Hector Elizondo plays Edward "Ed" Alzate, the business partner and best friend to Mike Baxter.
He is quite old, and semi-retired. Mike usually talks to Ed about the happenings in his home, seeking advice. Ed is known to be unorthodox and is a source of both pride and consternation for Mike, as the advice he gives sometimes helps yet also often hinders Mike.
Like Kyle, Ed is of Basque heritage. He is married to Vanessa's mother, Bonnie, and was married and divorced 4 times before that. He is like a father to Kyle, and has some memory loss.