EDWARD ASNER

So...

This is hard.

It's been a bit of a stressful weekend, as my father went into the hospital with chest pains. A stint that had been replaced last year had failed and was replaced again Saturday morning during an angioplasty. I've been concerned, worried. But the procedure seemed to go well, and he was set to go home today. We seemed to have dodged a bullet.

But there was a second gun.

I slept in today. I woke up to two pieces of news:

1. My dad was good. Solid. My sister picked him up at the hospital and took him straight to breakfast. (My mother was annoyed at not being included - but that's a whole other story.) He's home now. I've talked to him. He sounded cheerful. All good.

2. Ed Asner had passed away.

I spent most of the day doing laundry and other mundane tasks. Life goes on, right? It has to. But it's been difficult getting my head around the whole thing. I've gotten many calls and texts today, offering condolences as if I were part of the Asner family. Folks seem to know how close I felt to Ed. But I don't want to exaggerate. Ed was my friend. I hope he knew I was his, as well. But I haven't talked to him in at least a couple of years. (You can partially blame that on the pandemic, I suppose. There are a lot of people I've lost touch with. If anything, this is a reminder to GET in touch. And I'm going to make an effort to do that.) In any case, there are many, many people who knew Ed better than I did, who were closer to Ed than I was.

Nevertheless, at the risk of turning this post into my own self-aggrandizement, I am going to spend a few paragraphs here on the subject of the Ed Asner that I knew and loved.

I was a fan of Ed's long before I met him. Like many, many people, he first entered my awareness playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (Later, I got a kick out of picking him out of reruns, where he usually played the heavy in such series as The Wild Wild West and others.) But as Lou, Ed was simply brilliant. One of the truly classic scenes in all of television is the scene in the TMTMS pilot, where Lou interviews Mary for a job. Do yourself a favor and view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj286uBKCu0

That scene had a major effect on me, even seeing it as a kid.

Now, having just rewatched it, the genius of the writing and the two performances still knocks me out. But there was something else about Lou and Mary. Watching their interactions was a bit like watching my parents. The connection in my mind between Lou and my dad was especially strong.

Ed and my father were two Ashkenazi Jews from the midwest. My dad was from Chicago; Ed, from Kansas City. They were gruff AND loving. They even had mannerisms in common. There was much more, I'm sure, that they DIDN'T have in common. But something connected the two men in my mind. And, meanwhile, my admiration for Asner as a performer knew no bounds. When I saw him in the Lou Grant series, in Rich Man, Poor Man, in Roots, that admiration only increased. When I learned of his activism - and the price he paid for it - that admiration shot through the roof.

Years later, when we had begun pre-production on GARGOYLES, I thought of Ed Asner - or of Lou Grant, at least - as the inspiration for Hudson. In fact, when we held auditions for the role, I wrote at the bottom of the character description that "Hudson hates spunk." This was, of course, a variation on Lou's classic line from the above job interview scene. Now, to be clear, I never imagined we'd get Ed to play the role. I figured he was way too big a star for us to land. But low and behold, a few days later, Ed came in to audition for the part. Later, he told me that when he read the character description, he was initially thrilled. The "Hudson hates spunk" line made him feel like he was a lock to land the role. Then a couple minutes later, he thought that if he didn't land the role it would really be awful. But of course, he immediately understood the character and nailed his audition... only for Jamie Thomason and I to throw him a curveball, asking him to do it again in a Scottish accent. He nailed that, too.

Working with Ed was a joy. He was fun and funny and so supportive. In addition to playing Hudson (and Burbank and Jack Danforth/Dane) on Gargoyles, I also cast him as recurring characters on Max Steel (Chuck Marshak), 3x3 Eyes (Grandpa Ayanokoji), W.I.T.C.H. (Napoleon the talking cat), Young Justice (Kent Nelson) and Rain of the Ghosts (Joe Charone). When casting Peter Parker's late Uncle Ben in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ed was the only person I ever considered. He always brought so much to each and every role.

