Ed Asner Movies
Raised in the only Jewish family in his neighborhood, American actor Ed Asner grew up having to defend himself both vocally and physically. A born competitor, he played championship football in high school and organized a top-notch basketball team which toured most of liberated Europe. Asner's performing career got its start while he was announcing for his high school radio station; moving to Chicago in the '50s, the actor was briefly a member of the Playwrights Theatre Club until he went to New York to try his luck on Broadway.Asner starred for several years in the off-Broadway production Threepenny Opera, and, toward the end of the '50s, picked up an occasional check as a film actor for industrial short subjects and TV appearances. Between 1960 and 1965, he established himself as one of television's most reliable villains; thanks to his resemblance to certain Soviet politicians, the actor was particularly busy during the spy-show boom of the mid-'60s. He also showed up briefly as a regular on the New York-filmed dramatic series Slattery's People. And though his film roles became larger, it was in a relatively minor part as a cop in Elvis Presley's Change of Habit (1969) that Asner first worked with Mary Tyler Moore. In 1970, over Moore's initial hesitation (she wasn't certain he was funny enough), Asner was cast as Lou Grant, the irascible head of the WJM newsroom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The popular series ran for seven seasons, during which time the actor received three Emmy awards. His new stardom allowed Asner a wider variety of select roles, including a continuing villainous appearance on the miniseries Roots -- which earned him another Emmy.
When Moore ceased production in 1977, Asner took his Lou Grant character into an hour-long dramatic weekly about a Los Angeles newspaper. The show's title, of course, was Lou Grant, and its marked liberal stance seemed, to some viewers, to be an extension of Asner's real-life viewpoint. While Lou Grant was in production, Asner was twice elected head of the Screen Actors Guild, a position that he frequently utilized as a forum for his political opinions -- notably his opposition to U.S. involvement in Central America. When Asner suggested that each guild member contribute toward opposing the country's foreign policy, he clashed head to head with Charlton Heston, who wrested Asner's office from him in a highly publicized power play. Although no tangible proof has ever been offered, it was Asner's belief that CBS canceled Lou Grant in 1982 because of his politics and not dwindling ratings. The actor continued to prosper professionally after Lou Grant, however, and, during the remainder of the '80s and into the '90s, starred in several TV movies, had guest and recurring roles in a wide variety of both TV dramas and comedies, and headlining two regular series, Off the Rack and The Bronx Zoo. Slowed but hardly halted by health problems in the '90s, Asner managed to find time to appear in the weekly sitcoms Hearts Afire and Thunder Alley -- atypically cast in the latter show as an ineffective grouch who was easily brow-beaten by his daughter and grandchildren. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
A Case of Libel was adapted from the 1953 Broadway play by Henry Denker. The story was inspired by the real-life courtroom battle between journalists Quentin Reynolds and Westbrook Pegler. Gordon Pinsent plays a liberal news correspondent who has performed heroically in World War II. Nonetheless, he is characterized as a drunkard and a Communist sympathizer by ultraconservative columnist Daniel J. Travanti. With the help of brilliant attorney Edward Asner (based on the actual case's Louis Nizer), Pinsent brings a libel suit against Travanti. The climax, in which Travanti is tripped up by his own contradictory writings, was in reality based on a small portion of the Reynolds/Pegler litigation, but it provides a satisfactory "sauce for the goose" third act. A Case of Libel had previously been adapted for television in 1969, with Jose Ferrer and Arthur Hill in the cast. The later version premiered October 17, 1983 on the Showtime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This animated retelling of the Charles Dickens classic makes for light holiday viewing. The familiar tale begins with the miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge (voice of Tim Curry), who would rather count his money than celebrate the season with his put-upon employee, Bob Cratchit (voice of Michael York). In the middle of the night, the ghost of Scrooge's dead partner, Jacob Marley (voice of Edward Asner), warns him that he will be visited by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes him back to his childhood, the Ghost of the Present takes him to visit the poverty-stricken Cratchits, and the Ghost of the Future is merely a silent cloaked figure, representing his death. Upon seeing the error of his ways, Scrooge reforms and attempts to bring good cheer to the Cratchit family. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1988
Set in Vienna during the German occupation, this made-for-cable television drama centers on the friendship between a Jewish girl and the young Christian who helps her escape. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
A policeman masquerades as a homeless alcoholic and teams up with a bag lady, who is really a college professor, to bring a drug lord's assassin to justice in this memorable made-for-television drama. Along the way, the two disparate partners find themselves falling in love. The story is based upon Richard Barth's novel The Rag Bag Clan. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2000
- R
