Entertainment icon Ed Asner joins Pensacon 2021

Pensacon welcomes an icon of television, film and animation to Pensacola. The legendary Ed Asner has joined the lineup for Pensacon 2021, set for May 21-23 in downtown Pensacola.

With a resume that dates back to the legendary dramatic anthologies of television’s Golden Age, Asner remains an in-demand actor to this day. He appeared in dozens of television guest roles and film roles throughout the 1960s, and became a household name in 1970 when he was cast as Lou Grant, the gruff newsman in the legendary sitcom, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Asner won three Emmy Awards as Grant during the show’s seven year run, and when it ended, he took the rare step of taking the character from a half-hour comedy to a one-hour drama series, “Lou Grant.” He won two additional Emmy Awards for his dramatic depiction of Grant. Along with awards for his roles in legendary miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots,” Asner has seven Emmy Awards, making him the most honored male performer in Emmy history.

Other memorable TV roles for Asner include regular/recurring roles in “The Bronx Zoo,” “Hearts Afire,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Dead to Me” and “Cobra Kai,” and notable guest roles on “The X-Files,” “Dharma & Greg,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Practice,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Modern Family,” “Grace & Frankie” and “Doom Patrol.”

Asner voiced Carl Fredricksen, the lead character in Pixar’s Academy Award-winning “Up,” but that role is just the tip of the iceberg on his massive voice work resume. Among his more notable voice roles are Chief Abalone on “Fish Police,” Roland Daggett on “Batman: The Animated Series,” Hoggish Greedly on “Captain Planet and the Planeteers,” Hudson on “Gargoyles,” Cosgrove on “Freakazoid!,” J. Jonah James on “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” Granny Goodness on “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League Unlimited,” Ed Wuncler on “The Boondocks” and Jabba the Hutt in the radio drama version of “Star Wars.”

Among Asner’s dozens of film credits are his standout role as Santa Claus in the holiday classic “Elf,” as well as memorable roles in “JFK,” “Hard Rain,” “Fort Apache, The Bronx,” “They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!” and opposite John Wayne in the classic western, “El Dorado.”

Asner is a huge addition to Pensacon’s already star-studded bill of celebrity guests. Others scheduled to appear include “Godzilla vs. Kong” star Kaylee Hottle; “Cheers” star George Wendt; comedy favorite David Koechner (“Anchorman,” “The Office”); guests from the “Star Wars” universe including Ashley Eckstein (the original Ahsoka Tano in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels”) and Emily Swallow (The Armorer in “The Mandalorian”); “The Walking Dead” and “Clarice” star Michael Cudlitz; and “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” favorite Jason David Frank.

Weekend passes, which include admission for all three days of the convention, are $80. Single-day tickets are available at a cost of $35 for Friday, May 21; $45 for Saturday, May 22; and $40 for Sunday, May 23. VIP Experience weekend passes are $155, and include early admission to the Pensacola Bay Center, preferred seating at panel venues, front-of-line privileges for celebrity autographs and photo ops, and exclusive T-shirt, space-available parking and other perks. Additional taxes and fees apply to all tickets.

For tickets or more information, visit Pensacon.com.