Mark Hamill on meeting Ed Asner in the 70s: 'I liked his show more than I liked mine'

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LOS ANGELES – Legendary actor and comic Ed Asner has turned 90, and to mark the occasion, he held a roast attended by the likes of Mark Hamill and Cloris Leachman and more.

While the stars may have gathered to poke fun at Asner, they had very kind words for him on the rep carpet prior to the event.

At the event was “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill, discussed working with MGM during the production of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which Asner starred in.

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“I met (Asner) in the fall of ’74… I had a series that is long forgotten but was produced by MGM Productions, so I was there during the fifth season of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’” Hamill, 68, told Fox News. “It was great, I liked his show more than I liked mine.”

But Hamill’s memories of Asner stretch to before that time.

“There’s a movie called ‘El Dorado’ and (Asner) plays the most heinous villain up against John Wayne and Robert Mitchum — it was a great Howard Hawks western, and I think that’s the first time I really learned what his name was, because before that, I would just recognize his face watching all these shows and say ‘oh, that guy,’ but not until ‘El Dorado’ did I know his name,” Hamill said. “Then of course, the whole world knew his name when he played Lou Grant.

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Actors Ed Asner and Mark Hamill attend Ed Asner's 90th Birthday Party and Celebrity Roast at The Roosevelt Hotel on November 03, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Getty)

Hamill always looked up to Asner, saying he was “always so authentic, he didn’t seem like he was acting.”

“A lot of people in the press remark about how unusual it was for a so-called dramatic actor to be cast in a sit-com. It taught me that you don’t play comedy, you play reality, and if you play the truth, the comedy will come. That’s why he was so able to move from a sit-com as Lou Grant to a drama as Lou Grant and not differentiate between the two different styles. He was always just truthful, and that taught me a lot.”

Tom Bergeron, known for hosting “Dancing With the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Videos” played host for the evening.

“(Ed) taught me that being cranky can be lucrative,” Bergeron said of looking up to Asner. “So, I’ve got spunk.”

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Emmy-winner Cloris Leachman expressed similar sentiments, saying that when Asner comes to mind, so does the phrase “whoa, look out!”