Tag: JudyNorton

Margerumalia – A Moment With Santa Ed

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 12, 2025

CREDIT: PHOTOFEST

Ed Asner stood at the end of my gurney and put his hand on my ankle by way of encouragement as he was talking to someone else. He moved on before I could thank him but I sure appreciated the warm assurance. 

You may remember Ed Asner from his portrayal of Santa Claus on the movie Elf. Like my daughter says, the holiday season hasn’t really started until we sit down to watch Elf. It’s a Christmas favorite in the Margerum household and I love to pull my “World’s Best Cup of Coffee” mug off the shelf to salute the holidays.

Maybe you remember Asner as the voice of the curmudgeonly Carl Fredricksen in the animated movie Up. He flew his house to South America by equipping it with balloons.

My memories of him date back much further to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” in which he played Mary’s boss in the newsroom of WJM-TV. 

In the very first episode when she interviewed for her job, he asked inappropriate questions about her personal life and she stood up and reprimanded him for it. In response, he walked around his big desk with a half grin on his face and told her, “You know what? You got spunk.”

She modestly tried to thank him for the compliment but he interrupted her.

“I hate spunk.” 

That got a huge laugh from the live audience and the relationship was established. The series ran for nine years. 

His character, Lou Grant, was one of the few—maybe the only—to get a spin-off from a sitcom to create a drama. He was given the job of City Editor at a Los Angeles newspaper in a series that began immediately and “Lou Grant” would run for five years. Ed Asner won Emmy Awards for the same character in each series.

This was the Ed Asner I knew and loved even though, like Mary, I was a little intimidated by him. 

I was on a gurney donating blood along with many more actors in the Screen Actors Guild and Asner was there because he was the SAG President. Maybe he could sense my fear, actors are practiced at sensing the emotions in other people. I hate needles, and his hand on my ankle was just the reassurance I needed. I breathed a little easier after that. 

The only words he could’ve said to improve on the moment would’ve been: 

“You know what? You got spunk.”

TTFN

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Screenshot

Last week, a few hours after my newsletter went out, I saw a social media post from Judy Norton that an autographed CD version of her Christmas music is available through her website: judynorton.com.

I had only mentioned where I saw it downloadable.

Downloads are handy but so difficult to wrap, don’t you think?

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If you received this email because it was forwarded to you by a subscriber, welcome. You can subscribe as well by following the link on my website: ericmargerum.com. A free story awaits you there.

Margerumalia – Gratitude

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 5, 2025

That’s me pushing my snow blower down the length of the driveway—the longest driveway in the neighborhood, thanks Dad—for the second time in one day. The photo credit goes to Debbie who had the good sense to stay inside and take pictures from a warm cozy room.

I heard a podcast recently where the author of a book about mental health was discussing the value of gratitude. It was a fitting discussion for the Thanksgiving Weekend and I got to hear about the science behind brain health and gratitude.

Most of us have heard about endorphins that our body generates in response to exercise and healthy eating, but they’re produced in response to gratitude as well. And a practice of journaling or making mental notes of things we’re thankful for results in us discovering even more reasons to be thankful every day.

I got to discover one such moment.

As I blew snow off the driveway I noticed my neighbor and his son trying to push a car that was spinning its wheels but never finding traction. The end of our cul-de-sac slopes down toward that gray house over my shoulder and the wet snow had accumulated about five inches, leaving the car helpless at the bottom of the street.

I offered to push my snow blower down the street and create two tracks of bare pavement for the women in the car to drive up the hill.

Everyone was happy for the suggestion and I plowed one track down the hill, turned around and positioned the blower to plow another track back up. “Now let’s see if I can get the right distance between the wheels,” I said.

It worked!

As I returned to plowing our driveway I felt a warm glow. Not just because they thanked me for the assistance, but because it made me feel good to be helpful. 

They say it’s better to give than to receive and I think there’s a lot of truth to that old adage. Like the author on the podcast said, I became aware of my gratitude. The opportunity to be of service is always its own reward.

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This holiday season, I want to recommend a Christmas album that was recorded by my friend Judy Norton.

If you think you recognize her name, you probably remember her from the TV series “The Waltons” which ran for nine years. She played the oldest daughter, Mary Ellen Walton.

Judy has done plenty more as well, including directing and performing in several musicals. In fact, we met while working together on an original musical. 

When I saw she had recorded a Christmas album I told her that I thought her voice was perfect for this kind of music. I was right. It’s warm, expressive and is accompanied by wonderful arrangements.

It’s available as a download on Amazon and Apple Music, and probably several more venues as well.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

TTFN

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles