GARY | Actor Ed Asner was released from the hospital Wednesday night after being treated for exhaustion, according to his publicist. Asner left the stage during his performance Tuesday night in "FDR" at the Marquette Park pavilion.
Publicist Charles Sherman said Asner was taken by ambulance to a Chicago-area hospital and released a day after being admitted.
Karren Lee, interim president of the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District, which sponsored Asner's one-man show, said the veteran actor was not feeling well but insisted on performing. Lee said earlier Wednesday that Asner was in stable condition and his family was expected to join him at the hospital.
Times Executive Editor William Nangle, who was in the front row of Tuesday's performance, said Asner came onstage and began repeating the same line over and over.
"He kept repeating his line and kept patting his head because he was sweating," Nangle said.
Nangle said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, who sat behind him, got up and went backstage to see what was wrong.
Asner's manager came onstage and asked the veteran actor if he wanted to take a break and Asner said no, Nangle said. Asner then was asked some questions from the audience about his career in show business and he started talking about being in a union, Nangle said.
At that point, Asner was helped from his chair and taken to a waiting ambulance to be transported to a hospital.
Nangle said he attended a reception with Asner the night before and the actor was fine.
"It was a very sad thing to see a great actor like that suffer that way," Nangle said.
Nangle said the audience gave Asner a standing ovation as he left the stage and the actor made a promise before he left.
"He said, 'I'll make this up to you,'" Nangle said.
Asner posted on his Twitter account Wednesday, "Reports of my imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. They tell me I am suffering from exhaustion. Thanks for the good wishes!"
Asner's performance was a charity event for the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District. Lee said it was a sold-out show with 360 people in attendance.
Sherman said the actor, best known for his roles in TV's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spin-off "Lou Grant," has been touring the nation portraying President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in "FDR" for 3 1/2 years.
"The guy's been going a million miles an hour," Sherman said.
Asner has scheduled shows in Tennessee and Milwaukee. Sherman said he isn't sure if Asner will make the appearances or if he will fly back to his home in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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