Ed Asner dead at 91; Cobra Kai, Blue Bloods, Lou Grant among TV credits

This morning, it was reported that we’ve unfortunately lost a legend. Ed Asner, one of the most prolific actors of the past six-plus decades, has died at the age of 91.

The news of Asner’s passing was reported today by Deadline, who noted that he was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing. It’s hard to know how to sum up Asner’s career in just a few words, since he is one of those actors who is known for entirely different things depending on the generation you grew up in.

For many, his most iconic role by far will be Lou Grant, a role that originated on The Mary Tyler Moore Show before eventually going over to the Lou Grant spin-off. Between the two shows, he played this part for more than 270 episodes. Later on in his career he had important roles on The Closer and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip — more recently, he appeared in an emotional episode of Blue Bloods and also played Johnny Lawrence’s stepfather on Cobra Kai.

Asner was also well-known as a voice actor, with his most iconic part being the lead role in Disney / Pixar’s Up. He had that ability to extra a laugh or a tear from you in just a few lines. He’s also one of those actors where even if you didn’t know his name, you could point out how he was the moment that you saw him. He worked throughout the entirety of his adult life, and even appeared recently in an episode of Grace & Frankie. There may still be work from him to be released posthumously. He loved acting and the experience of working with other people; that passion never went away no matter his age.

Here is how important Ed is to the history of television: He has seven Emmy wins to his name, more than any male performer in the history of the Television Academy.

Asner will be missed tremendously; our thoughts go out to all who love him in this difficult time. We are sure that in due time, more tributes from the Hollywood community will come out.