One man lives two very different lives in this suspense thriller. Lisa (Annabella Sciorra) is a computer science instructor who is happily married to James Stockton (Scott Bakula), a businessman who has enjoyed considerable success as a land developer. Lisa and James are the proud parents of a daughter, Stacy (Cait Gentile), and James would seem to be the ideal father, eagerly volunteering for community activities and coaching Stacy's Little League team. But James is not really the man he seems to be -- James Stockton is actually a new identity fabricated 14 years ago by Tony Mancini, a mobster on the run from the law after killing his girlfriend. Shortly before Mancini disappeared, he was given a set of books with enough information on the Mafia's financial dealings to bring down the organized crime syndicate once and for all. One detective has refused to give up on his search for Mancini, and as he begins to zero in on James Stockton, Lisa finds herself wondering what the truth is about the man she thought she knew. Above Suspicion also stars Edward Asner, George Dzundza, and Red West. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Bakula, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
- 1962
Prison warden Bragen (Edward Asner) can't understand why former convict and recent parolee Fred Riordan (R.G. Armstrong) would commit a minor crime which lands him back behind bars. Thinking that Fred simply isn't psychologically capable of living in the outside world, Bragen asks the man to tell him his story. It turns out that, once sprung, Fred had been ordered to commit a murder by a gangster named Tony Wando (Steven Peccaro) -- and the only way Fred could solve his dilemma was to give up his freedom again. Of course, there is a bit more to the story...but Fred will reveal all when the time comes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Edward Asner stars as Saturday Review editor Norman Cousins in this made-for-TV biopic, which first aired May 15, 1984. Stricken with a degenerative spinal illness in 1964, Cousins refuses to accept the prognosis that he must spend the rest of his life as a virtual vegetable. He battles his illness by using the most potent weapons at his disposal--a healthy sense of humor, the love and support of his wife, and confidence that he will endure. This sort of spiritual battle is not that easy to film, and some of the scenes--Cousins laughing at the opening titles of a Marx Brothers film, for example--sorely test the acting skills of Ed Asner. But both Cousins and Asner emerge triumphant from Anatomy of an Illness, which was based on Norman Cousins' own book on the subject. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
In this made-for-TV movie, shown on the E! network, Richard Breggs (Harland Williams) is a super-swell guy. An aspiring actor, he drives a taxi so that he can afford to buy his girlfriend Maggie (Elizabeth Berkley) a set of window shades for their apartment. All is dandy until Richard's friend Nick informs him that his niceness is the source of his career problems, and that he'll only be able to get ahead as an actor if he becomes a class-A jerk. Richard decides to give Nick's advice a try, and four years later he wakes up with amnesia to discover that he's the star of a monstrously popular TV show called, appropriately enough, "Dick." Living in a mansion, he is informed by his butler Edward (Robert Wagner) that yes, he has become a bonafide schmuck. This news horrifies Richard, who sets about trying to find Maggie and mend his wicked ways. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harland Williams, Robert Wagner, (more)
A troubled young man looking for his best friend is looking for help from the family he left behind in this drama for the family. Ricky Horvath (Jeffrey Licon) is a teenager who broke ties with his family and lives on the streets. Ricky's constant companion is his dog Buddy, and when his pet is stolen by a gang of ruthless dognappers, Ricky is desperate to get Buddy back. Finding Buddy proves to be more difficult than Ricky imagined, and in time he realizes he must turn for help to a man he promised he would never speak to again -- his grandfather Geza (Edward Asner), a detective with the police. Bring Him Home also stars Sharon Gless, George "Buck" Flower, and Noah Blake. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Asner, Sharon Gless, (more)
Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis Presley) helps the economically disadvantaged in an inner-city medical clinic. Three nuns are assigned to help out at the facility and are allowed to wear regular clothes instead of the traditional habits. Sister Michelle (Mary Tyler Moore) is the speech therapist who Dr. Carpenter would like to examine personally after hours. Along with the other sisters (Barbara McNair and Jane Elliot), Michelle is subjected to the criticism of the local parish priest (Regis Toomey) in the social experiment of non-traditional dress. Two spinsters even mistake the nuns for prostitutes without their habits. The priest wins out in the end, and the nuns must again don their habits. As the good doctor sings to the ailing children, Sister Michelle is transfixed both by a crucifix hanging on the wall and by Elvis Presley in an ironic and symbolic scene that flashes between the two icons. This was Presley's last studio feature and he welcomed the move from stifling screen images as he returned his focus to live performances and recording for the remainder of his illustrious career. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Mary Tyler Moore, (more)
A high profile Hollywood film producer becomes transfixed with a beautiful soap opera character who inexplicably emerges from his television set and beckons him to take one final shot at living life on his own terms. Black Racklin has all the respect, money, and success that one could hope for in life, yet despite all of this he remains emotionally suffocated by the pressures of his job. Each night when he closes his eyes, Black is haunted by dreams of a passing train, and a mysterious traveler who urges him to hop aboard - and each night Black fails to take that decisive leap. The only time that Black is able to find peace is when he's sitting at home and mindlessly channel-surfing, until one night when he comes across a bizarre soap opera. Bewitched by a beautiful character named Katherine, Black is dumbfounded when she magically appears in his living room and the two fall instantly in love. Now faced with the decision to finally leap on that passing train or snap himself back to reality, Black must finally make the decision that will define the rest of his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Harvey Fierstein, Terrence McNally, and Paula Vogel each wrote episodes for this three-part made-for-cable drama which examines changing attitudes and issues facing the gay and lesbian community in the small town of Homer, Connecticut. Opening in the 1950s and leading up to the present day, Common Ground features Eric Stolz, Mimi Rogers, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Margot Kidder, Edward Asner, Beau Bridges, Jason Priestley, and Steven Weber, as well as co-writer Fierstein. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Asner, Beau Bridges, (more)
