Maybe love wasn't all around on the set of the "Mary Tyler Moore" show. During a recent appearance at the Television Critics Association event, Ed Asner took a few swings at former co-stars Cloris Leachman and Betty White.
TV Guide reports that the actor, who played gruff WJM newsroom boss Lou Grant on the hit '70s sitcom, dissed Leachman during a discussion about the success of older actors.
"Cloris Leachman has eight Emmys? Is that true? Bitch," he said of the 84-year-old star, who played snobby Phyllis Lindstrom. "Well, if you wanna act nuts like she does..."
Eighty-one-year-old Asner — who has seven Emmys to his credit — added that he earned his awards "from straight developmental acting... Nothing off the charts. That's Cloris."
When asked the secret to his own enduring career, Asner took a swipe at 88-year-old White, who played happy homemaker Sue Ann Nivens on "Mary Tyler Moore."
"I think talent has something to do with it. I'd like to lay claim to that," said Asner, who stars in the upcoming CMT comedy "Working Class." "I figure I'm in that middle stage of aging. I'm in that middle stage prior to becoming Mickey Rooney. Or Betty White."
Though the TCA audience laughed at Asner's comments, TV Guide reports that he didn't seem to be joking.
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