Keeping it Real with Cars, Life, and Ed Asner

A Look at Back and Forth at Priorities and Integrity

I like to keep things real. So, let's talk about cars for a minute—how ridiculously expensive they are and the absurdity of having a high-end vehicle as a status symbol.

As a kid, I remember reading how the legendary Ed Asner, who died in 2021, drove an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme to work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I mean, come on, man—how cool is that? Ed was and remains an icon in the history of the entertainment industry. He was best known for his Emmy-winning role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a half-hour sitcom, and one-hour sequel drama, Lou Grant. He delivered countless performances on stage, television, and the big screen.

I had the honor of calling Ed a friend, and hosting him on my TV talk show, Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, and working with him on other productions. Beyond acting, he was a dedicated political advocate for various charitable causes; down to earth as all get-out, one of the least arrogant celebrities I have ever known. He was one of the most beloved and unaffected actors in Hollywood. Even at the height of his success, Ed was never ostentatious or materialistic, clearly and specifically when it came to automobiles. He told me how he grew up with a strong set of priorities and a strong work ethic, and he retained that integrity until he left this world.

Ed’s son, Matthew Asner, is the President and CEO of The Ed Asner Family Center, which provides arts enrichment, expressive arts camps, support groups, and mental health services to the special needs community and their families.

As Matt recently expressed about his father and autos, "He drove all of his cars into the ground. His first car was a green VW Bug. He totaled it. Second was a used '62 Chevy Impala."

At one point in the 1970s, after Ed was cast as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he purchased the first of two editions of an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. The initial Cutlass, a 1977 model, was as Matt recalled, "a plum-colored two-door" that his dad kept “for years."

"Next was a two-door crème colored Cutlass," which the father Asner had for 15 years. "He then bought a Lexus," Matt continued to recall, which his father owned for more than a decade.

After that, the elder Asner purchased a series of Prius-brand vehicles. "I used to joke about his last car," Matt mused. "I was working with Toyota and I told them that they were missing an opportunity by not having him and his car in a series of ads. He had that car for 10+ years and at the end, it was held together with duct tape. It would have been a great ad for Prius."

As to me, Herbie J Pilato? I've had my share of beautiful cars over the years...everything from my dad's beautiful 1974 Gran Torino Elite (which I absolutely LOVED!) to my 2018 Black on Black Toyota RAV 4 (which I should have NEVER traded in), to my 2023 Accura RDX, which was gorgeous but too crazy to operate - and WAY too expensive for me.

I'm now driving a 2024 Chevy Trailblazer and it's just fine, with a reasonable monthly lease payment.

Anyway — the point is, it’s crazy how people spend way too much money on their cars to outdo their neighbors or to impress others. Been there, done that...and it's stupid.

It's one thing if you have money to burn, and God bless you if you do. But if you're like me, and the majority of the world, just having a safe, comfortable, functional vehicle that you can operate is all you need to get from Point A to Point B and back again to Point A.

That isn't to say that one day, I might not once again get an Acura, or a Lexus, or whatever. But I'll do so because —Number 1: I can afford it, and —2) Because I actually like the car.

Until then, I love my little Chevy Trailblazer which, by the way, is dang hot —and about $35,000 less than my old Acura RDX.

I'd call that a good deal, or the "real deal," like Ed Asner was.

I'm sure he'd be proud.