Ed Begley, Jr.


 * For his father, see Ed Begley.

Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Mark Craig's intern, Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series St. Elsewhere, for which he received six consecutive Emmy Award nominations. He currently has a reality show about green living called Living With Ed on Planet Green with his wife, actress Rachelle Carson.

Personal life
Begley, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Allene Jeanne Sanders and Academy Award winner Ed Begley, both actors (although at the time, Ed Begley was married to Amanda Huff). He grew up in Buffalo, New York where he attended Stella Niagara Education Park Cadet school in Lewiston, New York. In 1962 the family moved back to California where he graduated from Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California and Los Angeles Valley College in North Hollywood, California.

He married his first wife, Ingrid Taylor, on October 31, 1976 and together had a daughter, Amanda Begley (born on October 3, 1977), and a son, Nicholas Taylor Begley (born on January 4, 1979). Ed and Ingrid divorced in October 1989. He then married Rachelle Carson on August 23, 2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Together they had a daughter named Hayden.

Acting career
Begley, Jr.'s numerous works in television and film include one of his earliest appearances as a guest actor on Maude. He had recurring roles on Mary Hartman, 7th Heaven, Arrested Development and Six Feet Under, and starring roles in Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital, St. Elsewhere, and Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central). He has played significant roles in the mockumentary films Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. Additionally, Begley played Viper pilot Greenbean on the original Battlestar Galactica TV series, Boba Fett in the radio adaptation of Return of the Jedi and Seth Gillette, a fictional Democratic U.S. senator from North Dakota in the television drama The West Wing. In 1995, played The Riddler's boss in Batman Forever, but never received screen credit. Since 2000, he has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He has guest-starred on shows such as Scrubs, Boston Legal and Star Trek: Voyager, (Future's End, parts I and II). He had a recurring guest role in season three of Veronica Mars. Most recently, he appeared in the 2008 HBO film Recount, which profiled the 2000 Presidential Election and its aftermath, which was decided by the state of Florida's electoral votes. Begley, Jr. also made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Season 3, episode 3 as a spokesman for Cinco.

In 2003, Begley wrote and directed the musical, Cesar and Ruben, at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles. The play was revived in 2007.

Begley's latest acting endeavor is on the new CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried. Begley plays Dr. Walter Krandall, the protagonist's former marriage counselor and fiancee of his ex-wife.

Since 2008 he has appeared in a series of DirecTV commercials as a "Cable Corp." executive.

Environmental activism
Since 1970, he has been an environmentalist beginning with his first electric vehicle, a Taylor-Dunn golf cart style vehicle, recycling, and becoming a vegan. He promotes eco-friendly products like the Toyota Prius and Begley's Best Household Cleaner.

The Begley home is a modest 1585 sqft in size utilizing solar power and also uses wind power via a PacWind vertical-axis wind turbine; an air conditioning unit made by Greenway Design Group, LLC.; an electricity generating bicycle used to toast bread, and he pays around $300 a year in electric bills. Arguing that the suburban lawn is environmentally unsustainable, especially in Southern California due to water shortage, he has converted his own to a drought-tolerant garden composed of native California plants. Though he is noted for riding bicycles and using public transportation, he owns a 2003 Toyota RAV4 EV electric powered vehicle.

His hybrid electric bicycle was often featured on his television show, Living With Ed. Begley also spoofed his own environmentalist beliefs on an episode of The Simpsons by showing himself using a nonpolluting go-cart that is powered by his "own sense of self-satisfaction", and on an episode of Dharma and Greg. Later, he also appeared in another episode of The Simpsons, Gone Maggie Gone in season 20. During a solar ecplise, he is driving a solar powered car which stops running on train tracks as train approaches, but the train stops because it is an Ed Begley Jr. Solar Powered Train.

Begley and friend Bill Nye, a fellow environmental activist, are in a competition to see who can have the lowest carbon footprint.

In November 2008, Begley sacrificed spending Thanksgiving with his family to travel through 5 cities in 5 days as part of a campaign to generate awareness of simple ways to save on energy bills. The campaign was backed by Hunter Fan Company and promoted use of simple appliances like ceiling fans and programmable thermostats to save on energy bills. Ed was greeted by fans of all ages along the route including a mob of fans in D.C. that went on a morning bike ride with him.

