Ed Asner, eight time Emmy®-winning actor affectionately known as Lou Grant and UP’s Carl Fredricksen, is turning 90 years old and is still as crotchety, funny and beloved as ever. Cloris Leachman (Spanglish, The Last Picture Show), Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise), Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie, 9 to 5) and Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond, Christopher Robin) are coming out to honor and roast the legendary actor at the Ed Asner 90th Birthday Party on November 3, 2019 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The evening will benefit the new Ed Asner Family Center, dedicated to promoting mental health and enrichment programs to special needs children and their families. Additional roasters and talent will be announced shortly.
In addition to the roast, the headline attractions of the evening will be a special set by music legend Nancy Sinatra and by Steve Lukather of Toto. Hosting the event will be Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars, Hollywood Squares). The Ed Asner 90th Birthday Bash will also offer a “Fund-A-Mission” and a silent and live auction where guests will have the opportunity to support special The Ed Asner Family Center initiatives including summer camp for kids with autism and other programs for the community.
“To be celebrating 90 years of Ed Asner is a very big deal. Being a star for over five decades should be enough. But from his work as an actor, to fighting social injustice, to his fight for union workers everywhere, to making sure the underdog gets a fair shot and finally to his dedication to helping differently “abled” individuals and their families be the amazing people they are. My father has been there for everyone. I think it’s time that we all came out and said thank you. Thanks for the laughs and the tears and most of all thanks for the help,” said Matthew Asner, President of The Ed Asner Family Center. “We are excited to help raise awareness and funds for this wonderful new center that is bringing life changing support to special needs children and their families, providing a major local impact in our LA community. It will be an unforgettable night!”
The Ed Asner Family Center, located in Reseda, California, is dedicated to promoting self-confidence in differently “abled” individuals, bringing balance and wellness to them and their families through arts and vocational enrichments and mental health services. The Center not only caters to the needs of the child but aims to engage the whole family in order to help them face their unique challenges.
- Tickets, sponsorship opportunities and event information are available at: Ed Asner's 90 Birthday
- Additional information is available at www.edasnerfamilycenter.org
Legendary Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner has delighted audiences worldwide with his extensive repertoire of memorable characters. One of the most honored actors in the history of television, Asner has been the recipient of eight Emmy Awards and 16 nominations, as well as five Golden Globe Awards and served as National President of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms. He was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1996. Asner received the Ralph Morgan Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2000, presented periodically for distinguished service to the Guild's Hollywood membership. In March 2002, he was again honored by The Guild as the 38th recipient of the prestigious Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment, presented annually to an actor who fosters the highest ideals of the profession.
Asner has more than 100 TV credits from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Lou Grant Show. He is lovingly known as Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's 2009 Oscar winning Best Picture UP! and is touring in the shows, Soap Myth, God Help Us and the one man show A Man and His Prostate. Ed can currently be seen co-starring in the Netflix comedy series Dead To Me and co-stars in the upcoming USA Network series Briarpatch, opposite Rosario Dawson.
In addition to his successful acting career, Asner’s has worked tirelessly to create the new The Ed Asner Family Center that is also founded by his son, Matt, and daughter-in-law, Navah Paskowitz-Asner. A longtime advocate for the developmentally disabled and those on the autistic spectrum, Asner personally understands the challenges that special needs families face, and the healing power of a creative, loving environment.
Said Ed Asner: “This is a dream of mine – to establish an oasis of creativity in every special needs community. A place where our most beautiful dreamers of all can have their opportunity to thrive and in doing so learn valuable lessons about themselves and the world and in the same building give families an opportunity to be healthy. This center of enrichment is where we can develop a most important part of our being and our character.”
About THE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER
The Ed Asner Family Center is a one-stop for those with special needs and their families seeking wholeness in all attitudes of life. The Center will act as an oasis of balance and thought, of interaction and education. Most importantly, The Center will give children and adults of all levels of ability a chance at dignity, confidence, and self-respect. The Ed Asner Family Center caters to the needs of the differently “abled” child -including autism, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental delays – and enrolls the complete family to help them meet the unique challenges they face with grace. Facebook: https://www.
