#ed asner

Cute sexy daddies from my youth.

I treasure these people.

Holding EMMY Awards: Ed Asner,Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ted Knight.

The annual Ed Asner Family Center art auction is live, and here’s my Harley and Ivy piece for this year. Check out the full roster of amazing pieces from top comic artists and look for me next to [*checks notes*] holy crap, it’s Frank Miller. I know it’s alphabetical, but this feels like a clerical error.

a few fun things they discuss:

influences on them as they went into Hollywood (for Ted it was Dick Van Dyke, for DVD it was Laurel and Hardy, and Buster Keaton)

Dick Van Dyke show origins-- and how it was cancelled the first year, it was against Perry Como. Sheldon Leonard went to bat for them to talk them into keeping the show.

Dick Van Dyke Show - a lot of improve, history of the show, a few memories

Memories of people in Hollywood (Carl Reiner, Sheldon Leonard, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, Ed Asner, Rose Marie, Paul Lynde, Tom Poston, Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, Marcel Marceau, Leslie Neilsen, Dudley Moore,

DVD's early days in the business, on Broadway

Ted Danson absolutely gushes. He admits he's a bit of a stalker and has followed DVD throughout his career- he would race to the gym to see DVD (who danced at the gym- DVD still goes to the gym at 99)

DVD still has a barbershop quartet

DVD worked in news in the early days with Walter Kronkite and Barbara Walters

DVD struggled to be taken seriously as a serious actor (talks about the film The Comic)

DVD briefly talks about sobriety-- he went through a short period where he was drinking too much, that was about 50 years ago, struggles to quit smoking

some of his films that haven't been as recognised- The Comic, Cold Turkey

DVD seriously loves Halloween. He used to make halloween monsters for decades - they had competing exhibitions every year with James Cameron who used to be their neighbours, Cameron bought them all

DVD into tech - Diagnosis Murder did the special effects on an episode because no one on set knew how to do the special effects

how DVD met his wife Arlene, and their age difference

Ted met Mary at Henry Winkler's garden BBQ

DVD being teased about his English accent - Americans tease him, but Brits don't

DVD guest starring on Becker as Ted Danson's character's dad - Ted tells him how much the episode meant to him, and the whole cast were just so gobsmacked to be around him they couldn't really rehearse because everyone couldn't stop talking to him.

DVD talking about losing all his friends, as he's 99. Last friend he's lost was Bob Newhart.

DVD used to go down to the homeless shelters to entertain people and give them sweets, but since Covid he's been struggling to dot his (fair play, man, you're turning 100 in 3 months)

Series Premiere

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Love Is All Around - CBS - September 19, 1970

Sitcom

Running Time: 30 minutes

Written by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns

Produced by Allan Burns, James L. Brooks and David Davis

Directed by Jay Sandrich

Stars:

Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards

Ed Asner as Lou Grant

Valerie Harper  as Rhoda Morgenstern

Gavin MacLeod as Murray Slaughter

Ted Knight as Ted Baxter 

Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom

Lisa Gerritsen as Bess Lindstrom

Angus Duncan as Bill