Sketch profiles for Edward Asner's quintessential characters. Click EasyEdit to update this page!
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Character name: Bart Jason
Appears in:El Dorado
Date(s):1966
Award(s):
| Character back story:Bart Jason is a wealthy rancher in the small town of el dorado,texas. he is involved in ranch war with the mcdonald family.
He hires gunslinger Cole Thornton to help him with the war,but soon after accepting the job Cole declines the offer.
A year & half later Bart Jason is stil trying to take over the town & win his personal war with the mcdonald family. he hires more gunslingers to eliminate his enemies. | | Inspiration for character: | Age/Occupation:30s-40s
land owner/rancher | | Personality type:corrupt,greedy,liar | | Signature look: | | Resides:el dorado | | Character connections: | Fun facts/trivia:
John Wayne did not get along with liberal actor Edward Asner during filming, and constantly referred to Asner as "that New York actor"
The movie is more or less a remake of Rio Bravo (1959), although Howard Hawks always denied this.
According to 'James Caan', during a break he and John Wayne got into an altercation over a game of chess. Caan accused Wayne of cheating. Robert Mitchum intervened. |
| | Character Quotes & Catchphrases | [Cole Thornton is turning down Bart Jason]
Bart Jason: Since when did hired guns get choosy? You're paid to take...
Cole: I'm paid to risk my neck. I'll decide where and when I'll do it. This isn't it.
Bart Jason: Ya know, Thornton, I got an idea you just don't want to go up against Sheriff J.P. Harrah.
Cole: You know, you're just about right?
Bart Jason: You think he's that good?
Cole: I tell ya he's that good. |
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Character name: Lou Grant
Appears in:Lou Grant
Date(s): 1977 to 1982
Award(s):won 2 Emmy's & 2 Golden Globes for best actor
| Character back story:Lou was born in Goshen,Michigan. In high school he was in the school football team.
He married wife Edie soon after leaving high school. they had 3 daughters and then later on 4 grandchildren.
He was enlisted in the marines during ww2 and served in the 2nd marine division stationed in the pacific & then later in europe, he was injured by a grenade in France.
Returning from europe Lou went to college then later on started his career in print journalism as a copy boy. Lou worked is way up to the position of reporter.
In his late 30s Lou moved the transition into television when he went to work as the head of the WJM news department. 11 years later he & several others were fired because of low tv ratings.
In 1973 he and Edie divorced. several months after being fired from the tv station he got a job offer from an old friend/ex co-worker Charlie Hume to be the editor of the Los Angeles Tribune, where he would stay until he retired in the mid 80s | | Inspiration for character: | Age/Occupation:40s-50s
newspaper editor | | Personality type:tough,a devoted husband & father,he loved westerns especially john wayne films | | Signature look: | | Resides:los angeles | | Character connections: | Fun facts/trivia:Ed Asner became the only person to win an Emmy Award for both "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" and "Actor in a Comedy Series", the latter for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, for portraying the same character.
During the primetime run of the show (1977-1982), Edward Asner became increasingly vocal on behalf of various liberal political causes. Although the series had slipped in ratings by 1982, many critics speculated that the actor's politics played a major role in the show's cancellation.
When the series aired on CBS on Monday nights, journalism classes would dismiss early, so that the faculty and students could watch the new episodes and discuss them in clas |
| | Character Quotes & Catchphrases | Donovan: I don't know Lou. I can't stay cheerful and smiling 24 hours a day.
Lou Grant: What makes you think that's what your mother wants? She's seen you every way you can be and whatever it is you are, that's what she wants.
Lou Grant: Talk to Dr. Shephard at the Historical Society, find out what's in the time capsule. Give me a little 'Gee whiz, nothing ever stays the same' or 'Gee whiz, nothing ever changes.'
Lou Grant: When I told you to pick a company to investigate sexual harassment, I didn't mean this one.
Billie Newman: I chose the Trib because that way, I felt the story would have the most impact.
Lou Grant: I have a feeling you're right.
