Ed Asner, the burly character actor who won seven Emmy Awards — five of them for playing the same character, the gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant introduced on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and later on “Lou Grant” — and then starred in film hits like “Up” and “Elf” — died August 29 at his home in Tarzana, CA. He was 91.

Mr. Asner also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985, and was active in political causes within and beyond the entertainment industry. The issues he supported over the years included unionism and animal rights; he protested against the American military presence in El Salvador.

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ran on CBS from 1970 to 1977, and Mr. Asner was nominated for the Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy series every year. He won in 1971, 1972 and 1975. He won twice for best lead actor, in 1978 and 1980, for “Lou Grant,” which aired on CBS from 1977 to 1982.

Mr. Asner won Emmys also for his appearances in the 1976 mini-series “Rich Man, Poor Man” and the 1977 mini-series “Roots.” He was seen in guest roles in “The Good Wife,” “The Middle,” “Grace and Frankie,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Cobra Kai.” He was a recurring character in “The Practice” and “ER.” In made-for-television movies, he played Warren Buffet in “Too Big to Fail” (2011) and Pope John XXIII in a movie by that name (2002). 

Mr. Asner continued acting on television and in film through 2019. His last film appearance was as a New York psychologist in “The Garden Left Behind,” a drama that won a SXSW Film Festival audience award. That year he also appeared on several television series, including five episodes of “Dead to Me,” a Netflix drama about grief.

In a 1999 interview, Mr. Asner said, “To me, the best performances come from those milieus where you create the family — of bolstering each other, of love for each other’s work, of trying to help each other, of trying to get the best out of each other. And I believe it pays off.”