Television legend Ed Asner has died.
He was 91.
TMZ reports that the actor passed away Sunday surrounded by family. No other details about his death were immediately available.
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His family confirmed in a statement on social media: "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."
Born Yitzhak Edward Asner in 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri, he was one of the most respected actors of his generation.
Prior to making a splash on the big, and small, screen, Asner served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps and appeared in plays that toured Army camps in Europe.
He’s a seven-time Emmy Award winner, though he was nominated a whopping total of 20 times, with 17 nods for the Primetime Emmy and three for the Daytime.
Best known for his role as Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” opposite Mary Tyler Moore and Betty White, he reprised the role for a spinoff, aptly titled “Lou Grant,” in 1977. He is the only actor to win an Emmy for playing the same character in a comedy and a drama.
His other award-winning roles were in “Roots” and “Rich Man, Poor Man.”
A political activist, he served as the President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 1981-1985, during which he openly criticized former SAG President Ronald Reagan for his US policy in Central America.
Asner brought joy to so many, including kids as he played Santa five times, most notably in the 2003 blockbuster “Elf.”
His impressive, decades-long career includes titles like “The Untouchables,” “El Dorado,” “Working Class,” “The Glades,” “The Good Wife,” “Dead to Me,” “Cobra Kai,” and “The Cleveland Show,” to name a few.
Additionally, Asner has an extensive acting career that includes animated shows and films like “Spider-Man,” “Star Wars,” “Freakazoid!,” and “The Boondocks.”
He touched hearts as the character Carl Fredricksen in the Oscar-winning Pixar film “Up.”
In 1996, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame, and in 2001, he was given the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is survived by wife Cindy Gilmore and four children.
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