Edward Asner.

Drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Edward Asner served in the Signals Corps in France performing clerical duties. He was born on November 15, 1929, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Morris David Asner, founder of the Asner Iron & Metal Company, and Elizabeth Seliger. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish household, he attended Wyandotte High School and the University of Chicago from 1947 to 1949.

After his discharge, Asner returned to Chicago and joined the Playwrights Theatre Company. He took on odd jobs—working in a steel mill, selling door-to-door, and assembling cars on a General Motors line—to support his early acting ambitions.

Asner’s breakthrough came in 1970 when he was cast as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a role that earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In 1976, he played the brutal patriarch Axel Jordache in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, and the following year he portrayed the morally conflicted slave ship captain Thomas Davies in Roots, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

From 1977 to 1982, Asner starred in his own drama Lou Grant, reprising the title role and winning two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor. He also voiced Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s Oscar-winning film Up 2009 and played Santa Claus in multiple productions, including Elf 2003. Asner remained active in television and voice work, with guest roles on The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Asner married Nancy Sykes in 1959; the couple had three children—Matthew, Liza, and Kate—before divorcing in 1988. He later married Cindy Gilmore in 1998, though they separated in 2015. Asner also had a son, Charles, with Carol Jean Vogelman in 1987. He was a dedicated political activist, serving as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985 and openly criticizing U.S. foreign policy in Central America.

A self-described liberal Democrat, he authored the 2017 book The Grouchy Historian and supported causes such as autism awareness, having both a child and grandchild with the condition.

Edward Asner holds the record for most Primetime Emmy Awards won by a male performer, with seven statuettes across comedy, drama, and limited series categories. He is the only actor to win Emmys for both a comedy and a drama series for playing the same character, Lou Grant. In 2002, he received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and in 1996 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Asner’s gravelly voice and commanding presence made him a beloved character actor for decades. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Lou Grant—a gruff but kind-hearted editor—and his activism that used his platform to speak out on social justice issues.