he did the voice over for: Carl Fredricksen in the movie Up. Yes, it was on brand: Carl Fredricksen was an elderly grumpy man who decided to relocate his house to Paradise Falls. How would he do that? Simple. Make the house an airship with balloons. Only a little boy named Kevin tags along. Okay, we know he’s going to love the kid. But it’s Asner’s crabby, then softened voice over that wins us over. Generations of children could watch old episodes of Mary Tyler Moore then watch Asner as Lou, then say “Hey! That’s Carl Fredricksen!”
When I found out Asner died on Sunday at his home in California, it hit me: they’re all gone now. Almost all the cast of Mary Tyler Moore Show is gone. Only Betty White is still with us (And 2021, keep your hands off our Betty.)
Good night Ed. We’ll turn off the lights when we leave.
