James L. Brooks pays tribute to Ed Asner: "He was exactly the man you imagined"

Variety

Brooks, who co-created The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, tweeted of Asner, who died Sunday at age 91: "Let me tell you about Ed Asner...he was exactly the man you imagined - as open hearted a good guy  as I've ever known. He simply loved people. Bless his gorgeous soul." In a separate interview with Variety, Brooks said: “He was a beautiful actor. He was an able team player. He was just as deeply a good guy as everybody sensed he was.” He added Asner had a naturally endearing sheepishness to him that writers wrote in to the Lou Grant character: "When Lou said ‘Mary come in to my office,’ we were never on more solid ground," said Brooks.

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• Ed Asner submitted to his final interview two weeks ago today: On Aug. 16, The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg interviewed Asner via Zoom for a profile that was published three days before his death. "We had a great conversation during which I was tremendously impressed with not only Ed’s recall, but also his stamina (we spoke for over an hour), his humor (he was quick to joke about anything and everything, most frequently in a self-deprecating manner) and kindness ('I’ve never been asked that question before,” he said at one point, and “I like your style,' he added at another)," says Feinberg. Photographer Michael Buckner, who visited Asner days before the interview, added: "I don’t usually direct someone as legendary as Ed, since he has probably heard it all before, but I did ask him to look around the room while I clicked the shutter. Ed would look left and grumble under his breath, then look right. He was speaking to himself, channeling the gruff but soft characters of his past."
• Cobra Kai cast and crew remember Asner:  Asner recurred as the stepfather of William Zabka's character Johnny Lawrence. "Devastated to hear this news," tweeted Zabka. "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." Ralph Macchio added: "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."
• The Brady Bunch's Maureen McCormick says Asner was important to her career: "It’s because of Ed that I even wanted to get into this business — seeing him and everyone on The Mary Tyler Moore Show."