One of the most famous scenes from TV's "Mary Tyler Moore Show" might have been one in which Mary is responding to her TV newsroom boss Lou Grant's (Ed Asner) prodding (and inappropriate) interview questions. She impresses him.

"You got spunk!" Grant tells Moore's Mary Richards.

Or did she impress him?!

"I hate spunk!"

It turns out Ed Asner really did like Mary's "spunkiness". When asked what it was like to work with her, Asner told 95.3 WBCK in one word: "Magnificent"!

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Honors Betty White
The Mary Tyler Moore Show cast l-r Gavin McLeod, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, Valerie Harper and Ed Asner in a 2008 photo. Getty Images
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Asner, 87, brings his one-man show to the Tibbets Opera House Friday, April 28 for one night. "A Man and His Prostate" is inspired by true events, he says, which happened to his longtime friend and TV show producer Ed Weinberger. Weinberger was whisked off a cruise ship in Italy and airlifted to a hospital after a prostate attack caused by cancer. The whole ordeal prompted the story in which Asner stars.

Courtesy Tibbets Opera House
Courtesy Tibbets Opera House
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We also spoke with Asner about how he was not a fan of comedy when he auditioned for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, how tough it was to pivot Lou Grant from comedy to drama, and why he keeps working.

Click the player below to hear the conversation.

Hear The Richard Piet Show weekday mornings from 5:30-9 on 95.3 WBCK.

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