I Interviewed Lou Grant

It was the thrill of a lifetime for a cub reporter who was also a fan of televisions favorite newsman.

It may be people of a, um, certain age who remember Ed Asner’s most important role following the Mary Taylor Moore Show. It was playing a gruff-but-lovable editor of a great metropolitan newsroom, with each episode taking out of the pages of real stories of the day. It debuted on September 20, 1977.

Media folks were glued to the TV to watch it each week. We all fell in love with him, the show, and the cast of characters that all seemed like such real newspaper peeps.

I was truly honored and thrilled to be assigned to interview Ed Asner in 1983. I was a young reporter and such a fan. In my eyes, he was Lou Grant, the newspaper editor of the (“fictional”) Los Angeles Tribune.

He was very kind and laughed when, one of the first things that poured out of my mouth was, “I feel like I should be asking you for an assignment … instead of interviewing you.” Because of his short amount of time in NY, I had to do the final parts of the interview in the limo that was taking him to the airport.

What an experience!

I realized it may be impossible to take notes in the moving car on NYC’s bumpy roads, so I brought two tape recorders. One was a smaller model and one was a giant 1970s model, which I used, with a Radio Shack microphone attached.

Limos then had two tiny fold-out seats in the back, so you could sit and face the person sitting on the back seat. OY, it was hard to stay on the seat during the bumpy ride and hold the mic close enough to him, but by the end of the trip, I got my interview with Lou Grant!

He was kind and understanding. He ended up helping out by holding the mic.

I got my scoop.

When the article published he sent this to me. It meant so much to me at the time and still does.

Bless you Mr. Asner for all you have given this world, in big and small ways.

My heart goes out to his family and all who loved him. What a life and what a legacy.