Ed Asner, Valerie Harper to Reunite with Cloris Leachman at 2017 Sedona International Film Festival

Ed Asner and Valerie Harper, whose careers and links to Mary Tyler Moore helped create lasting memories and historic television, will join colleague and friend Cloris Leachman for a special event at the 23rd annual Sedona International Film Festival at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17.

Asner, who is making his third appearance at the Festival, and Harper, will be on hand for "Cloris on Comedy: An Evening with Cloris Leachman" on Friday at the Sedona Performing Arts Center, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road in Sedona.

The duo will present Leachman with the Sedona International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and join her on stage for a Q&A session with the audience following Cloris on Comedy.

"We are beyond thrilled to be able to bring these three television icons together, particularly with the recent passing of Mary Tyler Moore," said Sedona International Film Festival Executive Director Pat Schweiss. "To have them on stage at the same time to celebrate Cloris' career and their collaboration will be incredibly memorable."

Tickets for Cloris on Comedy are available at www.sedonafilmfestival.com, but the number of available tickets is limited. Individual tickets are $13.

Asner is best known for his role as Lou Grant, Mary Tyler Moore's newsroom boss on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the spin-off series, Lou Grant, in a career that spans six decades on stage, screen and television. He is one of only two actors to win an Emmy Award for the same role in a sitcom and a drama.

He also won an Emmy for his role as Captain Davies in the acclaimed ABC miniseries, Roots, and has won more Emmys for performing (seven) than any other male actor.

In 2001, he received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Awards. He also served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Harper is best known for her roles as Rhoda Morgenstern on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off, Rhoda. She is a four-time Prime Time Emmy Award winner also known for her stage work, for which she was nominated for a 2010 Tony Award for Best Actress in Play as Talullah Bankhead in Looped.

The full schedule of films at the 23rd annual Sedona International Film Festival begins screening on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Harkins 6 and Sedona Performing Arts Center. More than 160 films including full-length features, documentaries, shorts, foreign films and animation, will be shown during the Festival, which ends on Feb. 26.

For more information and tickets, visit www.sedonafilmfestival.com.

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