Seven-time Emmy Award-winning actor Ed Asner, who lent his voice to the Disney Pixar classic Up, has died aged 91.
In a statement shared by his family, it was revealed that Asner passed away peacefully, although no cause of death has been revealed yet.
“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you,” the statement read.
With hundreds of TV credits to his name, Asner’s most famous role was as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its titular spin-off series, Lou Grant.
On top of that, he also appeared in series like ER, Rich Man, Poor Man, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Roots, The Good Wife and more recently, Dead to Me and Cobra Kai.
Meanwhile, he starred in films including Elf, where he played Santa, as well as JFK, They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and Hard Rain.
Asner also had a substantial voice acting career that saw him play lead character Carl Fredricksen in Up and appear in TV shows like the 1990s Spider-Man series, Captain Planet And The Planeteers and The Boondocks.
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He continued working until very recently, appearing in a few yet to be released films and once again portraying Carl Fredricksen in Disney+‘s Up spin-off Dug Days.
His talent led to him receiving a number of prestigious accolades, including seven Emmy awards, the most of any male actor in TV history.
As if that wasn’t enough, he also won five Golden Globes and was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. He was also inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1996.
Outside of his acting work, Asner once served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild and raised money for a variety of charities, including the organisation named after him, The Ed Asner Family Center.
Asner is survived by his four children, including actress Kathryn Asner.
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Check out some of the tributes to Ed Asner following his death:
