{"id":28484,"date":"2018-04-20T03:59:57","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T10:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=28484"},"modified":"2018-04-18T15:43:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-18T22:43:31","slug":"my-chat-with-ed-asner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/04\/20\/my-chat-with-ed-asner\/","title":{"rendered":"My chat with Ed Asner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Asner stars in A Man and His Prostate<\/em>, which is at the Anvil Centre Theatre for two nights only: April 27-28. (photo from ACT)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I did my homework. I had read and watched interviews. I had my questions ready. I was prepared. But Ed Asner is a force of nature \u2013 a funny, caring and curious one, but a force of nature nonetheless. And nature is more powerful than the proverbial man. I learned that in high school English class \u2013 man has a chance against another man or his own internal demons, but not so much against nature.<\/p>\n

I was calling Asner about his upcoming performances in New Westminster at the Anvil Centre Theatre April 27-28. He stars in A Man and His Prostate<\/em>, written by his longtime friend Ed Weinberger, a multiple-award-winning scribe (including a Writers Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award), who has written for countless TV series \u2013 for soooo many comedies. Both Weinberger and Asner know funny, so this show promises to be hilarious. But its purpose is also to make a point: \u201cthat point being,\u201d Asner told me succinctly, \u201cget examined.\u201d Hear that, guys?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve interviewed famous people before so that wasn\u2019t the reason I got somewhat flustered in speaking with Asner. Admittedly, I loved and watched every episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show<\/em> and its spinoff drama Lou Grant<\/em>. I have enjoyed Asner in various other roles over the years, including on Murdoch Mysteries<\/em> (as Santa Claus, of all things) and, of course, as the voice of Carl Fredricksen, the grumpy protagonist in Up<\/em>, who made me cry. Hearing such a well-known voice respond to your questions is very cool, and a little unnerving, but there was more to it.<\/p>\n

I called Asner at the number I was given by the publicist for the local show. The woman who answered the phone simply said he\u2019d had to leave and that I should try his cell, so I did, thinking nothing of it. The connection wasn\u2019t great, but I reached Asner \u2013 he was in an L.A. hospital waiting to get a CT scan. When I wished him well and said we could reschedule the interview, he said, \u201cLet\u2019s try to talk now. It\u2019ll help me pass the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I started asking him questions, he stopped me: \u201cAre you uncomfortable doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m happy to keep your mind off things if that\u2019s going to help.\u201d I got as far as finding out that Weinberger had approached Asner about a year and a half ago to take on this role, but the line really was bad and we weren\u2019t hearing each other \u2013 he said he\u2019d call me back. But it was Asner\u2019s righthand man (Nick, I think) who phoned, telling me that Asner had gone in for his CT, and they would call again once it was complete.<\/p>\n

Next call: \u201cAre you OK?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine. Well, maybe a little dizzy,\u201d said Asner. Or, at least that\u2019s what I think he said. After a spike of feedback came through the phone, I admitted, \u201cI can barely hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a louder voice, enunciating carefully and speaking slowly, he responded, \u201cI said, maybe a little bit of syphilis.\u201d<\/p>\n

I might have taken a beat before saying, \u201cOh my. Really?! Is that the headline I can put?\u201d<\/p>\n

While it may not be apparent on first meeting, I can be bawdy with the best of them, and I enjoy such banter when all involved are of age and it\u2019s in good fun. And this would turn out to be one of the most fun interviews I\u2019ve conducted.<\/p>\n

Laughing, I said, \u201cSo it all went well, the CT scan?\u201d<\/p>\n

It had indeed. He\u2019d had a fall but was OK. I thanked him for calling me back, and he let me know, \u201cWell, I\u2019m reversing the charges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should!\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019re paying for this now. Oh my gosh. I was hoping to get my parents to pay for it.\u201d (I was in Ottawa, and was calling him from my parents\u2019 house.)<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, no, no, no,\u201d he assured me. \u201cAnyway, you\u2019ve got a lovely voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs do you, of course. But a little more famous than mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve been working at it longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

We eventually returned to where we had left off. \u201cWere you involved in any of the writing process, or is there improv involved?\u201d I asked about the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot on this,\u201d said Asner. \u201cI worked with him [Weinberger] on our book together, called The Grouchy Historian<\/em>, which came out in October. We worked together on that, but he wrote A Man and His Prostate<\/em> all by himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you obviously liked what he wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asner said his first performance of A Man and His Prostate<\/em> was in the fall of 2016, but then he stopped the interview again, leaving the phone with Nick \u2013 the two were still at the hospital, about to grab a very late lunch. Getting into a rhythm for this interview was proving impossible. Case in point, when Asner returned to the line, he started interviewing me. Why was I calling from Ottawa? I explained I was at home for Passover and asked if he had attended a seder. \u201cNo, we were on the road,\u201d he said, going on to ask me about the weather in Ottawa, how many were in my family, whether I had grown up in Vancouver. When I let him know that I had grown up in Winnipeg, he said, \u201cOh, God.\u201d And, while I fumbled to regain my role as interviewer, he continued his train of thought, \u201cFroze your ass off didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did,\u201d I admitted. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I live in Vancouver now.\u201d<\/p>\n