And more than that he was a great friend to me. After the first season of Max Steel, when I couldn't find a job for over a year and thought I might have to give up on my writing career, Ed was there, offering me support. We had lunch at Musso & Frank's. He looked at pictures of my kids out of my wallet and told me to laminate them. He introduced me to his son, Matt Asner, a producer. He didn't allow me to wallow in self-pity or to badmouth guys who I believed had done me wrong. He just reassured me that I had ability and would find my way through. He was, in essence, my work dad.

So today, as you might imagine, has been complicated. My dad is home and healthy. And Ed is gone. I'm grateful and sorrowful. And struggling. But life goes on. It has to, right?

Finally, I'm going to quote Hudson from Gargoyles. In "The Price," an episode that spotlighted the character, Ed as Hudson told Xanatos: "A friendly word of advice: True immortality isn't about living forever, man. It's about what you do with the time you have. When all your scheming's done, what will be your legacy, Xanatos?"

I think we all know that Ed Asner did amazing things with the time he had. And though we'll miss him dearly, his legacy is clear and shining.

ANIME VEGAS 2013 - Corrected Schedule

Let's try this again with the correct dates:

As I've mentioned before, I'm a guest at ANIME VEGAS this weekend, November 1-3rd, 2013, at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada:

http://www.animevegas.com/

Here's my schedule:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2013
01:00pm - 02:00pm - OPENING CEREMONIES
Cosplay Ballroom.

02:00pm - 03:30pm - GARGOYLES/THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN Panel and Signing
Cosplay Ballroom.

05:00pm - 06:30pm - YOUNG JUSTICE Panel and Signing
Paramount Room with Yuri Lowenthal, the voice of Lagoon Boy, Tempest, Icicle Jr. and Tommy Terror.

06:30pm - 08:00pm - IKKI TOUSEN Panel and Signing
Paramount Room with New Generation Pictures Voice Director and Producer Jonathan Klein.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2013
10:00am - 11:30am - "WRITER'S ROOM" Panel and Signing
Summit Room.

06:30pm - 07:30pm - SIGNING
Summit Room with Jonathan Klein.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013
09:00am - 10:30am - 3X3 EYES SCREENING, Panel and Signing
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein.

10:30am - 11:30am - VOICE DIRECTING Panel
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein.

12:30pm - 01:00pm - SIGNING
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein.

As you can see, I'm doing a LOT of signing. I'll sign anything you bring along for free. But I'm also bringing a single copy of EVERY one of my Young Justice teleplays (i.e. the ones that I personally wrote), which I'll be selling for $20 per script (cash only) - autographed and personalized to the buyer's taste - on a first-come, first-serve basis, starting with the Young Justice signing at 6pm Friday evening.
So if you're in the vicinity, plan to be there. As you all know, I'm not big on SPOILERS, but I'm WAY, WAY more likely to tease a few things in person than I am on either Twitter or here. So come and be (slightly) better informed!!!

Anime Vegas - Schedule!

As I've mentioned before, I'll be a guest at ANIME VEGAS this weekend, November 1-3rd, 2013, at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada:

http://www.animevegas.com/

Here's my schedule:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013
01:00pm - 02:00pm - OPENING CEREMONIES
Cosplay Ballroom

02:00pm - 03:30pm - GARGOYLES/THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN PANEL and SIGNING
Cosplay Ballroom

05:00pm - 06:30pm - YOUNG JUSTICE PANEL and SIGNING
Paramount Room with Yuri Lowenthal, the voice of Lagoon Boy, Tempest, Icicle Jr. and Tommy Terror.

