Ed Asner Channels ‘FDR’ at TAMIU Sanchez Lecture

Ed Asner, recipient of seven Emmy Awards (“Mary Tyler Moore Show’” “Lou Grant”) and 16 nominations, five Golden Globe Awards, and member of the TV Academy Hall of Fame, will star in the solo performance drama, “FDR,” based upon Dore Schary’s Broadway hit “Sunrise at Campobello,” Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. at the Texas A&M International University Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required.

Tickets for the general public are available at The Laredo Morning Times, 111 Esperanza Drive. University students, faculty and staff may pick up tickets at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center, room 301. Seats not held by ticketholders by 6:45 p.m. will be released to others.

“FDR” explores the life of one of America’s best-loved presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the events and decisions that shaped a nation. This powerful play follows the iconic president’s battle with polio and reveals the humanity and grace of the man who led the country through some of its most difficult times, including the Great Depression and World War II.

“FDR” is performed in one act without intermission.

Asner is best known for his comedic and dramatic crossover as the journalist Lou Grant and for his role as Captain Davies, a brutal slave trader, in the epic miniseries, “Roots.” He has more than 100 TV and motion picture credits and has recorded numerous commercials and books on tape. He most recently lent his voice to Carl Fredricken in Pixar’s 2009 film “Up!” Asner is also a frequent speaker on labor issues and an ally for the acting industries older artists.

Schary, noted director, screenwriter and producer, started his career as a screenwriter for Columbia Pictures in 1932. He became a successful freelance writer after he left Columbia and won an Academy Award for his screenplay for “Boys Town.” After working for MGM Studios for 20 years, he decided to focus his attention on the life of his personal hero, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Conceived by A. R. Sanchez Jr., the A. R. Sanchez, Sr. Distinguished Lecture Series has attracted national and internationally known scholars to TAMIU. Lecturers have ranged from Nobel laureates and prominent political figures to some of the most gifted world scientists and award-winning authors and artists.

The A.R. Sánchez Sr. Distinguished Lecture Series honors Antonio R. Sánchez Sr. (1916-1992).

In the 1960s, after 20 years as the owner of an office equipment business, Sanchez began buying oil and gas leases and used his earnings to establish a bank. In 1974, Sanchez and his son, A.R. Sanchez Jr., along with geologist Brian O'Brien, established the Sanchez-O'Brien Oil and Gas Corporation (now the Sanchez Oil and Gas Corporation). The same year, the father and son team discovered the largest natural gas field in Webb and Zapata Counties to that point in history.

A.R. Sanchez Sr. is best remembered in Laredo for his philanthropic efforts. Known for his work ethic and generosity, he was a major crusader for a four-year University in Laredo and a supporter of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He was also a legendary Texas entrepreneur with a down-to-earth sense of humor.

For more information call 956-326-2460.

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