After some PG-rated politically incorrect exchanges, I managed to get back to my questions.<\/p>\n

The first shows of A Man and His Prostate<\/em> were in California, he said, then they did a few in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you do what the show preaches? Do you get regular prostate exams?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m due for one, I must tell you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asner called A Man and His Prostate<\/em> \u201cwonderfully funny,\u201d and said \u201cit stresses a very important point \u2013 that point being, get examined.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the show is \u201cvery rewarding to do because the laughter is prevalent.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 88, he has no plans to retire. As for his beginnings in the profession, he said his desire to be an actor \u201cdidn\u2019t achieve consciousness until I did the lead in the play at university.\u201d He said, \u201cI had done radio in high school, and loved it, but full-fledged stage-acting, I hadn\u2019t thought of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean he didn\u2019t like the spotlight as a kid. \u201cI loved to get up and sing Adon Olam louder than anyone else,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cMy bar mitzvah was a failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cI spoke too fast, and angered my father. I put my hands behind my back, hovering over my ass, that angered him, as well. I was a prize student \u2026 but that bar mitzvah was not of prime quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asner grew up in an Orthodox home and, he said, \u201cI\u2019d say I pursued acting, probably, as part of my atonement\u201d for his bar mitzvah. He said acting was at least a partial atonement in that it involved \u201cpleasing the crowd, reciting or reading the script correctly and empathetically \u2026 all kinds of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

While no longer religious, Asner attributed his activism to \u201cthe intensity of my raising, the love of my parents, the constant identification as a Jew, [being] born in the time of Hitler.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor has seven grandchildren. When I asked about whether he actively tries to engage them in the world around them, he joked, \u201cNope. I don\u2019t like \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only hang out with them when you have to?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh huh. They don\u2019t like me. It\u2019s a perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

I told him how much I enjoyed the Funny or Die video Old People Don\u2019t Care About Climate Change<\/em>, in which he took part. I mentioned it because one of his lines in it is, \u201cMy grandkids are spoiled anyway. They could use a little hardship.\u201d The video\u2019s message, of course, is that younger people must take action to protect the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worship the earth,\u201d Asner told me. \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily worship any god.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to the reason for the interview, I asked him whether he had anything else to say about A Man and His Prostate<\/em>. \u201cYou\u2019ll be there, and you\u2019ll see how right I was to urge you to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The show is about Weinberger\u2019s \u201cjourney to discover his inner self both literally and figuratively,\u201d reads the press material. \u201cThis near tragedy is masterfully transformed into a poignant monologue perfectly portrayed by Asner as he visits the hospital in preparation for a surgery he needs but doesn\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s mostly jokes all the way, or building up to a joke,\u201d Asner said. \u201cBut then we get to that little section where I talk about the celebrities who have died \u2013 it\u2019s a long list of celebrities \u2013 and I make the serious point that, every 16 minutes, a man dies of prostate cancer in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we wound up, he said, \u201cYou\u2019re a wonderful interviewer, I don\u2019t care what they say about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should only believe half the rumours,\u201d I returned.<\/p>\n

A charmer to the end, he said, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

After I told him I didn\u2019t think that was an option for me, he asked, \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re you<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

He told me to tell the publicist, \u201cWell, say that I asked for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve now got it on tape, so I can actually prove that I\u2019m not just making that up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d he agreed. \u201cThat\u2019s absolutely right.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said, I \u201ccould even bring Momma\u201d \u2013 my mother had answered the phone when he called back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMomma might even fly to Vancouver for that,\u201d I responded before handing the phone over to my mom so she could say goodbye.<\/p>\n

For tickets ($75) to <\/em>A Man and His Prostate at the Anvil Centre Theatre April 27-28, 7:30 p.m., visit ticketsnw.ca or call 604-521-5050.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ed Asner stars in A Man and His Prostate, which is at the Anvil Centre Theatre for two nights only: April 27-28. (photo from ACT) I did my homework. I had read and watched interviews. I had my questions ready. I was prepared. But Ed Asner is a force of nature \u2013 a funny, caring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[5232,8057,8058,2864,218,6276,6208],"class_list":["post-28484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-anvil-centre","tag-ed-asner","tag-ed-weinberger","tag-health","tag-judaism","tag-prostate-cancer","tag-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}