LAUREL CANYON—Actor Ed Asner, 91, known in the entertainment industry as Lou Grant from the CBS series “Mary Tyler Moore” and the spinoff “Lou Grant,” passed away on Sunday, August 29 surrounded by family.

Asner was born on November 15, 1929, in Kansas City, MO and began his acting career in theater. His first television debut was in the film “Studio One” in 1957.

He served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1970s and received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2001. He won a total of 7 Emmy Awards, 5 which were for his role as Lou Grant. Other Emmy wins were the result of his work on the series “Roots” and “Rich Man, Poor Man.”

Asner’s catalog of credits includes Pixar’s Oscar-winning movie, “Up,” where he voiced the lead role of Carl Fredricksen. He starred in “Elf,” alongside Will Ferrell where he played Santa Claus, and in “Cobra Kai” he portrayed Johnny Lawrence’s step-father, Sid Weinberg. He also appeared in “Grace and Frankie,” “Dead To Me,” “Thunder Alley” and “The Bronx Zoo.”

His family launched The Ed Asner Family Center in 2017. Ed son, Matt Asner, and daughter-in-law, Navah Paskowitz Asner, were behind the creation of the center whose mission is to provide support groups and counseling services to people with special needs and their families. The official cause of Asner’s death has not been publicized.