https://www.msn.com/en-us/ente...-BB1cGhIM?li=BBnb2gh

Another mainstay of the TV screen from the '70s and '80s.

The thing about Asner is that it is the only time I can recall a character (Lou Grant) going from being in a sitcom (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), to a spinoff (Lou Grant) which was a drama. Very unusual, at least it was back then. Characters in popular shows got spinoffs all the time, but the genre always stayed the same- comedy to comedy, drama to drama.

Re: Spin-offs.

I recall when Hill Street Blues left the air, the Det. Buntz character had a spin-off where I seem to remember was supposed to be a comedy. I don’t think it lasted a season.

Trapper John MD (drama) was a spinoff of MASH. My dad used to LOVE both of those shows and would talk about it often. I don’t recall if they ever brought MASH characters to guest star on the new show though.

Ed Asner was certainly a gifted character actor but for some reason he just rubbed me the wrong way. Never watched his shows.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Ed Asner was certainly a gifted character actor but for some reason he just rubbed me the wrong way. Never watched his shows.

Same here.

I was trying to think of his roles, and all I came up with were characters that I didn't like. Does that mean he was a good actor at playing a type, or was he just unlikeable?

I know I have my opinions when it comes to him.

As for his politics, I guess he was... I'm not sure how to phrase it really. There was a long time when actors mostly kept their political views to themselves. Now days they do not. He was one of the earlier "did not"s. It may not be that he was a "pioneer" or pivotal in the change, but rather in the right place at the right time? Dunno.

He was great in MTM show but he turned into a grouchy old liberal.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
There was a long time when actors mostly kept their political views to themselves. Now days they do not. He was one of the earlier "did not"s. It may not be that he was a "pioneer" or pivotal in the change, but rather in the right place at the right time? Dunno.

Two, maybe three decades back, Asner was on someone's late night talk show, I don't remember which one. A conservative woman's name came up and Asner made a particularly ugly comment and the host called him on it, over the line. He backed off but whatever good will he may have had with me was out the door. His cultivated gruffness masked a much darker man IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Ed Asner was certainly a gifted character actor but for some reason he just rubbed me the wrong way. Never watched his shows.

I was the opposite - he was always appealing to me, even in shows I didn't love very much. It didn't mean I watched a show he was in just because he was in it, I just usually liked his roles.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
As for his politics...

As for his politics, they belong in some other thread.

Strangely, the only thing I remember about Lou Grant was a scene where Grant was holed up in a house during what I think was an ice storm. He opened a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Makers Mark. He looked at the camera and said “I think we re gonna make it.”

Strange how trivial things stick in your mind.

He was good in Fort Apache the Bronx.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
He was great in MTM show but he turned into a grouchy old liberal.

I agree with this…

I really wish actors would just keep their politics to their selves and just let us appreciate their work.

I enjoyed his work…funny, witty, etc…but his political leanings ruined it a bit as he got older.

Good grief. Can you read?