Who told Mary Tyler Moore "You've got spunk"?

Lou Grant told Mary Tyler Moore, playing Mary Richards, “You’ve got spunk!” in the pilot episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The episode, “Love Is All Around,” premiered in 1970. Mary Richards visits Lou Grant while applying for a job as an associate producer at WJM-TV’s newsroom in Minneapolis. Grant initially seems gruff and intimidating, but he recognizes Mary’s independence and determination. His compliment immediately turns into a joke when he adds, “I hate spunk,” establishing the sharp, affectionate tension between the two characters.

Lou Grant was played by Ed Asner, while Mary Tyler Moore portrayed Mary Richards. The character became one of television’s most recognizable bosses and later headlined the dramatic spin-off Lou Grant, which premiered in 1977. A common mix-up is attributing the line to Ed Asner himself; Asner delivered it, but the speaker within the story is Lou Grant. The quote is also often remembered only as “I hate spunk,” even though “You’ve got spunk” comes first.