Cobra Kai season 4 dedication to Ed Asner: Who did he play?

When looking back at this year, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take the time to remember those we’ve lost. For celebrities, several acclaimed actors unfortunately passed away in 2021, including The Wire alum Michael K. Williams and Academy Award winners Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Ed Asner is another we sadly lost this year, a seven-time Emmy winner who had quite the impressive career.

Asner passed away on Aug. 21, 2021 at the age of 91. People will know him from many different roles, including Lou Grant in multiple TV shows, Carl Fredricksen in Up and Santa in Elf. He also had a minor role in Netflix’s Cobra Kai, which just debuted its fourth season today.

Cobra Kai in memoriam tribute for Ed Asner

Fans tuning in for Cobra Kai season 4 will notice an in memoriam dedication to Asner in the post-credits of episode 1, showing a photo of him from the series. Don’t remember who he played? He portrayed the character Sid Weinberg in seasons 1 and 3, Johnny Lawrence’s (William Zabka) stepfather.

Last we see of Sid in Cobra Kai, Johnny goes to him for money to help out with Miguel’s (Xolo Maridueña) surgery, only to be ridiculed and turned down. We learn throughout the series that Sid wasn’t a good stepfather to Johnny, and some of the trauma Johnny faced in his childhood was because of him.

While Asner played a villain on Cobra Kai, the same couldn’t be said about him in real life. When he passed earlier this year, some of the Cobra Kai cast and its creators took time to share kind words about the late actor and the experiences they shared with him.

Zabka called Asner a “beautiful human and special friend.”

Ralph Macchio said he has “endless respect for [Asner’s] body of work on so many levels.”

Rest in peace, acting legend Ed Asner.

Cobra Kai season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.