Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''
St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988). The role earned him six consecutive
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nominations and a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination. He also co-hosted, along with wife Rachelle Carson, the
green living reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
titled ''
Living with Ed
''Living with Ed'' is an American reality television show starring Ed Begley Jr. It was originally shown on HGTV in 2007. In 2009, a new version began showing on the new Planet Green channel.
The show follows Begley in his quest to live his life ...
'' (2007–2010).
Equally prolific in cinema, Begley's films include ''
Blue Collar
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
'' (1978), ''
An Officer and a Gentleman'' (1982), ''
This Is Spinal Tap
''This Is Spinal Tap'' (also known as ''This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi'') is a 1984 American mockumentary film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Christopher Guest, M ...
'' (1984), ''
The Accidental Tourist
''The Accidental Tourist'' is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1985 and the Ambassador Book Award for Fiction in 1986. The novel was adapted into a ...
'' (1988), and ''
She-Devil'' (1989). He is a recurring cast member in the
mockumentaries
A mockumentary (a Blend word, blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or ...
of
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...
and
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. From 1976 until 1984, he appeared in the Canadian television sketch comedy series '' SCTV''. He has also appeared in the '' American Pie'' series of films and the Canadian ...
, including ''
Best in Show'' (2000), ''
A Mighty Wind
''A Mighty Wind'' is a 2003 American mockumentary comedy film about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. Co-written (with Eugene Levy), directed, and composed ...
'' (2003), ''
For Your Consideration'' (2006), and ''
Mascots
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...
'' (2016). In 2020 he was cast along his wife Rachelle in the award-winning mockumentary ''
Reboot Camp
''Reboot Camp'' is an American satirical comedy film written and directed by Ivo Raza. It premiered at the 2020 Austin Film Festival where it won the Comedy Vanguard Audience Award for best comedy film. It also won best narrative feature award at ...
''.
Early life
Begley was born in 1949 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, to Allene Jeanne Sanders and Oscar-winning film actor
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...
. When Begley Jr. was born, Begley Sr. was married to Amanda Huff, who died when Begley Jr. was 7 years old. Until he was 16, Begley Jr. believed that Huff was his biological mother. He only later became acquainted with Sanders, his biological mother.
Begley's paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. He grew up in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, and attended
Stella Niagara Education Park
Stella Niagara Education Park is a coeducational Catholic elementary school, convent, and hospitality center located in the hamlet of Stella Niagara within the town of Lewiston, New York. It was founded in 1908 by members of the Sisters of St. ...
, a private Catholic school in
Lewiston, New York
Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York.
The Town of Lewiston is on the western bord ...
. When he was 13, the family moved back to California, where he graduated from
Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, a Catholic high school, and from
Los Angeles Valley College
Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District.
The college is adjacent to Grant High School in the neighborhood of Valley Glen. Often call ...
in
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
.
Acting career
![Ed Begley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Ed_Begley.jpg)
Begley has had numerous roles in television and film. He appeared as a guest actor on ''
Maude'' and had guest appearances in the 1970s series ''
Room 222
''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...
''. He had recurring roles on ''
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...
'', ''
7th Heaven'', ''
Arrested Development
The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
'', ''
Meego
MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances ...
'' and ''
Six Feet Under'' and starring roles in ''
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital
''Kingdom Hospital'' (sometimes known as ''Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'') is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's '' The Kingdom'' (Danish title: ''Riget''), developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for Ameri ...
'', ''
St. Elsewhere'', and ''
Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)''. He was in one episode of ''
My Three Sons
''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...
'', playing a tall classmate of Chip's.
He has played significant roles in three of Christopher Guest's mockumentary films ''
Best in Show'', ''
A Mighty Wind
''A Mighty Wind'' is a 2003 American mockumentary comedy film about a folk music reunion concert in which three folk bands reunite for a television performance for the first time in decades. Co-written (with Eugene Levy), directed, and composed ...
'', and ''
For Your Consideration''. Additionally, Begley played Viper pilot Greenbean on the original ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'' TV series,
Boba Fett
Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...
in the
radio adaptation of ''Return of the Jedi'', and Seth Gillette, a fictional Democratic U.S. senator from
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
on ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...
''.
