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"Jewish roots" with the
Jewish people with
whom she had worked.

Ed Asner on the
Rome set of the
upcoming
made-for-Italian-
TV movie "Pope
John XXIIL
He'll be dubbed.

Growing Up

The youngest of five
children in an Orthodox
family, Yitzak Edward
Asner was born in
Kansas City, Mo., but
raised across the river in
Kansas City, Kan.
The stories of his
childhood revolve
around a demanding,
controlling father and Yitzak's dreams
of escaping from endless Hebrew les-
sons to play with other children.
"Being a Jew in Kansas was diffi-
cult," Asner recalled. "I was stuck in
Hebrew school while my pals were out
playing after school, and I still feel the
guilt of giving in to peer pressure one
time and playing football on Yom
Kippur.
"It didn't help that my parents, who
were from the Old Country, spoke
heavily accented English, which made
me seem all the stranger to the gentile
world I lived in."
Asner spent his teenage years on the
high-school football and basketball
teams and attending activities organ-
ized by the B'nai B'rith Youth
Organization. He belonged to the
BBYO's local AZA chapter.
"AZA was our Jewish fraternity,
which gave me solace, since I was
blackballed from a high-school frater-
nity because I was Jewish," reflected
the man who would in later years
receive the Sam Berber Distinguished
AZA Alumnus Award.

Political Activist

Inducted into the TV Academy Hall
of Fame in 1996, Asner also has
earned numerous awards for his reli-
gious and political activism.
"I really didn't begin speaking out
on political issues until I was nearly
50," he bemoaned. "After years of
watching and admiring others for
standing up, I was convinced of the
fact, that, as Hillel voices it, 'If I am
only for myself, what am I?'
"I owed it to myself, to my society,
my world, to become active — as an
actor and a citizen — but especially as
a Jew."
Now widely known for his socialist
leanings — as a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America —
Asner also is extremely involved in
Jewish charities and other civic and

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humanitarian organizations.
Maintaining his "left of center"
position, he's a passionate spokesper-
son for the causes he supports.
In the 2000 presidential election
campaign, he incurred the wrath of
Republicans by making "last-minute"
phone calls to elderly voters nation-
wide, urging them to vote for
Democrat Al Gore if they didn't want
their Social Security checks threat-
ened.
Asner was a controversial and out-
spoken leader in the actors strike of
1980 as well, and is a frequent speaker
on labor issues. He's a staunch mem-
ber of the ACLU, Defenders of
Wildlife Peace Now and Amnesty
International, among other public-
service organizations.

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Career Path

Asner started acting in plays in a
University of Chicago campus dramat-
ic group, making his debut as Thomas
Beckett in Murder in the Cathedral. He
served two years in the Army, then
returned to Chicago, receiving some
training at Second City. He moved to
New York for a Broadway debut in
Face of a Hero with Jack Lemmon, and
went to Hollywood in 1961 to begin
his acclaimed TV career.
The actor currently lives in Studio
City, Calif., with his wife, Cindy, a
homemaker. He has three adult chil-
dren from a previous marriage.
The ally for the acting industry's
older artists says fighting ageism may
be his next cause.
"Gray discrimination is severe," he
pointed out. "Where is it written that,
when we reach a certain age, we are
whisked off life's stage, never to be
seen or heard from again — other
than in reruns?"

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