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SCAN THIS PAGE
TO SEE ED ASNER’S
FAVORITE MEMORIES
OF THE MARY TYLER
MOORE SHOW.

Grouchy
Old Man

Ed Asner talks politics,
prostates and philanthropy.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets are $60 general admission seating
and VIP seating for $75/person, which includes
a post-show meet-and-greet with Ed Asner, who
will be signing copies of his book, The Grouchy
Historian. VIP guests will be treated to light
beverages and desserts at the afterglow. Tickets
are available at papaweezeinc.org.

44

September 20 • 2018

jn

S

even-time Emmy Award-winning
actor Ed Asner stars in Ed.
Weinberger’s one-man com-
edy A Man and His Prostate at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22, at the historic
Players Theatre at 3321 E. Jefferson in
Detroit.
He recently sat down with the JN in
advance of his performance for a fun
and fact-filled interview.

JN: Because this interview is for the JN,
let’s talk about Eddie (Yitzhak) Asner,
the nice Jewish boy who was the son
of Russian-born parents and raised
Orthodox.
ASNER: I ceased being a nice Jewish
boy a long time ago — so far back that
it’s shrouded in the midst of time.
JN: So, you’re not Orthodox anymore?
ASNER: I triumphantly denied kashrut
when I was a teenager.
JN: It’s been well-documented that
you’re a major activist and staunch
Democrat.
ASNER: If you’re not an activist, then
you’re a nobody. The interesting thing
that we now experience as Jews in
America is the conflict that Israel cre-
ates for us in so many ways. There are
two bodies of Jews — the Israelis and
the Americans.
JN: What was it like growing up Jewish
in Kansas City, Mo., where you were
born?
ASNER: Kansas City was primarily
Protestant, and I came to appreciate
the value of being in a minority and of
being discriminated against. I’m a Jew
and I refuse to deny it.
JN: You are a champion for many
causes including being on the
Entertainment Board of Directors for
the Survivors Mitzvah Project and
an adviser to the Rosenberg Fund for
Children as well as Autism Speaks.
In May, you received the Community
Impact Award from Matan at its Gala in
New York City. Why is autism advocacy
so important to you?
ASNER: My youngest son and my
grandson are autistic, and we have
many friends who have kids with
autism. It’s an enormous problem in
this country, and it needs to have atten-
tion called to it. My oldest son, Matt,
recently left his position as vice presi-
dent of development for the Autism
Society of America to head up a cam-
paign with his wife to establish the
Ed Asner Center in the San Fernando
Valley. The Center is being created for
those on the spectrum — any spec-
trum. It’s a much-needed center that
should be operational by the end of
December.
JN: Last year, at age 88, you became
a first-time author of a book with
the world’s longest title: The Grouchy
Historian: An Old-Time Lefty Defends
Our Constitution Against Right-Wing
Hypocrites and Nutjobs. You co-wrote
The Grouchy Historian with Ed.

Weinberger, who you met when he was
a screenwriter on The Mary Tyler Moore
show with you. How did the book come
about?
ASNER: The book was an outcry in gen-
eral against the forces of conservatism.
Ed. was the driving force on the book,
and it was aimed at the right wing of
our country who like to proclaim that
the Constitution is theirs. We wanted to
remind people that it belongs to all of
us and that they’re sadly mistaken. In
the proper hands, it should be properly
wielded for all people, left and right.
JN: Are you really grouchy?
ASNER: It all depends on what kinds of
victims I can find. I’m grouchy when I
think I can get away with it. Otherwise,
I’m sweet and amiable.
JN: When you both were working on
The Grouchy Historian last year, Ed.
Weinberger came to you with his one-
man comedy A Man and His Prostate
that you are now starring in. How did
he approach you about it?
ASNER: He called me — it’s the intrin-
sic society of Ed. I like to say that two
Eds are better than one.
JN: Tell us about the plot.
ASNER: Many people think that
this is my story, but it’s not. It’s Ed.
Weinberger’s story about the cruise he
took to Italy with his wife and how he
was assaulted with an attack of pros-
tatitis and what ensued after that. It’s
very comedic and very funny but, at the
same time, it gives reminders to all who
see it of the importance to get exam-
ined, tested and treated. We disclose in
the show that every 16 minutes in our
country, a man dies of prostate cancer.
JN: How long is the show and, since
you’re the sole character on stage,
wasn’t it incredibly tough to learn all
those lines?
ASNER: It’s about an hour-and-a-half
with no intermission. I’ve got the script
with me on stage, but most people
don’t even know I’m reading it. With
the success of plays like Love Letters,
it’s easier to do a show like this. We’re
hopping back and forth between me
telling the story and slides of me as Ed.
Weinberger in the hospital. It’s very
humorous.
JN: What’s one of your favorite lines
from the play?
ASNER: I became so expert at peeing,
that once in New York, I peed a cock-
roach down the drain.
JN: Love it. What’s another?
ASNER: After a phone conversation
with my business manager in the play,
I make a comment, “Of all the business
managers who are Jewish in L.A., I had
to pick the one gentile.”
JN: Is your costume a hospital gown?
ASNER: In the play, I’m wearing the
clothes that I underwent the attack in.
But the slides show me in the gown at
the hospital. I never reveal my ass —
even though I’ve had many requests to
do so — but I still resist. •

