Early life and education
Begley was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor Ed Begley Sr. (1901-1970) and Allene Jeanne Sanders. His paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. He was raised believing that his father's first wife, Amanda Huff, was his biological mother, a belief he held until the age of sixteen. The family lived for a time in Merrick, New York, during his father's Broadway career, and Begley attended Catholic school there before the family relocated to California when he was about thirteen. He graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1967 and went on to attend Los Angeles Valley College.1
In 1972, near Gardena, California, Begley was stabbed multiple times during a gang encounter and suffered a collapsed lung, a near-fatal incident he survived.1
Career
Begley began acting as a teenager, appearing on sitcoms such as My Three Sons in the late 1960s, and spent several years working as a stand-up comedian before establishing himself as a screen actor. His breakthrough came with the role of the eager young Dr. Victor Ehrlich on St. Elsewhere (1982-1988), a part that brought him six straight Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination across the series' run.1
In film, Begley built a long and varied resume. His credits include Blue Collar (1978), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), the cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984), The Accidental Tourist (1988), She-Devil (1989), Batman Forever (1995), and Pineapple Express (2008).2 He became a recurring presence in Christopher Guest's improvised mockumentaries, appearing in Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016); the A Mighty Wind ensemble won a Florida Film Critics Circle award.4
On television he sustained a steady run of recurring and guest roles, including parts in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, Veronica Mars, and 7th Heaven. Later in his career he played attorney Clifford Main on Better Call Saul (2016-2022) and Dr. Grant Linkletter on Young Sheldon (2019-2024).1 He served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2000 to 2016.1
Environmental advocacy
Begley has been an active environmentalist since 1970 and is widely recognized as one of the entertainment industry's earliest and most committed advocates of clean energy and sustainable living. He has long driven electric vehicles, generates power at home with solar panels and a wind turbine, and famously keeps his household energy costs extremely low. He co-hosted the green-living reality series Living with Ed (2007-2010) with his wife, Rachelle Carson, documenting their efforts at sustainable home life. He has continued to make a point of arriving at events such as the Academy Awards by public transit.1
He has authored books on the subject, including Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life (2008) and Ed Begley Jr.'s Guide to Sustainable Living (2009),1 and has been affiliated with organizations including the Coalition for Clean Air, the Environmental Media Association, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the League of Conservation Voters, and TreePeople.
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)
In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, the 2016 reboot directed by Paul Feig, Begley played Ed Mulgrave Jr., the current historian of the Aldridge Mansion Museum. After a frantic staff member, tour guide Garrett, insists the mansion is haunted by the ghost of Gertrude Aldridge, Mulgrave researches the paranormal, finds Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates's self-published book Ghosts from Our Past, and tracks Gilbert down at Columbia University to request an investigation.3 This encounter is what reunites Gilbert and Yates and sets the team's first case in motion. Mulgrave appears across the film's opening chapters. The character's full name, Ed Mulgrave Jr., distinguishes him from his late father, the original owner of the mansion, who is referenced in the film.3 Begley also appears in the deleted scene titled "The Duke."
Personal life
Begley was married to Ingrid Taylor from 1976 to 1989, with whom he had a son and a daughter.1 He married actress and producer Rachelle Carson in 2000; the couple has a daughter, Hayden.1 In 2016 Begley disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and he has continued to act and to advocate for environmental causes in the years since.1
References
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
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"Ed Begley Jr.," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Begley_Jr.
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"Ed Begley Jr.," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000893/
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Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016). Dir. Paul Feig. Sony Pictures. Character and plot details for Ed Mulgrave Jr., Chapters 01-03 and deleted scene "The Duke."
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"Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Film_Critics_Circle_Award_for_Best_Cast. A Mighty Wind won the Best Cast award for 2003.
