Tag: MaryTylerMoore

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 – A Spotlight on Betty White

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – July 11, 2025

I stood in line behind Betty White. I was nineteen and she was legendary.

I wanted to say something, but knew it had to be worth saying.

This moment happened in Akron, Ohio, where I was working as an apprentice for The Kenley Players. Kenley also had summer contracts with theatres in Dayton and Columbus. Most of the summer I worked in the box office but I also got to do an occasional load-in or a load-out because it was an eleven show season. One week performances with one day of travel between cities. John Kenley was great about making sure his apprentices were included in free dinner events put on by local restaurants. 

I did this for two summers while I was in college.

Betty White was there both times. 

The first season began with the musical Chicago featuring Alan Ludden, known mainly as the long-running host of “Password.” He played the flamboyant lawyer Billy Flynn, who gave them “the ol’ razzle dazzle” to secure a not-guilty verdict for Roxie Hart. He was good with the role, too, playing just the right balance of manipulation and charm. 

He was also married to Betty White. 

Here’s a charming clip of Betty White flirting with Allen Ludden the first time she appeared on “Password” as one of the celebrities. https://tvline.com/news/betty-white-allen-ludden-password-romance-974130

In many of my celebrity meet-ups I only thought of the right thing to say five minutes afterwards, but this time I think I nailed it. After complimenting her work on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” I asked her whether she preferred performing on stage or for the camera. 

She told me that a sitcom like MTM was the best of both worlds. They got to perform in front of a live audience as well as playing for the camera. She proved that a few years later when she co-starred in seven seasons of “The Golden Girls.” Living her best life even after the death of her beloved husband. 

My second year with The Kenley Players I was stationed in Dayton where I spent a lot of time with the stagehands in addition to working in the box office. That was the year Betty White was the star in “Hello, Dolly!” and I played a big role in letting her shine. 

I was assigned to sit in the fly rails for that show, where a huge dimmer board controlled all the lights of the production. The union man, an Old Pro that I looked up to, operated most of the dimmers but in the days before computer-operated boards sometimes three or four hands were needed. I took great pride in pushing the sliders to just the right levels at the right time. 

When there were lighting problems in Akron and the Old Pro was needed there, he told me that I knew how to do it all and that another union guy would be brought in to be my assistant. I was in charge, he told me, mounting his Harley to zip out to Akron.

My new assignment included the moment in the title song when Betty White appeared at the top of the stairs to be serenaded by the waiters in the restaurant. The only part of that entire show that I remember was timing the Betty White Special to the music after the cue from the stage manager. (We could see the top of the stairs but the SM couldn’t.) I’m proud to say the Betty White Special was perfect every time. 

Next time you watch a movie, a TV show, or live theatre, take a moment to appreciate the many names of people behind the scenes who really, really care about getting it right every time. 

I’ve been a fan of Betty White to this day.

TTFN

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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.