- 1987
The first TV movie to utilize the "new" drug of crack cocaine as a plot peg, Cracked Up stars James Wilder as a 17-year-old top student and athlete. Wilder and his best friend Rafael Sbarge make the fatal error of experimenting with Crack; while Sbarge is able to resist the drug's more debilitating effects, Wilder becomes a hopeless addict in a matter of minutes. Sbarge is forced to keep his friend's addiction a secret from Wilder's clergyman father, played by Ed Asner. But with Wilder stealing everything that isn't nailed down in order to feed his habit, it is only a matter of time before Asner will be forced to breach the communications gap between himself and his son. Cracked Up was originally an ABC Theatre of the Month presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
The two-part TV movie Cruel Doubt was based on a true story, as elucidated in book form by Joe McGinniss. In part one, aired May 17, 1992, Wealthy North Carolinian Blythe Danner discovers that her own son Matt McGrath was involved in a robbery-assault in their home, in which her husband was killed. The story was resolved in part two, which debuted May 19, 1992. As the courtroom trial wears on, flashbacks reveal the extent of McGrath's involvement in the crime, as well as the depths of his mental illness. And for a brief period, there's a slim possibility that the evidence is all wrong, and that McGrath is innocent. The boy's sister is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, real-life daughter of Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Ed Asner, (more)
Sidney Lumet directed this film version of E.L. Doctorow's novel The Book of Daniel (scripted by Doctorow) that deals in a thinly veiled (although dispassionate way) with the Rosenberg spy case of the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of their children. The Rosenbergs are the Isaacsons here, and the first image of the film is a close-up of their son Daniel's (Timothy Hutton) eyes as he recites a dictionary definition of the word "electrocution." Daniel becomes a detective as he seeks out friends and relations of his parents -- Paul (Mandy Patinkin) and Rochelle (Lindsay Crouse) -- to discover some meaning from his parents' conviction as Russian spies and their execution in the electric chair during the communist paranoia of the 1950s. Daniel is prompted to investigate the past by the near-suicide of his hysterical sister Susan (Amanda Plummer). The film weaves back and forth in time, recalling the period from the 1930s to the 1950s. In a strangely uninvolving way, Lumet's film takes no point of view, the only emotion derived from the almost continuous sounds of Paul Robeson's singing on the soundtrack. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, (more)
- 1969
Psychologist Don Murray investigates the claim of Nobel prize winning scientist Ray Milland, who insists he has spoken to his young daughter. The thing of it is, the daughter has been dead for several weeks. At first dismissing the claims as the delusions of a grief-stricken man, Murray decides to stick with the case when he notices that the Government is acutely interested in Milland's ethereal "conversations". As the story unfolds, we learn that the apparitions are tied in with a complicated espionage plot. Daughter of the Mind was one of the first high-quality offerings of ABC's Movie of the Week series. The film also represented the TV-movie debut of Gene Tierney, as the other woman in the scientist's life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The 1975 TV movie Death Scream is based on the shameful Kitty Genovese affair of 1964, in which a N.Y.C. woman was stabbed to death while 38 witnesses locked their windows and doors and pretended not to hear. Raul Julia stars as the detective who investigates the murder and stirs up the guilt feelings of those who refused to help. The film casts celebrity actors in the roles of the witnesses (Diahann Carroll, Cloris Leachman, Lucie Arnaz, Nancy Walker, Art Carney, et al.). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Actor Steve Ihnat, fed up with playing two-dimensional heavies, turned TV director in the late 1960s. Do Not Throw Cushions Into the Ring is a rare theatrical-feature directorial effort for Ihnat, who also produced, wrote, edited an starred in the film. Essentially a "work in progress," the film illustrates the high points of an actor's diary. Ihnat plays that actor, who acts out his frustrations on-screen, Fellini-style. The director's wife Sally Carter co-stars in Do Not Throw Cushions, as does a pre-Mary Tyler Moore Show Ed Asner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Ihnat, Arthur O'Connell, (more)
- 2003
Kovacs' (Goran Visnjic) car accident and disastrous misdiagnosis has left a patient with profound brain damage. While Weaver (Laura Innes) suffers from the side effects of her "secret" pregnancy, Abby (Maura Tierney) covers for her at the ER. The heightened security measures at County General ensnare Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), who is packing a gun -- thereby placing Carter (Noah Wyle) in an unenviable position. Gallant (Sharif Atkins) squares off against the mercenary young bride (Sofia Milos) of an elderly patient (Patrick Cranshaw). And Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) keeps a suicide watch on a self-admitted child molester. Edward Asner makes the first of several appearances as Dr. James McNulty, the crusty head of a storefront clinic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