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Character name: W Guy Banister
Appears in:JFK
Date(s):1991
Award(s):
| Character back story: a career member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a private investigator. He was an avid anti-communist, member of the Minutemen, the John Birch Society, Louisiana Committee on Un-American Activities, and publisher of the Louisiana Intelligence Digest.
Garrison believed that Banister was heavily involved in anti-Castro Cuban activities, and was involved in Operation Mongoose. Garrison also believed that Banister was running a training camp for Cuban exiles. None of these accusations by Garrison has been independently corroborated. | | Inspiration for character:based on the real guy banister | Age/Occupation:40s-50s
private investigator | | Personality type:bigot,sexist, corrupt, | | Signature look: | | Resides:new orleans | | Character connections: | Fun facts/trivia:Rated #5 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2006.
The first draft of the screenplay was 190 pages long, pared down to 156 pages for shooting.
Director Oliver Stone's favorite film of his own. |
| | Character Quotes & Catchphrases | BANISTER(repetitive)Who'd ever thought that goofy Oswald kid would pull off a stunt like an assassination?
(Martin waits)Just goes to show, you can never know about some people. Am I right, Jack?
(Martin, frightened now, doesn't reply)
Well, bless my soul. Your eyes are as red as two cherries, Jack. Don't
tell me we have another bleeding heart here. Hell, all these years I thought you were on my side.
MARTINChief, sometimes I don't know whether you're kidding or not.
BANISTER:I couldn't be more serious, Jack. Those big red eyes have me wondering about your loyalty.
BANISTERWho the hell opened my files! You've been looking through my private files, haven't you, you weasel?
MARTINYou may not like this, chief, but you're beginning to act paranoid. I
mean, you really are.
BANISTERYou found out about Dave Ferrie going to Texas today and you went through all my files to see what was going on. You're a goddamn spy.
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Character name: Santa Clause
Appears in:Elf
Date(s):2003
Award(s):
| Character back story:In the 1960s, Santa is delivering presents to a New York City orphanage, when baby a crawls into Santa Claus's bag on he unwittingly takes him back to the North Pole. where he & the elves name him Buddy.
Years later Santa tells Buddy to goto New York & find his human father.
Whilst delivering his presents on christmas eve he sees that the people of New York are losing their christmas spirit & his sleigh crashes in central park. | | Inspiration for character: | Age/Occupation:unknown
santa | | Personality type:caring,compassionate,grumpy | | Signature look: | | Resides:north pole | | Character connections: | Fun facts/trivia:Near the end, when Santa is showing Michael his nice list, all of the people on Santa's list worked on the movie: Victoria Down (key makeup artist) wants an English riding saddle with leathers and a crop; Drew Davidson (chief lighting technician, as Andrew Davidson) wants Rock-em Sock-em robots; Andreas Nieman (assistant property master, as Andy Nieman) wants a complete set of titanium drivers and a new golf glove; Nathan Tichenor (co-production coordinator) wants an Apple iBook with 1 gig hard drive and a built-in CD burner; Michael Hobbs is a character in the movie; Jimmy Miller (executive producer) wants a Hot Wheels turbo ultra race track with six cars, power launcher and track cleaner and Penny Gibbs (unit production manager) wants an Old MacDonald Farm Kit with Battery Operated Tractor and a Remote Controlled Cow-Tipper.
Terry Zwigoff was offered a chance to direct the film, but turned it down. |
| | Character Quotes & Catchphrases | Santa: That's another thing... Buddy you should know that your father... he's on the naughty list.
Buddy: Nooooo!
Santa: I've been to New York thousands of times.
Buddy: Really?
Santa: Mm-hmm.
Buddy: What's it like?
Santa: Well, there are some things you should know. First off, you see gum on the street, leave it there. It isn't free candy.
Buddy: Oh.
Santa: Second, there are, like, thirty Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original. But the real one's on 11th. And if you see a sign that says "Peep Show", that doesn't mean that they're letting you look at the new toys before Christmas.
Santa: I'm getting too old for this.
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