06:30pm - 08:00pm - IKKI TOUSEN PANEL and SIGNING
Paramount Room with New Generation Pictures Voice Director and Producer Jonathan Klein

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2013
10:00am - 11:30am - "WRITER'S ROOM" PANEL and SIGNING
Summit Room

06:30pm - 07:30pm - SIGNING
Summit Room with Jonathan Klein

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2013
09:00am - 10:30am - 3X3 EYES SCREENING, PANEL and SIGNING
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein

10:30am - 11:30am - VOICE DIRECTING
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein

12:30pm - 01:00pm - SIGNING
Paramount Room with Jonathan Klein

As you can see, I'm doing a LOT of signing. I'll sign anything you bring along for free. But I'm also bringing a single copy of EVERY one of my Young Justice teleplays (i.e. the ones that I personally wrote), which I'll be selling for $20 per script (cash only) - autographed and personalized to the buyer's taste - on a first-come, first-serve basis, starting with the Young Justice signing at 6pm Friday evening.

So if you're in the vicinity, plan to be there. As you all know, I'm not big on SPOILERS, but I'm WAY, WAY more likely to tease a few things in person than I am on either Twitter or here. So come and be (slightly) better informed!!!

ATTENTION FANS OF MATT BLUESTONE

Tom Wilson (the voice of Matt Bluestone) is currently recurring on the NBC series Ed, playing a widowered fireman and a potential love-interet for the Molly Hudson character, played by actress Leslie Boone, whom I've also worked with on 3x3 EYES. (Leslie is a very good friend of Thom "Lexington" Adcox.)

I've worked with Tom on most of the series where I had some control over casting, like MAX STEEL and TEAM ATLANTIS. He's one of my absolute favorite performers, and he and Leslie make a very cute couple. He's already been on two episodes. I don't know how long a run he'll get. But I hope he sticks around.

3x3 Eyes TV Premiere

FYI

I've been told that at midnight tonight (Friday 7/12/02 -- or more accurately Saturday 'morning' 7/13) the English dub of the anime series 3x3 Eyes that I voice directed will be airing on Encore (a.k.a. the Action Channel).

GATHERING 2001 DIARY: Part Five

Monday, June 25, 2001

Once more, Kathy knocked on my door to wake me for the staff breakfast.
Once more, I ignored the first knock.
Once more, she didn't give up.
Once more, I got up and answered the door, telling Kathy I wouldn't make it to the breakfast.
Once more, I did get down there in time to catch the tail end of the breakfast and get some juice.

I checked out of the hotel and put my stuff in my car.

The first panel of the day was for Roughnecks: The Starship Trooper Chronicles. This was actually the panel I had been most nervous about. The reason? Well, we had gathered an impressive list of guests: David DeLuise, Jamie Haines, Alex Polinsky, Rino Romano, Steve Staley, James Horan, Jason Marsden, Sue Blu, Wayne Boon, Vince Edwards, Russ Isler, Joe Lawson, Dave Hartman, Lydia Marano, Jay Oliva and Tom Pugsley. But the panel was scheduled for 10am on Monday the night after the Masquerade. I was afraid that our panelists would outnumber the attendees. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. I played an episode from the series: "Funeral for a Friend". Mostly because it's my personal favorite. Yes, I wrote it. But I just love how it turned out, particularly the epilogue funeral itself. Then we gathered for the Q&A, which was fun. A lot of these guys hadn't seen each other for awhile. Then a short signing. Finally, I had to clear the room for the next panel.

3x3 Eyes. Guests included Thom, Jonathan Klein, Taliesin Jaffe, Mia Korf and Susan Chesler. This was a nice little panel too.

Then a short break and closing ceremonies. Lots of people getting thanked....

I hung out downstairs for awhile, then Brynne and Russ and I meandered up to the con suite. The Dead Dog Party took a while to get started. But we shared a pizza with the constaff. And then I had to take off. (My family missed me.)

And that, was the con.

