Poster courtesy of Skylight Theatre and Quince Productions.
Copyright 2015
“I am both touched and flattered that the Skylight Theatre Company has chosen to honor me this Sunday, November 1st, at their 2015 Salute and Fundraiser. I am very fortunate to have had a long and wonderful career as an actor, and have been enormously blessed to speak and interpret words written by so many talented writers. So it is especially meaningful to me that a theatre with such a strong history and devotion to developing actors and playwrights has seen fit to give me a frolicking fiesta tribute on my 86th birthday.
“Skylight Theatre Company is a jewel among LA’s small theatres; not only because of the quality of their work, or the fact that they develop and produce new plays and mentor promising artists, but because they embrace and live the idea that theatre can make a difference and have an impact. Through the timely stories that they nurture and bring to life onstage, the Skylight Theatre Company engages youth with creative & educational programs. Above all, they’re just so much damn fun!
This ain’t no ‘rubber chicken’ affair! I look forward to sharing lots of laughter and great memories with you this Sunday, November 1st.”- Ed Asner
This Sunday, November 1st, please join the Los Angeles Beat and a who’s who of television luminaries, gathered together at Los Angeles’ acclaimed Skylight Theatre to celebrate the legendary actor Ed Asner on his 86th birthday!
The rollicking party begins at 5 PM with cocktails in the Skylight Alley. Next on the agenda is an exclusive performance of the hit show El Grande Circus de Coca Cola, followed by a tasty dinner and culminating in a celebrity-studded tribute to Ed Asner at 7:30 PM.
The list of scheduled presenters is a work in progress, but among them will be included the following: Jason Alexander, Ed Harris, Gregory Harrison, Barbara Bain, Loretta Swit, Jean Smart, Amy Madigan, Sharon Lawrence.
Beginning his career on the East Coast stage, Ed Asner was a solid presence in American television by 1960. Proving himself to be a gifted and versatile performer, he landed featured roles in such classic television programs as The Outer Limits, Mission Impossible, The Wild, Wild West and Gunsmoke. From television, he ventured on to the Big Screen, appearing in such films as Change of Habit (where he first met Mary Tyler Moore) and Kid Galahad.
By the 1970s, his role as Lou Grant in the classic TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show had elevated him to a household name. He perpetuated this character with the dramatic series Lou Grant, becoming the only actor ever to win an Emmy for portraying the same character in both a comedy and a drama. Ed Asner went on to win five Emmys for portraying this beloved, iconic television character.
He later went on to win two more Emmys for his complex and deeply moving roles in the landmark television mini-series Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. In total, Ed Asner has won an astounding seven Emmys: more Emmy Awards than any other male actor in television history.
In addition to his celebrated and extensive work in television, Ed Asner has returned to cinema, where he has enjoyed great success and critical praise in such films as Up (which won him an Oscar nomination), Elf, JFK and Pacific Edge.
Not forgetting his “first love”, Ed Asner has periodically returned to the stage. He toured the nation in the hit, one-man show FDR, and most recently in the acclaimed, one-man comedy A Man and His Prostate. Asner also co-founded the L.A. Theatre Works.
As if all of the above accomplishments weren’t enough, Ed Asner has also proudly served two terms as President of the Screen Actors Guild, where he diligently protected the rights of working actors, as well as worked to advance the profession thereof.
Please join us this coming Sunday, November 1st, as we celebrate the brilliant, inspiring, (and 86 years young) Ed Asner. The Los Angeles Beat will cover this entire, exciting event: from the Red Carpet arrival of celebrities to the Awards show! Be looking for our exclusive, awards night interview with the one and only Ed Asner.
Read our 2014 interview with Ed Asner
Telephone: (213) 761-7061
