Lou Grant (fictional character)

Lou Grant
Ed Asner as Lou Grant
First appearance	"Love Is All Around" (MTM Show)
Last appearance	"Charlie" (Lou Grant) (officially) KSTP-TV's ads (unofficially)
Created by	James L. Brooks and Allan Burns
Portrayed by	Ed Asner
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	City editor of The Los Angeles Tribune newspaper Former News director at WJM-TV Station Former Reporter Former Copy boy
Family	John Simpson Grant (father) Ellen Hammersmith Grant (mother)
Spouse(s)	Edie Grant (divorced)
Children	Ruth (daughter) Jane (daughter) Sarah (daughter)
Relatives	Amy (granddaughter) Abby (granddaughter) Eric (grandson) Matthew (grandson) Allen Stevens (nephew) Bill Phelps (son-in-law) (By 1979, he had begun referring to one of his daughters as "Ellen", and she had a young son named Nick.)

Louis "Lou" Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was the news director at fictional television station WJM-TV. A spinoff series, entitled Lou Grant (1977–1982), was an hour-long serious dramatic series which frequently engaged in social commentary, featuring the character as city editor of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune. Although spin-offs are common on American television, Lou Grant remains one of a very few characters to have a leading role on both a popular comedy and a popular dramatic series. (cf. Trapper John McIntyre)

Although the setting of The Mary Tyler Moore Show might have implied that he was a native Minnesotan, Lou Grant in fact established that he was born in the fictional town of Goshen, Michigan. He was the son of John Simpson Grant and Ellen Hammersmith Grant; his grandfather was a pharmacist. At some point in his youth and early adulthood he developed a lifelong affection for westerns, particularly those starring John Wayne. In high school, he was a tackle for his school's football team. Soon after high school, he married Edie MacKenzie (Priscilla Morrill), at an age young enough to have four grandchildren before he turned 50.