From 2000 to 2016, Begley was a member of the Board of Governors of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
. In 1996, he appeared in a TV movie called ''
The Late Shift'', where he portrayed CBS executive Rod Perth. He has guest-starred on shows such as ''
Scrubs'', ''
Boston Legal
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, t ...
'', and ''
Star Trek: Voyager''. He had a recurring guest role in season three of ''
Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
''. He appeared in the 2008
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
film ''
Recount
An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...
'', which profiled the
2000 presidential election and its aftermath, which was decided by Florida's electoral votes after the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
halted the counting of the state's popular vote. Begley also made an appearance on ''
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'' is an American sketch comedy series created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Adult Swim and ran until May 2010. The show features surreal and often sa ...
'' Season 3, Episode 3, as a spokesman for Cinco.
In 2003, Begley wrote and directed the musical ''Cesar and Ruben''. It was performed at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles and was revived in 2007. Begley played Dr. Walter Krandall, the protagonist's former
marriage counselor
Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychology and clinical social work that works with families and couples in intimate relationsh ...
and fiancé of his ex-wife in the CBS sitcom ''
Gary Unmarried
''Gary Unmarried'' is an American sitcom created by Ed Yeager, which ran on CBS from September 24, 2008, to March 17, 2010. The series focuses on a recently divorced couple (Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall) sharing custody of their kids while starting ...
''. Since 2008 he has been in a series of
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
commercials as a "Cable Corp Inc." executive. In 2013, he appeared on the reality television show ''
Beverly Hills Pawn
''Beverly Hills Pawn'' is an American TV show filmed in Beverly Hills, California.
Description
It is filmed in The Dina Collection pawn shop owned by Yossi Dina
Yossi Dina (Hebrew: יוסי דינה; born August 21, 1954) is an Israeli pawnbr ...
''. In 2016, he began appearing in ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' prequel and spinoff ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
'' as
Clifford Main
'' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...
, senior partner at the Davis & Main law firm. Beginning in 2019, he appeared in ''
Bless This Mess'' for duration of the two seasons that the show ran.
Personal life
According to a feature on the Bio channel television program ''
Celebrity Close Calls
''Celebrity Close Calls'' is a television series on BIO and Reelz Channel, a reality show that interviews various celebrities who have experienced life-or-death situations.
Episodes
{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
, -
! style="background ...
'', Begley nearly died in 1972 after being stabbed multiple times while being mugged by a street gang.
His attackers were teenagers who were later apprehended by the police.
Begley was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2016.
Activism
Environmental activism
Since 1970, Begley has been an
environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
, beginning with his first
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
(a Taylor-Dunn, golf cart–like vehicle),
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and becoming a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
. He promotes eco-friendly products like the
Toyota Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
, Envirolet
composting toilet
A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried ou ...
s and Begley's Best Household Cleaner.
Begley's former home is in size, using
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
, wind power via a
PacWind
PacWind, Inc. is a wind turbine manufacturing company based in Torrance, California, United States.
History
The company was founded in 1998, and released their first patented vertical axis wind turbines in May 2006.Business Wire_Vertical_Axis_W ...
vertical-axis wind turbine, an air conditioning unit made by Greenway Design Group, LLC., and an electricity-generating bicycle used to toast bread. In 2008 he stated that he was paying around $300 a year in electric bills.
Noting that the suburban lawn is environmentally unsustainable, especially in Southern California, owing to
water shortage
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where ...
, Begley has converted his own to a drought-tolerant garden composed of native California plants. He is noted for riding bicycles and using public transportation, and owns a 2003
Toyota RAV4 EV
The Toyota RAV4 EV is an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota until 2014. Two generations of the EV model were sold in California, and to fleets elsewhere in the US, with a gap of almost ten years between them.
The fi ...
electric-powered vehicle.
Begley's
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
electric bicycle
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assis ...
was often featured on his television show ''
Living With Ed
''Living with Ed'' is an American reality television show starring Ed Begley Jr. It was originally shown on HGTV in 2007. In 2009, a new version began showing on the new Planet Green channel.
The show follows Begley in his quest to live his life ...
''. Begley also spoofed his own environmentalist beliefs on "
Homer to the Max
"Homer to the Max" is the thirteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1999. In the episode, Homer discovers that a n ...
