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Asner was president of the influential US actors union Screen Actors Guild in the 1980s (archive image)
Photo: Matt Sayles / dpa
The US actor Ed Asner died at the age of 91.
“We are sorry to announce that our beloved Patriarch passed away peacefully this morning.
Words cannot express the sadness we feel, ”his family said on Twitter.
His spokesman told several US media that Asner died on Sunday with his family.
Asner was considered a versatile actor who became known in the 70s and 80s, especially in the role of Lou Grant and with the show of the same name. There he played a rough journalist who has a heart of gold. The role of his life earned Asner most of his Emmy television awards and Golden Globes in the foreign Hollywood press.
Asner was known for his liberal politics and his work as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985. During the tenure of the former Chairman of the Actors Union, President Ronald Reagan, Asner criticized the US involvement in Central America.
In his remarkably long career, Asner played well into his 90s.
In the successful animated film »Up« from 2009 he lent the main character Carl Fredricksen his voice as a voice actor.
In 2019 he played alongside Christina Applegate in the Netflix series "Dead to Me".
kim / dpa / Reuters
