Ed Asner has a pair of dates in Sacramento, including a show about ... his prostate

Award-winning actor Ed Asner will be in the Sacramento area for a pair of appearances this weekend.

If you want to see the famed TV actor perform, he’ll be at B Street Theatre on Saturday to perform his one-man show “Ed Asner, A Man and His Prostate.” If you have questions, you might want to see him Sunday in Rancho Cordova as part of the California Capital Film Office’s Artist’s of Note series.

Asner will take part in a new conversational appearance Sunday, discussing his latest book, “Son of a Junkman: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood,” which will be followed by a Q&A and a book signing.

“Since I’ve received so many Emmys, I thought It would look proper for me to write an autobiography. Otherwise, I’d just be a one-hit wonder,” Asner said.

According to Asner, the book offers insight into many of the watershed moments the actor has had across his nine decades including his seven Emmy wins for his work on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant” and “Roots,” as well as his inauspicious beginnings.

“I started as the fifth child of a junkman, and we lived above the junkyard. We moved out of there when I was in the second grade. It’s a whole wondrous kind of transformation,” Asner said. “But when I entered high school I realized, that being a Jew, I wasn’t going to be surrounded by well-wishers. So I said, ‘Okay, that’s the way it is? I’m just going to participate in everything, be everything to everybody, and acquire a name for myself.’”

Asner said the autobiography was the product of several years’ worth or work, which was informed by his time as both a fictional and functional editor, working on his high school paper before portraying the famous kindhearted curmudgeon, Lou Grant.

Asner also discusses his early acting career, which saw the actor take residence in Chicago and New York before heading to Los Angeles for a role as guest star on the crime show “Naked City.”

“That introduced me to Los Angeles. I liked the world of TV. I called my wife and told her I wanted to stick around another week and check out the agents. She groaned. She said, ‘Another week? I want to move out of here.’ And then she groaned again,” Asner said.

The groaner in question, Nancy Sykes, whom Asner married in the late ‘50s, is also a frequent point of discussion. Asner and Sykes were married for nearly 30 years, divorcing in 1988.

“I found a wonderful girl who worked in show business as a secretary and as a mini-agent. She offered me half of her steak at dinner one night, and I thought, ‘That’s the way to go,’” Asner said.

Even at 90, the thespian is still going strong, with roles in USA’s “Briarpatch” and ABC’s “Modern Family.”

“I draw energy from it. I’d sit around and molder if I didn’t have the work,” Asner said.

If You Go

Ed Asner, A Man and His Prostate

Where: B Street Theatre, 2700 Capitol Ave., Sacramento

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $50

More info: https://bstreettheatre.org/

If You Go

Artists of Note Q&A

Where: 9845 Horn Road, Suite 100

When: Sunday, February 23. 2:30 through 4:30 p.m.

Cost: Entry requires $20 purchase of book

More info: (916) 916-706-2000, CalCapFilm.org

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 2:12 PM.