", an episode of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' by showing himself using a nonpolluting
go-kart
A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...
that is powered by his "own sense of self-satisfaction" and on an episode of ''
Dharma and Greg
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
''. Later, he appeared in "
Gone Maggie Gone
"Gone Maggie Gone" is the thirteenth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 15, 2009. The episode was written by both Billy ...
", another episode of ''The Simpsons'', in Season 20. In the episode, during a solar eclipse, he drives a
solar-powered car
A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to power themselves fully or partially from sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable ...
that stops running on train tracks as a train approaches, but the train also stops because it is an Ed Begley Jr. Solar Powered Train. According to another of Groening's animated comedy series, ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'', Begley's electric motor is "the most evil propulsion system ever conceived" as stated in "
The Honking
"The Honking" is the eighteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 2000. The title references the 1981 film ''The Howlin ...
" (19 minutes in).
Begley and friend
Bill Nye
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...
are in a competition to see who can have the lowest carbon footprint.
In 2009, Begley appeared in the
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
edition of ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
''. He announced the final showcase, which included an
electric bicycle
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assis ...
, a
solar-powered golf cart and a
Toyota Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
.
Begley was featured during ''
The Jay Leno Show
''The Jay Leno Show'' is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/ PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late ...
s Green Car Challenge. Various celebrities drove an electric
Ford Focus
The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...
automobile and tried to set records on an outdoor track. During the second lap, cutouts of Begley and
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
would pop out, and if the celebrity had hit either of them, one second was added to his or her time.
Begley is the author of ''Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life'' (2008) and ''Ed Begley Jr.'s Guide to Sustainable Living: Learning to Conserve Resources and Manage an Eco-Conscious Life'' (2009) both published by
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
. He also wrote ''A Vegan Survival Guide for the Holidays'' (2014) with
Jerry James Stone.
Affiliations
* Coalition for Clean Air
*
Environmental Media Association
The Environmental Media Association (EMA) is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1989 by Cindy Horn and Lyn Lear. EMA works with the entertainment industry to encourage green production and raise the public's environmental awareness. T ...
*
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1980 and dedicated to the acquisition of land for preservation as open space, for wildlife and California native plants habitat Natu ...
*
The American Oceans Campaign
*
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
* Environmental Research Foundation
*
Walden Woods Project The Walden Woods Project (WWP) is a nonprofit organization located in Lincoln, Massachusetts, devoted to the legacy of Henry David Thoreau and the preservation of Walden Woods, the forest around Walden Pond that spans Lincoln and Concord, Massachuse ...
* Thoreau Institute
* Earth Communications Office
*
Solar Living Institute
*
TreePeople
TreePeople is an educational and training environmental advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, California. The TreePeople organization advocates and works to support a sustainable urban ecosystems in the Greater Los Angeles area through e ...
*
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
* Sequoia ForestKeeper
* Green Wish
* Orang Utan Republik
From 2007 to 2010, Begley and his wife Rachelle Carson starred in their own reality television series, ''
Living with Ed
''Living with Ed'' is an American reality television show starring Ed Begley Jr. It was originally shown on HGTV in 2007. In 2009, a new version began showing on the new Planet Green channel.
The show follows Begley in his quest to live his life ...
'' on
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
and
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
's
Planet Green
Destination America is an American cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries programming focused on the culture of the United States—including food, lifestyles, a ...
channel.
In 2013 he, his wife and daughter Hayden filmed "On Begley Street", a Web series chronicling the deconstruction of his current home and the "building of North America's greenest, most sustainable home".
He received the
Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...
Award for Energy Independence from the
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
History
The AJCongress was ...
, the first one to be presented. Begley has been a leader in this field and was recognized in November 2007 for his lifelong work in environmentalism.
Political
Begley was also on the advisory committee for the group ''2004 Racism Watch'', founded by fellow actor
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
. The group was formed to respond to the advertisement campaign of the
George W. Bush/Dick Cheney presidential campaign that they claimed was encouraging racism. The advertisement in question, "100 Days", made a reference to terrorism and terrorists while highlighting a photograph of an anonymous man of Middle Eastern descent.
