Ed Asner, the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s ‘Up,’ dies at 91

Ed Asner, the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s ‘Up,’ dies at 91
(Image: FilmMagic/Barry King)

Ed Asner, who played the endearing newsman Lou Grant on the popular American 1970s sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and the voice behind the frustrated widower Carl Fredricksen in the Pixar film Up, has died Sunday morning at the age of 91, CNN reported. He is survived by his four children. 

News about his passing was also shared through Asner’s official Twitter account.

“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” the tweet read. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel.“

“With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.” 

It was through his quick-tempered character Lou Grant, who worked as the editor of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune, where Asner won five of his seven Emmy Awards. Three of those were for best-supporting actor as part of the “Mary Tyler Moore” ensemble, while the latter two for his lead performance in a drama for the standalone series “Lou Grant.”

Asner also won Emmys for his acting in two television mini-series: an Outstanding Lead Actor nod for “Rich Man, Poor Man” in 1976, and another as an Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work in 1977’s “Roots.”

Despite such a decorated tenure before the dawn of the millennium, Asner’s range still reached to touch the hearts of younger generations. He would voice the grumpy-turned adventurous Carl Fredricksen, whose promise to a lost loved one led him to a voyage to South America’s Paradise Falls. 

(Image: Disney/Pixar)

He also played Santa Claus in 2003’s Elf across Will Ferrell, as well as several voice performances in several children’s TV shows and movies. His last role would be reprising his Up character in Disney Plus’ “Dug Days,” which is set to come out in September.

On Twitter, messages of love and admiration poured following Asner’s passing, including that of Mark Hamill, whom Asner worked with on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ben Stiller also said a few words of adulation for the “beautiful, funny, and totally honest actor.” 

Even the official Muppets account paid its respects to Asner, who once lent his voice to the Dinosaurs, a half-hour special feature of the popular puppet comedy show.

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