Kansas City-born Edward Asner, known as Ed Asner, was an American film actor, voice actor, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
The famous voice actor is best known for portraying the character Lou Grant on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and its spin-off series 'Lou Grant', making him one of the few television actors to portray the same character in both a drama and a comedy. 'Lou Grant' was a drama about newspaper journalism.
On making the transition from comedy, 'Mary Tyler Moore' to a dramatic spin of 'Lou Grant', Ed Asner had mentioned being worried if the audience was ready for the switch.
He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, as Supporting Actor in a Comedy Television Series on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and two awards as Lead Actor in a Dramatic Television Series on spin-off 'Lou Grant'.
He is one of the few television actors who has served two terms as former president of Screen Actors Guild and played an essential role in the SAG strike. Ed Asner quotes give us a glimpse into his exciting life, his thoughts, and his take on the world.
While some are funny, most of them serve as a perfect inspiration to be more insightful.
Famous Ed Asner Quotes
Ed Asner has been one of the most iconic American television actors, and here are a few quotes to get to know him more.
"All capitalists should be like Warren Buffett, and he says he should be taxed more."
"I am not a method actor, though I studied for a year with Lee Strasburg."
"A lot of people don't want to feel anti-black by being opposed to Obama."
"I don't know who made the Earth. I woke up one morning, and it's here. I make the best of it."
"To my knowledge, there is no blacklist. But there is a mindset, even among liberal producers, that says 'He may be difficult so let's avoid him'."
"There's never been a time in history, no matter what the public thinks, when actors have been paid more than they should be."
"As they used to say 'What if they gave a war and nobody came?' How worthwhile if they declared a day of peace and everybody came."
"I also think that there is a strong streak of racism, and whenever we engage in foreign adventures. Our whole history in regime change has been of people of different color."
"They're sheep. They like Bush enough to credit him with saving the nation after 9/11. Three thousand people get killed, and everybody thinks they're next on the list. The president comes along, and he's got his six guns strapped on, and people think he's going to save them."
"If I don't like you, I'll fire you! If you don't like me, I'll fire you!"
-Lou Grant, 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', Season 1, 'Love is All-Around'.
"Word to the wise, Mary. The best kind of reunion is one where you don't know anyone."
-Lou Grant, 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', Season 1, 'A Friend in Deed'.
Best Ed Asner Quotes
Ed Asner did a few years of military service before establishing the Playwrights Theatre Company.
(Get inspired by the quotes of this acting legend.)
"The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character may be portraying because they are essential for presenting truth."
"I regard myself as a beautiful musical instrument, and my role is to contribute that instrument to scripts worthy of it."
"The treasure shouldn't do the hunting, and you're a treasure."
"It's like an athlete. He has a string of hot years, and then he fades into nothingness. The actor doesn't necessarily fade into nothingness. After his hot years, he fades into a different category."
"Always keep yourself engaged, in theater, in whatever job you can get."
Inspirational Ed Asner Quotes
Having been the president of SAG, Asner was integral in making the institution what it is today. Learn more about the legend through his quotes.
"I was a newspaper editor in high school, and I truly thought of journalism as a career. I loved it."
"My first job was with an auto plant, Kansas City-they treated you like slaves. From there I went back to Chicago, worked in steel mills, drove a cab, stuff like that."
"I don't believe in God, though I'm not prepared to call myself an atheist either. You know the old phrase: 'There are no atheists in foxholes.' I've never been in a foxhole, and if I ever find myself in a foxhole, I'll let you know if I believe in God or not."
"I went into acting as psychotherapy, and it's still a work in progress."
"Never thought acting was something you could make a living at. It wasn't until I was in college, and got a lead in a play, that I began to realize I might just be able to blunder into this profession."
"I can do lovers. I can do Sir Galahad types. I'm not going to limit myself in voice-overs to irascible old men."
"I'm not sought after. I never get enough work. It's the history of my career. There just isn't anything to turn down, let me put it that way."
"The free access to information is not a privilege, but a necessity for any free society. One of my favorite things to do as a young man was wander through the stacks of my hometown library. I'd just browse until I found something interesting."
"Some of my earliest political feelings were based on the anti-Japanese bubblegum cards I got. There were also Spanish Civil War bubblegum cards. Awful."
"To tell you the truth, I hadn't seen any Pixar until I went to see 'Wall-E,' and I watched it and I was shocked to see how adult it was, with the setting in our lives, both present and future, and how they dealt with it."
"It is the yawning abyss. I will fight and scratch and claw to keep from falling into that abyss."
- Los Angeles Times, March 2010.
"I’m always thought of in Hollywood ... as the resident communist."
- Los Angeles Times, March 2010.
Short Ed Asner Quotes
Being a funny guy, Asner kept everyone around him in good humor. Learn a thing or two about cracking jokes from the icon.
"They say making laws is like making sausages. You shouldn't watch. It's the same for acting, specially for the actor who works unconsciously."
"I got some news for you. One, there is no Jesus. Two, there is no God. Three, mind your own business and everything works out."
"Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare."
"I've never stopped loving cartoons. I loved cartoons as a kid. I can still look at them and enjoy them."
"I will always have enough money to last the rest of my life...as long as I don't buy anything."
"I loved getting to Chagrin Falls, being by the falls; what a cute place it is."
"Where the work goes, I go. Wherever adulation occurs, that's where you'll find me."
