Ed Begley Jr.
2 min read
Ed Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor and prominent environmentalist. He is the son of Academy Award-winning actor Ed Begley and began his career as a teenager, appearing on sitcoms such as My Three Sons and Room 222 before spending several years working in stand-up comedy. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks and Los Angeles Valley College.
He rose to widespread recognition playing Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the NBC hospital drama St. Elsewhere (1982-1988), a role that earned him six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. His film credits are extensive and include This Is Spinal Tap (1984), The Accidental Tourist (1988), She-Devil (1989), Batman Forever (1995), and Pineapple Express (2008). In television, he later had recurring roles as Clifford Main in Better Call Saul (2016-2022) and Dr. Grant Linkletter in Young Sheldon (2019-2024). He has also co-hosted the green living reality program Living with Ed (2007-2010) with his wife Rachelle Carson, reflecting his longtime commitment to environmental advocacy that began in 1970.
In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Begley played Ed Mulgrave Jr., the current historian of Aldridge Mansion Museum. After receiving a frantic call from a staff member claiming the mansion was haunted by the ghost of Gertrude Aldridge, Mulgrave researched the paranormal, found Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates's book Ghosts from Our Past on Amazon, and tracked down Gilbert at Columbia University to request an investigation. He appears across the film's first three chapters and also in the deleted scene "The Duke." The character's full name distinguishes him from his late father, the original owner of the mansion.