Ed Asner (November 15, 1929 - August 29, 2021) was an American actor, known for his various roles in television and film. He is the most honored male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, having won seven awards. He was renowned for his varying work and range. Ed was also an activist, two-year Army veteran, and President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) for four years. He portrayed Sid Weinberg in Cobra Kai.
Early Life[]
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Asner was born on November 15, 1929, in Kansas City, Missouri. His Jewish Russian-born parents, Lizzie (née Seliger), a housewife, and Morris David Asner, ran a second-hand shop. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family.
Asner attended Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas, and the University of Chicago. He worked on the assembly line for General Motors. Asner served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps and appeared in plays that toured Army camps in Europe.
Personal Life[]
Asner was married to Nancy Sykes from 1959 to 1988. They have three children: twins Matthew and Liza, and Kate. In 1987, he had a son named Charles with Carol Jean Vogelman. Asner is a parent and a grandparent of a child with autism and is deeply involved with the autism nonprofit Autism Speaks. He served on the advisory board of a suburban Chicago firm that employs persons with autistic spectrum disorders to test and program software.
Asner became engaged to producer Cindy Gilmore in 1991. They married on August 2, 1998. Gilmore filed for legal separation on November 7, 2007. Asner filed for divorce in 2015.
Asner died on August 29th, 2021 at the age of 91.
Remembrance[]
Following his death at the age of 91, the series cast and creators of Cobra Kai paid tribute to Ed. The Season 4 premiere episode features an In Memoriam card for Ed. This is the only time the series features such a card.
Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg spoke to Deadline about the impact Ed had on the series and role of Sid Weinberg.[1]
What performer could more perfectly embody the love/hate nature of playing Johnny Lawrence’s father than Ed Asner? When we dreamed up the character, there was no discussion – it was only Ed. Whenever he was on set, it was a nonstop parade of belly laughs as we all sat at the feet of a giant. Getting to briefly play in his orbit while he made our karate universe ever brighter and funnier was a great honor of our careers. We will miss him dearly and we send all our love to his family.
Ed's on-screen stepson and primary scene partner William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) also paid tribute to Ed in a tweet.[2]
Devastated to hear this news. What a legend. What a beautiful human and special friend. I learned so much from him. My love and deepest condolences to the Asner family #RIP Dear Ed @TheOnlyEdAsner
Ralph Macchio also paid tribute to Ed on Twitter.[3]
So saddened by this news. A legend and icon in the acting world. Endless respect for his body of work on so many levels. Ed had graced the Cobra Kai series and am grateful to have had a moment or two to meet and connect with him. An absolute privilege. #RIPEdAsner