But once again, I'd just like to thank everyone involved. Jen and the whole constaff, in particular. But also the guests and supporting members. And especially the fans who shelled out and showed up. It was great meeting you/seeing you again, etc. It makes my year. I'm already psyched about Virinia Beach in August, 2002. And, although, I wouldn't wish the workload on any of my friends on the G2001 staff again, I do hope that sometime we have the chance to do the con in L.A. once more. In terms of Gathering the cast and crew that worked on the show, you just can't beat proximity to where they all live. You guys always treat me wonderfully, but it was also very gratifying to see everyone else on the show get a chance to share in your respect and appreciation. GARGOYLES was never a one man operation, and I'm glad you all got the chance to meet each other.

I'd also like to point out, what I'm sure you're all very aware of -- how feeble my Gathering diary is. I have no defense. Except that I'm a fiction writer not a journalist. I've been lurking around though, and diaries by Christine, Lexy, Aaron, BrooklynX, Greg Bishansky, Shan, etc. have really put mine to shame.

And I'm also sorry that I missed a few things at the con. I was so busy, I didn't ever get to see Crispin's mythology seminar. I spent almost no time in the video room and it would have been fun to watch some of the shows with you guys. And although, I did get to the art room, I never had time to just hang there and really absorb everything (I never had time to vote, for example), and I somehow completely missed seeing the MAP that won the big prize. If it's scanned online and there's a link, I'd sure appreciate someone sending the link my way.

Thanks, gang. You rock. (Pun intended.)

Greg

CORRECTION

CORRECTION:

I'll be at ANIME EXPO on SATURDAY, JULY 1ST! At 1pm. Talking about 3x3 Eyes, among other things. Sorry for any confusion.

Anime Expo

Attention anime lovers...

I will be at Anime Expo on Saturday, July 2nd in Anaheim, California. I'll be on the New Generation Pictures panel at 1pm, where I'll largely be discussing 3X3 EYES. Other topics of discussion include NAZCA and NURSE NANAKO. (I'm not involved with the last one at all, so I hope I got the title right.) Stop by and say hi.

3X3 is a really fun series that I just finished voice directing into English. It stars Christian "Max Steel" Campbell and Brigitte "Angela" Bako, and features many former GARGOYLES actors including Goliath, Thailog, Morgan, Broadway, Hollywood, Lexington, Brentwood, Obsidiana, Coyote Trickster, Natsilane, Hudson, Jack Danforth and Burbank. It's the story of a three-eyed three hundred year old demon girl with multiple personality disorder and the teen-age zombie bodyguard who loves her.

Hope to see you there.

Greg Weisman Update

As promised, here's a little update on what's been going on in my professional life...

The first season (all thirteen episodes) of MAX STEEL have been completed. I've lost track of how many have aired. I think they turned out pretty good. At any rate, the show is a success and will be back for a second season. Unfortunately, I won't be. The WB didn't invite me to produce/edit/write season two. So you can forget about any long term plans/arcs I had for the series. Still, I wish the show well. (After all, it'll still carry my "Developed By" credit.)

In other news, today I finished recording all of the two volume (seven episode) video anime series 3X3 EYES. I think we assembled a terrific cast for the English dub. Here's a complete list:

LEADS
Christian Cambell* as Yakumo Fujii
Brigitte Bako^ as Pai/Sanjiyan/Pabo Ayanokoji/Parvati/Howasho

SUPPORTING
Thom Adcox^* as Monkey
Edward Asner^* as Grandpa Ayanokoji
Earl Boen as Benares
Leslie Boone as Ken-Ken
Susan Chesler as Lee Ling-Ling
Bill Faggerbakke^ as Steve Long
Elisa Gabrielli^ as the Doll Demon
Jean Gilpin* as Mrs. Wong/Xunquai
Taliesin Jaffe as the Frog Demon and Feihong
William Katt as Tinzin
Mia Korf* as Natsuko
Ralph Lister as Choukai
Erin Matthews as Mei-Shin Long
Yuji Okumoto* as Chou and Naparva
Gregg Rainwater^* as Jake MacDonald
Dina Sherman as Dawn and Ran-Pao-Pao
Rick Simone as Tatsuya
Keith Szaribajka* as Professor Fujii and Ryouko
Rosie Taravella as Grandma Ayanokoji
Greg Weisman^ as Hide

and Keith David^ in a roll so rocking, I can't reveal it here. :)

* indicates a Voice Actor I worked with on MAX STEEL.
^ indicates a Voice Actor I worked with on GARGOYLES.

