Editing Ed Asner (section)

=== 1955–1969: Early work and television roles ===
[[File:Mary Tyler Moore cast 1970.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Cast of ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' in 1970, with Asner in center rear]]
Following his military service, Asner helped found the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, but left for [[New York City]] before members of that company regrouped as the [[Compass Players]] in the mid-1950s.<ref name=eb>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Asner |title=Ed Asner |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |date=November 11, 2019 |first=Naomi |last=Blumberg |access-date=December 3, 2019 }}</ref> He later made frequent guest appearances with the successor to Compass, [[The Second City]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.secondcity.com/people/other/ed-asner/#:~:text=After%20the%20war%2C%20Asner%20joined,developed%20into%20The%20Second%20City. |title=Ed Asner |website=The Second City |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref> In New York City, [[Off-Broadway]] roles included Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum in the revival of ''[[The Threepenny Opera|Threepenny Opera]]'' and in Otway's [[Venice Preserv'd]] in late 1955.<ref>Atkinson, Brooks. "Theatre: Otway Tragedy." New York Times, 13 December 1955, 54.</ref> Asner scored his first [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] role in ''Face of a Hero'' alongside [[Jack Lemmon]] in 1960, and began to make inroads as a television actor, having made his TV debut in 1957 on ''[[Westinghouse Studio One|Studio One]]''.<ref name=cnn /> In two notable performances on television, Asner played Detective Sgt. Thomas Siroleo in the 1963 episode of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' titled "[[It Crawled Out of the Woodwork]]" and the reprehensible ex-premier Brynov in the 1965 ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)|Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'' episode "The Exile". He made his film debut in 1962, in the [[Elvis Presley]] vehicle ''[[Kid Galahad]]''.<ref name="cnn" />

Before landing his role with [[The Mary Tyler Moore Show|Mary Tyler Moore]], Asner guest-starred in television series including four episodes of ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'' starring [[Robert Stack]], the [[Television syndication|syndicated]] [[crime drama]] ''[[Decoy (TV series)|Decoy]]'', starring [[Beverly Garland]], two episodes of ''[[Naked City (TV series)|Naked City]]'' in 1961, and ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'' in 1962 (the episode titled "Welcome to the Wedding") as Custody Officer Lincoln Peers. He was cast on [[Jack Lord]]'s [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] drama series ''[[Stoney Burke (TV series)|Stoney Burke]]'' and in the series finale of [[CBS]]'s ''[[The Reporter (TV series)|The Reporter]]'', starring [[Harry Guardino]]. He also appeared on ''[[Mr. Novak]]'', ''[[Ben Casey]]'', ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'', ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'', and ''[[The Invaders]]''. In 1963, Asner appeared as George Johnson on ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' in the episode "Echo of Another Day".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-virginian-1963/episode-26-season-1/echo-of-another-day/100532/ |website=[[TV Guide]] |title=The Virginian Season 1 Episode 26: Echo of Another Day |access-date=December 3, 2019 }}</ref> In 1968 he was the villain Furman Crotty in the Wild Wild West episode "The Night of the Amnesiac".