Friendships with other actors
William Daniels
When Begley was a child, his future ''St. Elsewhere'' series lead,
William Daniels
William David Daniels (born March 31, 1927) is an American actor, who is best known for his television roles, notably as Mark Craig in the drama series '' St. Elsewhere'', for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards; the voice of KITT in the tel ...
, met Begley's father when the two were working on live television. By the time Begley Jr. grew up, he was already a fan of his mentor's work; he would work with Daniels on ''St. Elsewhere'', where the two had on- and off-screen chemistry for six seasons. Daniels, himself, on the show, was a moody Irishman like Ed Sr., though a far more nurturing father figure. This proved so rich that the role grew beyond even the writers' expectations.
Begley Jr. said about his future TV chief of surgery, "I was a huge fan of Bill Daniels. I had seen him in ''Two for the Road''. I had seen him in ''The Graduate'', and in ''Parallax View''. He was an actor I just thought the world of. He played these 'Type A' personalities quite effectively, but (in real life) he is the sweetest guy in the world." He also added: "He is an actor I just thought the world of. I had no delusions about how my character came to be. I rode on the coattails of Bill Daniels... the kind of Mutt and Jeff routine of Dr. Craig looking up and berating the 6' foot 4" doctor Victor Ehrlich. So I owe all my success on the show to Bill Daniels." After the series was canceled, the two still remained friends, living not too far away from each other. In 2002, Daniels, Begley Jr., along with the rest of the former surviving ''St. Elsewhere'' cast members, the late
Stephen Furst
Stephen Furst (born Stephen Nelson Feuerstein; May 8, 1954 – June 16, 2017) was an American actor, director and producer. After gaining attention with his featured role as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the comedy film ''National Lampoon's An ...
and
Eric Laneuville
Eric Gerard Laneuville (born July 14, 1952) is an American television director, producer and actor. His first acting roles were in the science-fiction film ''The Omega Man'' (1971) with Charlton Heston, and the ABC television series '' Room 222 ...
all appeared on an episode of ''
Scrubs''.
Norman Lloyd
Before ''St. Elsewhere'' in the early 1980s, the struggling and unknown Begley met
Norman Lloyd
Norman Nathan Lloyd (' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including ...
, who became a mentor to him while Lloyd was directing an episode of ''Tales of the Unexpected''. The two became friends. In a 2014 interview with Jimmy Falcon of Cloverleaf Radio, he said this about Lloyd:
Not only did I enjoy working with him, but I see him fairly regularly. I just had dinner with him 4 nights ago. We had dinner together at Sarah Nichols's house, his neighbor of mine and friend of his. We had a lovely time and reminisced – he's unbelievable. He's going to be 100 years old this year—and still very active, getting around on his own. He's a force of nature, so Norman Lloyd was somebody I idolized. When I was quite young, wow, James Dean is great and this is one and that. Now look at Janis Joplin, what a great voice and Jim Morrison, those people left us so young, like my point of view has change somewhere, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, saying, 'No, you idolized Jimmy Stewart, Gloria Swanson.' The people that have families and happiness and a long, economy life. You know, Norman Lloyd, he wasn't much older than me, when I did ''St. Elsewhere'', and I went 'These are my role models, now, people had a long/happy life and continued to be creative.' Those are my role models, not the people that left us so early and I'm sorry they did, I don't mean to trifle with that, but, my role models changed from the people who had an incredible, brief spurt of creativity and life, but to people that went the distance, they became my role models at some point in my early 30s really.
On November 9, 2014, along with former ''St. Elsewhere'' co-stars, Begley attended Lloyd's 100th birthday in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Begley said, "I worked with Norman Lloyd the actor, and Norman Lloyd the director, and no one informed me better on the art of storytelling than that talented man. He is a constant inspiration and my eternal friend."
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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The TreeHugger Interview: Ed Begley Jr.Interview from Log Home Design magazine: Ed Begley Jr.Good Morning America covers ''Guide to Sustainable Living'' by Ed Begley Jr.
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20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Activists from California
American environmentalists
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of Irish descent
American anti-racism activists
American veganism activists
Living people
Los Angeles Valley College people
Male actors from Los Angeles
Male actors from Buffalo, New York
Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) alumni
People from Santa Monica, California
1949 births