Ed Asner Reveals He Once Went on a Date With Mary Tyler Moore: ‘She Was an Aggressive Kisser’
Roots star Ed Asner tells the best stories! The 90-year-old actor opened up about a date he once had with Mary Tyler Moore during a Wednesday, March 4, appearance on The Talk.
“She was an aggressive kisser,” Ed joked about the late actress as the studio audience broke out in laughter. “And I coped with it as best as I could.”
Even though things didn’t work out between him and his Mary Tyler Moore Show costar, the Hollywood icon revealed his character, Lou Grant, would have had a better romance with the actress onscreen.
“I think they would have thrived,” he said in reference to their two characters almost getting together on the show.
“Granted, she lied about her age, but we would have been properly suited age-wise,” Ed joked again. “I never lied about my age.”
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ran from 1970 to 1977. Week after week, Mary and her costars would make fans laugh with their hilarious hijinks and one-liners. But sadly, in 2017, Mary’s fabulous life came to an end when she died from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia. She was 80 years old at the time.
While remembering the blonde beauty, Ed exclusively told Closer Weekly he’ll always share a special bond with his costars on the show. “We loved each other,” he said in August 2019. “We forgave each others’ faults and we stayed a family for many years.”
However, the acting veteran admits the “taffy finally snapped” at one point. “It’s a phrase I just made up. We just pulled and pulled and pulled, and finally, the taffy snapped and we all went our own ways,” he said. “But the loyalty and dedication to each other was always there.”
Since the Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, Ed has gone on to do so many cool projects like voicing Carl Fredricksen in Up and starring alongside Will Ferrell in Elf. “I’ve just been around too long for people to avoid me,” the actor joked about not wanting to retire. “I’ve got to pay off my bills.”
