The Edifying Ed Begley, Jr.

It’s a rare blog, I make bold to assert, that lavishes attention on Ed Begley the Elder long before it sets its sights on his much better known progeny Ed Begley, Jr. (b. 1949). The original Begley was in vaudeville, of course, our original purview on Travalanche, so we entered him into our annals in 2018. But we also love to write about multigenerational show biz families, and so we are overdue to give the junior Begley his due.

Begley’s attained his greatest visibility as one of the stars of St. Elsewhere (1982-88), though he had actually garnered tons of acting credits by that point. He had in fact been on movie and tv screens for 15 years by then. Begley was quite a bit older than his character on the show, a surgical intern (Begley was nearly 40 when the show wrapped). Both Begleys are character actors but the son is a very different type from the father. The dad was kind of rat-like. Ed Begley is 6′ 4″, big, strapping, and blonde. But he’s also a little goofy and boyish, so he was not usually cast as tough guys and bullies, just nerds and lummoxes. He was and is usually associated with associated with comedy. In his early years he was partnered in a comedy act with Michael Richards. When Richards was drafted into the army, Begley did stand-up as a solo for a few years. Like many of his generation, he was also into music. Inspired by Ringo Starr, he played drums in a garage band when he was a teenager.

But at the same time, Begley was already getting screen roles when he was only 18. His debut was on My Three Sons in 1967. In films, early on he was associated with Walt Disney comedies, appearing in such films as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972), Charley and the Angel (1973), and Superdad (1973). Other pictures he appeared in prior to St. Elsewhere include the tv movie Evil Roy Slade (1972) and the theatrical films Where Does It Hurt? (1972) with Peter Sellers; George Seaton‘s western Showdown (1973) with Dean Martin and Rock Hudson; Monte Hellman’s Cockfight (1974); Bob Rafelson‘s Stay Hungry (1976); Jonathan Demme’s Citizen’s Band a.k.a. Handle with Care (1977); Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar (1978), Hardcore (1979), and Cat People (1982); Jack Nicholson’s Goin’ South(1978); Carl Reiner’s The One and Only (1978); Arthur Hiller’sThe In Laws (1979); John Carpenter’s Elvis (1979, with his old Disney cohort Kurt Russell); Concorde…Airport ’79; Private Lessons (1981); Buddy Buddy (1981); An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Paul Bartel’s Eating Raoul (1982); and Garry Marshall’sYoung Doctors in Love (1982).

Prior to St. Elsewhere, Begley had been a regular on two other TV series: Roll Out(1973-74) and Battlestar Galactica (1978-79). He had also done guest shots on Adam-12, Columbo, The F.B.I., Nanny and the Professor, Mannix, Maude, Ironside, Wait till Your Father Gets Home, The Doris Day Show, Love American Style, Happy Days, Baretta, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Starsky and Hutch, Quincy, Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island, M*A*S*H,Laverne and Shirley, Charlie’s Angels, etc.

Then of course the glory years of St. Elsewhere, where he formed a sort of comedy team with veteran actor William Daniels, the small and cranky Daniels forever sniping at Begley’s accident prone, much larger intern Victor Ehrlich. For his work on the show he was nominated for an Emmy six years in a row, though he never won one.

Shortly thereafter those drumming skills we mentioned got Begley a prominent cameo in the suprise hit film This is Spinal Tap (1984) further adding to his prominence. He was subsequently in the Christopher Guest films Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016). Other films of the past four decades have included Streets of Fire (1984), Protocol (1984), Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), She Devil (1989), The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990, TV), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Renaissance Man (1994), Batman Forever (1995), Auto Focus (2002), Pineapple Express (2008), Whatever Works (2009), the Ghostbusters reboot (2016), Book Club (2018), Amsterdam (2022), etc.

Begley had regular and recurring roles in several series since St. Elsewhere, including Parenthood (1990-91), Meego (1997), 7th Heaven (1999-2003), Providence (2000), Six Feet Under (2001-05), Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) (2002), Kingdom Hospital (2004), Arrested Development (2005-19), Gary Unmarried (2008-09), Easy to Assemble (2008-12), Better Call Saul (2016-22), Bless This Mess (2019-2020), Young Sheldon (2019-2024), and more.

And (to save the best for last) Begley has long been one of Hollywood’s most prominent environmental activists. In fact, reference to his owning of an electric car has long since crossed over into the realm of folk idiom. It’s almost become like a joke we anticipate, like the invariable quip that any kind of exotic meat “tastes like chicken”. “And Ed Begley Jr drives an electric car!” He purchased his first one as early as 1970, so he fully earns bragging rights on that score, and he is also famous for getting around by bicycle, or taking public transportation, even when he is the guest of honor at some important event. This character trait was finally codified into reality television when he and his wife, actress Rachelle Carson (inexplicably unrelated to Rachel Carson, as far as I can tell) starred on Living With Ed (2007-10) on the Planet Green channel.

For more on vaudeville, where Ed Begley, Sr. got his start, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.