Begley also appeared in the Earth Day edition of The Price is Right. He announced the final showcase, which included an electric bicycle, a solar powered golf cart, and a Toyota Prius.

Begley is featured during The Jay Leno Show's Green Car Challenge. Various celebrities drive an electric Ford Focus and try to set records on an outdoor track outside Jay's studio. During the second lap, cutouts of Begley and Al Gore pop out and if the celebrity hits either of them, one second is added to their time.

Begley is the author of Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life, published in 2008.

Environmental affiliations
As of 2007, Begley and his wife Rachelle Carson star in their own reality television series, Living With Ed, on HGTV and Discovery's Planet Green channel. He received the prestigious "Thomas Alva Edison Award" for Energy Independence from the American Jewish Congress, the first of this award to be presented. Begley has been a leader in this field and was recognized November 2007 for his lifelong work in environmentalism.
 * Environmental Media Association
 * Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
 * The American Oceans Campaign
 * League of Conservation Voters
 * Environmental Research Foundation
 * Walden Woods Project
 * Thoreau Institute
 * Earth Communications Office
 * Tree People
 * Friends of the Earth
 * Green Wish Inc
 * Orang Utan Republik

2004 Racism Watch
Begley was also on the advisory committee for the group 2004 Racism Watch, founded by fellow actor Ed Asner. The group was formed to respond to activities of the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney presidential campaign that they claimed were encouraging racism.

