POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Film and television actor Ed Asner took the stage in front of a packed house at the Majestic Theater in Pottsville on July 22, for what would be one of his final shows.
"I still can't believe he was even here," said Lisa Gillespie, the theater's executive director. "How did we get Ed Asner to come to our theater?"
Asner had a starring role in the Disney animated film "Roger Rabbit" and played Santa Claus in Will Ferrell's "Elf."
Amie Tobash grew up watching Asner play Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. A theater board member, Tobash was in the audience that night in Pottsville.
"It was so exciting," said Tobash. "I was driving down the street coming to the theater and thinking, 'this is a world-renowned actor in our little hometown of Pottsville.'"
Asner traveled from California to perform an hour-long one-man show called "A Man and His Prostate." Picking up steam as he went, Asner thrilled the crowd with biting humor and his classic delivery.
While Asner clearly left a mark on the hearts of the audience members that night, he also left a physical mark on the theater, signing his name on one of the bricks.
"It's got the date; it's got his lovely little name there," said Gillespie. "It's immortal now."
Asner always made time for his fans.
"He had a great rapport with the people and took so much time for autographs and pictures to be signed," said Tobash.
"You could see why he was so popular for so long," said Gillespie.
Asner passed away on Sunday, a little more than a month after his performance in Pottsville.
The news came as a shock.
"He was not in good health, but it didn't look like it was imminent," said Gillespie. "It was just, to us, really sudden and just so sad."
"We were probably one of the final performances that he did, and how did he end up here in Pottsville doing that?" said Tobash. "It really was a gift."
Ed Asner was 91 years old.