My Dad and Ed Asner

My father is an actor. He’s 84-years old.

He’s been an actor for as long as I can remember, having started acting lessons in 1965, when I was born, and went on to hone his craft for seven years at a repertory theatre company, in plays, for no pay, but invaluable experience up on the boards.

If you’re from Philly, and you're a theatre patron, chances are you might know my father’s work: Willy Loman in "Death of A Salesman" at Arden Theatre Company, a role that garnered him a Barrymore Award for Best Actor. Or, you might recognize him from parts in TV’s "West Wing" and "The Wire." Perhaps you remember seeing him around the City of Brotherly Love, where he would “hit the pavement” every Monday, as my dad says about his early days out looking for work. And he did. Work. He “paid his dues” so to speak.

What you probably don’t know is that my father served as president of the Philadelphia Tri-State area chapter of Screen Actors Guild, for thirty years. The role of president does not receive any pay. However, it does require dedication.

Ed Asner. He’s also an actor. Lou is 91-years old.

You know that face. Chances are you know him as Lou Grant from the "Mary Tyler Moore Show," or from its spin-off series "Lou Grant." For receiving his seven Emmy awards, according to Wikipedia, Asner is “the most honored male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards.”

What you might not know is that Ed Asner also served as president of Screen Actors Guild, heading up the national union from November of 1981 until June of 1985.

Today, my dad and Ed Asner have something else in common: health insurance. Along with other actors like: Whoopi Goldberg, Mark Hamill, and Morgan Freeman, my dad and Ed Asner paid into the Screen Actors Guild’s health plan for their entire careers. Now, as “senior performers” the Screen Actors Guild is raising the eligibility requirements for yearly earnings to qualify for health coverage. And, they are not allowing an actor’s residuals to count toward their eligibility, which is essentially dropping many elderly members from continuing to receive the coverage they so need. Why? Apparently the SAG-AFTRA union is citing a grave financial strain, apparently something they’ve known about for two years.

If you watch the following piece from Eleven Films, you will see the passion of many familiar senior Hollywood actors.