Ed Asner is an award winning actor who holds the distinction of accomplishing one of the most extraordinary transitions in television programming history: he took his character Lou Grant—the gruff, hard drinking, but lovable boss of the newsroom at WJM TV Minneapolis on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, a half-hour situation comedy—to the city editorship of the Los Angeles Tribune, on the one hour drama Lou Grant. Lou Grant's 12-year career on two successful, but very different, television shows established Asner as a major presence in American popular culture.

Yitzak Edward Asner was born on November 15, 1929 in Kansas City, Kansas. After high school, he attended the University of Chicago, where he appeared in student dramatic productions and firmly decided upon a life in the theater. After graduation and two years in the army, he found work in Chicago as a member of...