Anyway, the voices are all recorded. I've got three mix sessions left to do. I should be done in a week or so, at which point -- I'm unemployed.

Or nearly. I'm still teaching the animation writing course through UCLA extension. That's been a lot of fun and it keeps me pretty busy. Plus I'm working on writing a spec screenplay with my brother. And I go on the occasional job interview.

All this means is that it looks like I'll soon have plenty of time to dive back into ASK GREG. At one point we were closing in on completely catching up. Now we're over three months behind. But I'll try to make some fast progress. We've now got Todd Jensen helping Gorebash out to keep the site current, so that should help us avoid the "Nothing in queue" problems that were slowing us up before.

And I hope to see most of you at Gathering 2000 this August. It should be a GREAT con this year. I'll be there with Thom Adcox plus my wife and kids. We'll have new and special treats from Gargoyles, 3x3 Eyes and another EXCLUSIVE radio play event -- something that I guarantee you won't want to miss. Plus Disneyworld is a shuttle ride away. Make your reservations now.

3x3 Update

Hello gang,

Well, my queue is still empty and I haven't watched Re-Awakening yet, so I thought I'd give you guys a 3X3 EYES update...

Today, we finished recording all the actors for the first volume. Here's the current cast list (and you can expect more familiar names in Volume Two).

Again, our two leads are...

Brigitte "Angela" Bako as Pai/Sanjiyan &
Christian "Max Steel" Campbell as Yakumo Fujii

Other Volume One cast members include...

Thom Adcox
Earl Boen
Susan Chesler
Mitch Cohen
Keith David
Bill Faggerbakke
Scott Forno
Jean Gilpin
Taliesin Jaffe
Jonathan Klein
Mia Korf
Erin Matthews
Yuji Okumoto
Rick Simone
Keith Szaribajka
Greg Weisman
Kelly Wilson

Of course, I worked with Brigitte, Thom, Keith D. and Bill on GARGOYLES.

And Christian, Thom, Jean, Mia, Yuji and Keith S. on MAX STEEL.

And I worked with Earl way back on BONKERS.

It's really a terrific cast. We've mixed 3/4 of the volume and it should be available from Pioneer this summer. (We'll be previewing it, or so I'm told, at Anime Expo in early July.)

Questions welcome...

MY LATEST PROJECT: 3X3 EYES

I think it's now safe to announce my latest project.

I'm voice directing the English dub of a two volume direct-to-video Japanese Anime series for New Generation Pictures and Pioneer. It's called 3X3 EYES, and it's the story, more-or-less, of a 3-eyed girl with multiple personality disorder and her teen-age zombie bodyguard. :)

The project isn't completely cast, but it stars

Christian "Max Steel" Campbell as Yakumo Fujii

and

Brigitte "Angela" Bako as Pai/Sanjiyan

There are a few other familiar names among the cast (many from either GARGOYLES or MAX STEEL or NAZCA).

So far the cast includes...
Thom "Lexington" Adcox
Keith "Goliath/Thailog" David
Bill "Broadway" Faggerbakke
Scott Forno
Jean "Yevshenko/Keita" Gilpin
Taliesin Jaffe
Erin Matthews
Yuji "Chang" Okumoto
Rick "Dan" Simone
Keith "Psycho/Mairot" Szaribajka
Greg "Nice Mask" Weisman
Kelly Wilson

I'm having a great time. I'll keep you posted on our progress.