Ed Asner, the voice actor of Carl Fredricksen of "Up" is dead

Ed Asner, seven-time Emmy winner known for his emotional voice as Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's Oscar-winning animated film Up is died on Sunday 29 August surrounded by family. He was 91 and still working on screen after more than 60 years.

A message posted on @TheOnlyEdAsner The official Twitter account confirmed the news on Sunday afternoon: “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away peacefully this morning. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on the head - Goodnight dad. We love you."

Asner was born on November 15, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, as the youngest of five children, and attended Wyandotte High School. He was at the University of Chicago for two years before joining the military, returning to the Windy City after this time and joining the Playwrights Theater Group (the future Second City Group). Asner moved to New York in 1955, honing his stage art and making his Broadway debut in Face of a hero, with Jack Lemmon, and performing at the Shakespeare Festivals in Stratford and Central Park.

Asner moved to Los Angeles in 1961 and began building a career as a character actor on television, in series such as Ironside e Il fuggitivo - as well as in films including Kid Galahad, El Dorado e Gunn through the 60s. A failed pilot in 1970 brought him to the attention of Grant Tinker, who cast Asner for the role of Lou Grant in the hit film. Mary Tyler Moore show, which aired for seven seasons and secured the actor three supporting Emmy Awards, as well as a continuation of the role in the hour-long drama Lou Grant, for which he won two Emmys as a lead actor. Asner secured his other two gold statuettes for his work on the miniseries Rich man, poor man e Roots. Notable live-action credits also include ELF (the fifth time he played Santa Claus) and more recent turns into Grace & Frankie e Snake Kai.

The actor's distinctive voice and performance skills naturally adapted to voiceover work and live-action storytelling, moving to animation in the 80s, including that of Hanna-Barbera. Stories from the Bible and Tales of cinematography Pinocchio and the emperor of the night e Forever happily ever after. He dubbed recurring roles in the 90s series Fish police as chief Abalone, Batman: the animated series (Roland Daggett) Captain Planet and the Planetaries (Hoggish greedily), gargoyles (Hudson), Freakazoid! (Sgt. Cosgrove), Spider-Man: the animated series (J. Jonah Jameson) e Superman: the animated series like Granny Goodness, which she revived in 2004's Unlimited Justice League and the movie Superman / Batman: Apocalypse (2010), as well as numerous guest roles.

Through the early 2000s and 2010s, Asner entered the recording booth for recurring roles in Max Steel, Spider-Man, WITCH e the boundaries, as well as bringing characters to life for Buzz Lightyear from Star Command, The Wild Thornberrys, Johnny Bravo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Cleveland Show, Regular Show, American Dad !, Ballmastrz 9009 e SpongeBob Square Pants, as well as more recent episodes of musical comedy Central park and, of course, as grumpy widower Carl who finds a new sense of family in Pete Docter's wild adventure Su (2009). Asner reprized the role for the upcoming Disney + short film series days dug, based on the film.

Asner served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985, sparking controversy with his public rant against U.S. involvement in El Salvador, protest against South African apartheid, and the organization's revocation of an award awarded to El Salvador. then POTUS Ronald Reagan after his dissolution of the air traffic controllers union. He later clashed with the guild by participating in lawsuits over health plan changes and unpaid residuals. However, he received a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, which joined a 2000 Ralph Morgan Award from the guild. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2003.

“There have been few actors in the Ed Asner limelight who risked their status to fight for social causes like Ed did,” SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris said in a statement about the star's death. “He fought passionately for his fellow actors both before, during and after his presidency of the SAG. But his concern didn't stop with the artists. He fought for the victims of poverty, violence, war and legal and social injustice, both in the United States and around the world ”.

Asner leaves his children, Matthew, Liza, Kate and Charles.

[Source: Variety]