Selected filmography

 * The Lottery (1969), Jack Watson
 * Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), Druffle
 * Cockfighter (1972), Tom Peeples
 * Charley and the Angel (1973), Derwood Moseby
 * Showdown (1973), Pook
 * Superdad (1974), The Gang
 * Stay Hungry (1976), Lester
 * Dead of Night (1977), Frank
 * Handle with Care (1977), The Priest
 * Blue Collar (1978), Bobby Joe
 * Record City (1978), Pokey
 * Goin' South (1978), Whitey Haber
 * The One and Only (1978), The King
 * Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979), Moss Tillis
 * Elvis (1979), D. J. Fontana
 * Hardcore (1979), Actor in pornographic movie
 * Hot Rod (1979), Clay
 * The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), Rescuer #1
 * The In-Laws (1979), Barry Lutz
 * A Shining Season (1979), John Haaland
 * Private Lessons (1981), Jack Travis
 * Buddy Buddy (1981), Lieutenant #1
 * Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (1982), Jeb
 * An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Voice of Altitude Chamber Instructor
 * Cat People (1982), Joe Creigh
 * Eating Raoul (1982), Hippie
 * Young Doctors in Love (1982), Lyle August
 * Not Just Another Affair (1982), Warren Krantz
 * St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), Dr. Victor Ehrlich
 * Still the Beaver (1983), Whitey
 * Get Crazy (1983), Colin Beverly
 * Streets of Fire (1984), Ben Gunn
 * Protocol (1984), Mr. Hassler
 * This Is Spinal Tap (1984), John "Stumpy" Pepys
 * Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), Gil Turner
 * Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), Griffin
 * Roman Holiday (1987), Leonard Lupo
 * Tall Tales & Legends: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1987), Ichabod Crane
 * Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs (1988), Alan
 * The Absent-Minded Professor (1988), Dr. Jack Brooker
 * The Accidental Tourist (1988), Charles Leary
 * Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), Peter
 * She-Devil (1989), Bob Pattchet
 * Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1990), Stephen Bradley
 * In the Best Interest of the Child (1990), Lawyer Howard Feldon
 * Meet the Applegates (1990), Richard Applegate
 * The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990), Jerry Soloway
 * Chance of a Lifetime (1991), Darrel
 * The Story Lady (1991), Otis
 * In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion (1992), Lt. Fred House
 * Dark Horse (1992), Jack Mills
 * Running Mates (1992), Chapman Snow
 * Exclusive (1992), Allen
 * Mastergate (1992), Steward Butler
 * Cooperstown (1993), Dave Cormeer
 * Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Rupert
 * World War II: When Lions Roared (1994), Harry Hopkins
 * Columbo: Undercover (1994), Irving Krutch
 * Renaissance Man (1994), Jack Markin
 * The Pagemaster (1994), Alan Tyler
 * Greedy (1994), Carl McTeague
 * Incident at Deception Ridge (1994), Jack Davis
 * Sensation (1994), Earl Strauber
 * The Shaggy Dog (1994), Ron Daniels
 * The Crazysitter (1995), Paul Van Arsdale
 * Storybook (1995), Pouch (voice)
 * Shining Time Station:Once Upon a Time (1995), Ned Kincaid
 * Batman Forever (1995), Fred Stickley
 * Hourglass (1996), Det. Cecil Dish
 * Project ALF (1996), Dr. Warner
 * The Late Shift (1996), Rod Perth
 * Santa with Muscles (1996), Ebner Frost
 * Not in This Town (1997), Henry Whitcomb
 * The Student Affair (1997), Harvey Dankworth
 * Ms. Bear (1997), Greg Bradley
 * Alone (1997), Gerald
 * Joey (1997), Ambassador Ted Ross
 * I'm Losing You (1998), Zev
 * Addams Family Reunion (1998), Dr. Phillip Adams (of the single "D" Adams')
 * Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery (1998), Fitz-Gilbert Hamilton
 * The Simpsons - Homer to the Max (1998), Himself
 * 7th Heaven (1999–2003), Dr. Hank Hastings
 * Homicide: The Movie (2000), Dr. Victor Ehrlich
 * Best in Show (2000), Mark Schafer
 * Get Over It (2001), Frank Landers
 * Hounded (2001), Ward Van Dusen
 * Anthrax (2001), Brent Krawford
 * Diary of a Sex Addict (2001), Dr. Aaron Spencer
 * Six Feet Under (2001, 2005), Hiram Gunderson
 * Back by Midnight (2002), Robert Wade
 * Bug (2002), The Dept. of Health Inspector/'The Hand'
 * Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) (2002), Paul Weffler
 * Auto Focus (2002), Mel Rosen
 * The Weakest Link (2002), Himself (NBC All-Stars Edition, Winner)
 * War Stories (2003), Ed O'Brian
 * Net Games (2003), John Fielding
 * A Mighty Wind (2003), Lars Olfen
 * Going Down (2003), Oscar Earnest
 * Stateside (2004), Father Concoff
 * Raising Genius (2004), Dr. Curly Weeks
 * Hair High (2004), Rev. Sidney Cheddar (voice)
 * Life on Liberty Street (2004), Richard Spencer
 * Kingdom Hospital (2004), Dr. Jesse James
 * Alone in a Crowd (2005), Unknown
 * Desolation Sound (2005), Doug Shepard
 * Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story (2005), Frank Perdue
 * Arrested Development (2005–2006), Stan Sitwell
 * Eco 4 the World (2006), Himself
 * Relative Strangers (2006), Mr. Manoire
 * For Your Consideration (2006), Sandy Lane
 * The Elder Son (2006), Leonard
 * Pittsburgh (2006), Himself
 * Veronica Mars (2006–2007), Dean Cyrus O'Dell
 * One Long Night (2007), Joel
 * CSI: Miami (2007), Supervisor O' Shay
 * Next of Kin (2008), Patrick
 * Balancing the Books (2008), Rev. Vernon
 * Fly Me to the Moon (2008), Poopchev (voice)
 * Recount (2008), David Boies
 * Pineapple Express (2008), Robert Anderson
 * Gary Unmarried (2008–2009), Dr. Walter Krandall
 * He's Such a Girl (2009), Taylor's Father
 * Tripping Forward (2009), James
 * Hannah Montana - Would I Lie To You, Lilly? (2009), Woody
 * The Suite Life On Deck - The Swede Life (2009), Mayor Ragnar
 * Whatever Works (2009), John Celestine
 * Monk - Mr. Monk and the End: Part 1 (2009), Dr. Malcolm Nash