John Moore: Remembering my time with Ed Asner

In this 2009 podcast, then Denver Post Theater Critic John Moore talks with Edward Asner, who was in Colorado to play William Jennings Bryan in ‘The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial’ about, among other things, how fundamentalism in America impedes our daily lives in incremental ways. Run time: 13 minutes.

2009: Ed Asner on Evolution vs. Creationism

John Moore: How is it possible that so many people can simply overlook the presence of overwhelming scientific fact?
Ed Asner: The situation between scientists and fundamentalists is a battle between minds and hearts. I understand and am sympathetic to the idea of believing in your heart and believing in miracles and believing that if I cross my fingers, that will make it happen. The problem arises when that sector of our society feels so threatened by science that they feel they must castrate science to go on crossing their fingers. And that’s where the battle takes place.”

2003: Asner will have a story to tell his wife on Mother’s Day

By John Moore
Originally published in The Denver Post on May 9, 2003

Sunday will not be all that happy of a Mother’s Day for Ed Asner or his wife. In September, the genial actor jumped at the chance to come to Denver to do what he loves best: “To move my lips.”

What the much-honored actor did not know then has come back to bite him in the brunch: “I very much look forward to being part of the endeavor, but I didn’t know then that I was agreeing to come on Mother’s Day,” the 73-year-old Asner said with a laugh. “I think I’ve incurred the wrath of my wife forever after. … Boy is she (expletive)!”

While Asner is reading Wallace Stegner’s short story “Chip off the Old Block” at the King Center for Stories on Stage, his wife, Cindy, will be back home in California. But he’s already working on a smooth recovery.

“If you’ve got a Max Mara shop near the performance hall, open 24 hours, that might help,” he said.

(Note to readers: Max Mara is an Italian sportswear line. Note to Asner: Neiman-Marcus carries the collection locally, so a trip to the Cherry Creek shopping center between your 2 and 7 p.m. readings might be in order.)

“Stories on Stage” is a continuing series of the public reading of four stories each that executive director Norma Moore describes as “an opportunity for audiences to experience great stories as if they are a movie inside their head.”

Asner is a born storyteller, a seven-time Emmy winner and a TV Academy Hall of Famer with a rich and distinctive voice that has become ingrained in the American pop-culture consciousness in such classics as “Roots,” “Rich Man, Poor Man,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Lou Grant Show.”

He has served as president of the Screen Actor’s Guild and lent his name to many philanthropic and political causes, but nothing excites him more than the idea of simply bringing literature to life.

“Who can deny the illumination that literature gives us?” he asked. “What more eloquent means of enlightenment do we have? With the 15-second sound bites we have now on television, there is no more enlightenment.”

That last comment was a not-so-subtle transitionary reference to the primary subject on Asner’s mind these days, which is reconciling the American populace’s giddiness over toppling Saddam Hussein with the larger, more troubling question of whether U.S. action in Iraq was justified in the first place.

“Amoral is the best description I could give to what we are doing now as a nation,” Asner said, his geniality giving way to a stern but calm defiance. “It’s difficult, following the headlines, to accept the flag-waving screeches on television and radio, with so many following in lock-step … to accept that we (as a nation) are responding to the slightest flare of terror, and then OK’ing everything that’s done in terror’s name.”

That whole notion of an ongoing war on terror raises his dander further.

‘We’ve lost the ability to be part of a group of neighbors of varying stripes living together as strong moral people who do not accept certain conditions that society puts down.’

“We’re always declaring war on something: War on poverty. War on drugs. All have been unbelievable flops, and the war on terror will be the biggest flop of all,” he said. “One man can be a terrorist, working crazily, and yet he’s a terrorist. Where does it end?”

Asner will read second on a program of four stories Sunday. “Chip Off the Old Block” is Stegner’s World War II story of a 12-year-old boy whose parents are quarantined during a flu epic. The boy is left behind to mind the house and guard his father’s whiskey. The boy comes of age a bit when forced to chase two men away with a gun. On the night the war ends, the boy shares his father’s whiskey with one and all, but when his parents return, it sets up a final, father-son confrontation.

“I like what the story says about the cherishible beauty of youth,” Asner said, “of hard times, the love demonstrated, people surviving, people understanding, people coping. Life is so fragile, and yet love and spirit and entrepreneurship still thrive.”

Asner met Stegner in 1992, a year before the Pulitzer-winning author of “Angle of Repose” died.

“I just love his work,” Asner said. “It’s somewhat depressing. But at the same time it’s so rich and real and human that no matter how depressing it is, it makes me think of better times. He was just quietly elegant. Nothing but a total aura of dignity.”

His story, Asner said, has a message about living in a community that can be applied to current events.

“I think we’ve lost our ability to confront every day as to what’s important in relationships, in love, in never losing sight of ourselves, in knowing who we are,” Asner said.

“We’ve lost the ability to be part of a group of neighbors of varying stripes living together as strong moral people who do not accept certain conditions that society puts down.”

John Moore is an award-winning journalist who was named one of the 10 most influential theater critics by American Theatre Magazine. He is now producing independent journalism as part of his own company, Moore Media. He also contributesweekly arts column and news items to the Denver Gazette.

Edward Asner/At a glance

Versatile, committed, eloquent and talented are all adjectives that describe actor/activist Edward Asner. Perhaps best known for his comedic and dramatic crossover as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist Lou Grant, the role he originated on the landmark TV news room comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and continued in the newspaper-set drama “Lou Grant,” which earned him five Emmys and three Golden Globe Awards. Asner received two more Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. His prolific and much honored acting career demonstrates a consummate ability to transcend the line between comedy and drama. One of the most honored actors in the history of television; Mr. Asner has been the recipient of seven 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. In addition to his professional versatility, Mr. Asner has consistently served and committed himself to the rights of the working performer in addition to advocating for human rights, world peace, environmental preservation and political freedom. A passionate and informed spokesperson for the causes he supports, Asner is a frequent speaker on labor issues and a particular ally for the acting industry’s older artists. Some of the many honors he has received throughout his career include the Anne Frank Human Rights Award, The Eugene Debs Award, Organized Labor Publications Humanitarian Award, ACLU’s Worker’s Right’s Committee Award and the National Emergency Civil Liberties Award. Edward Asner has more than 100 TV credits, which include starring in the series “Off the Rack,” “The Bronx Zoo” and “Thunder Alley.” Numerous guest appearances include roles in “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “ER,” “Arliss,” “The Practice” and a recurring role on “Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.” Besides commercials and numerous books on tape, he has lent his voice to popular cartoon shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Spiderman” and “Boondocks.” Asner’s dozens of motion pictures include They Call Me Mister Tibbs!, Fort Apache the Bronx, JFK, and the European production of Giovanni XXIII – the highest rated television mini-series in the history of Italian TV as well as the box office hit, Elf with Will Farrell and James Caan. Asner has done several Hallmark movies and was nominated for another Emmy for The Christmas Card. He also lent his voice to next years Pixar animated film, Up.