Hollywood Meets Nashville – A Benefit for Nashville IDD Housing Group

TV legend Ed Asner and singer-songwriter Rivers Rutherford will perform on behalf of Nashville IDD Housing Group, the only organization in Middle Tennessee helping adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities find affordable housing, gainful employment and the strong social network necessary for them to thrive. Asner, who has a son and grandson with autism, is a champion of disability rights and is coming to Nashville specifically to help the non-profit raise funds for its vital work. VIP tickets guarantee premium front-of-room seating for Asner’s storytelling and Rutherford’s songs. Asner will discuss his storied career as one of the most honored actors in the history of television: he has received seven Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and is a member of the TV Academy Hall of Fame. He is universally known as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist Lou Grant, the role he originated for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and continued in the dramatic spin-off, Lou Grant. Asner has 100+ TV credits, though younger generations know him best for his work in film, from the box office hit Elf (Ed played Santa Claus to Will Farrell’s title character) to his role as Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's Up! Rutherford will perform from among his many Top 40 hits, which include eight #1 songs recorded by the likes of Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson, Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Atkins, Trace Adkins and Brooks & Dunn (including their most successful single to date, "Ain't Nothing Bout You”).