Ed James Popular Books

Ed James Biography & Facts

Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor. He 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 nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. He also co-hosted, along with wife Rachelle Carson, the green living reality show titled Living with Ed (2007–2010). Equally prolific in cinema, Begley's film appearances include Blue Collar (1978), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), She-Devil (1989), Batman Forever (1995), and Pineapple Express (2008). He is a recurring cast member in the mockumentaries of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, including Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016). In 2020, he was cast along with his wife Rachelle in the award-winning mockumentary Reboot Camp. Early life Begley was born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California, to Allene Jeanne Sanders and Oscar-winning film actor Ed Begley. 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, and attended Stella Niagara Education Park, a private Catholic school in Lewiston, New York. 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 in North Hollywood. Acting career 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. He had recurring roles on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, 7th Heaven, Arrested Development, Meego, and Six Feet Under and starring roles in Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital, St. Elsewhere, and Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central). He was in one episode of My Three Sons, 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, 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 on The West Wing.From 2000 to 2016, Begley was a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 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, and Star Trek: Voyager. He had a recurring guest role in season three of Veronica Mars. He appeared in the 2008 HBO film Recount, which profiled the 2000 presidential election and its aftermath, which was decided by Florida's electoral votes after the United States Supreme Court halted the counting of the state's popular vote. Begley 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. 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 and fiancé of his ex-wife in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried. Since 2008 he has been in a series of DirecTV commercials as a "Cable Corp Inc." executive. In 2013, he appeared on the reality television show Beverly Hills Pawn. In 2016, he began appearing in Breaking Bad prequel and spinoff Better Call Saul as Clifford Main, 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, Begley nearly died in 1972 after being stabbed multiple times while, according to The New York Times, being mugged by a street gang of 25 youths.Begley was married to Ingrid Taylor from 1976 to 1989. They had two children, a son and a daughter. In 2000, he married actress Rachelle Carson; they have a daughter.Begley was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2016. Activism Environmental activism Since 1970, Begley has been an environmentalist, beginning with his first electric vehicle (a Taylor-Dunn, golf cart–like vehicle), recycling, and becoming a vegan. He promotes eco-friendly products like the Toyota Prius, Envirolet composting toilets and Begley's Best Household Cleaner. Begley's former home is 1,585 square feet (147.3 m2) in size, using solar power, wind power via a PacWind 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, 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 electric-powered vehicle. In 2023 and 2024, he took public transit to the Academy Awards.Begley's hybrid electric bicycle was often featured on his television show Living With Ed. Begley also spoofed his own environmentalist beliefs on "Homer to the Max", an episode of The Simpsons by showing himself using a nonpolluting go-kart that is powered by his "own sense of self-satisfaction" and on an episode of Dharma and Greg. Later, he appeared in "Gone Maggie Gone", another episode of The Simpsons, in Season 20. In the episode, during a solar eclipse, he drives a solar-powered car 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, Begley's electric motor is "the most evil propulsion system ever conceived" as stated in "The Honking" (19 minutes in).Begley and friend Bill Nye are in a competition to see who can have the lowest carbon footprint.In 2009, Begley 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 was featured during The Jay Leno Show's Green Car Challenge. Various celebrities drove an electric Ford Focus automobile and tried to set records on an outdoor track. During the second lap, cutouts of Begley and Al Gore would pop out, and if the celebrity had hit either of .... Discover the Ed James popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ed James books.

Best Seller Ed James Books of 2024

  • Dance With the Dead synopsis, comments

    Dance With the Dead

    James Nally

    Aspiring actress Elizabeth Smart lands her centre stage role: her mutilated body is found dumped in North London’s red light district. Clasped in her hand is a piece of human hair ...

  • Gone, Baby, Gone synopsis, comments

    Gone, Baby, Gone

    Dennis Lehane

    “Powerful and raw, harrowing, and unsentimental.” Washington Post Book World “Chilling, completely credible….[An] absolutely gripping story.”Chicago Tribune “Mr. Lehane delivers bi...

  • Host synopsis, comments

    Host

    Peter James

    How far would you go to live forever?Brilliant scientist Joe Messenger believes that people can be made to live for ever. Knowing the human body can be frozen indefinitely, Joe dev...

  • What Lies Buried synopsis, comments

    What Lies Buried

    Margaret Kirk

    'Shadow Man is a harrowing and horrific game of consequences' Val McDermid THE BRILLIANTLY COMPELLING SECOND NOVEL IN THE DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIESA missing child. A seventyyearold mu...

  • Caravan synopsis, comments

    Caravan

    Laura Harper-Hinton, Miles Kirby & Chris Ammermann

    Caravan is London's awardwinning, hugely popular collection of restaurants. Caravan is about living and eating well.With Dining All Day, Caravan has the whole day covered. It begin...

  • Accomplishment synopsis, comments

    Accomplishment

    Michael Barber

    'Excellent . . . reveals that high accomplishment has a signature pattern that reoccurs from sport to politics to business to government' Matthew SyedThere is no secret formula for...

  • Possession synopsis, comments

    Possession

    Peter James

    A terrifying novel of a young man who is willing to defy everything. Even death...Fabian Hightower has been killed in a car crash. At least, that is what a policeman is asking Alex...

  • Lone Star Law synopsis, comments

    Lone Star Law

    Louis L'Amour

    A thrilling collection of twelve powerful and actionpacked stories that celebrate the legendary Texas Rangers from Louis L’Amour, the world’s greatest Western storyteller, Rod Mill...

  • A Cold Death in Amsterdam synopsis, comments

    A Cold Death in Amsterdam

    Anja de Jager

    The first Lotte Meerman mystery Amsterdambased Lotte Meerman is a cold case detective recovering from the emotional devastation of her previous investigation. She is angry and ment...

  • The Ghost That Haunted Itself synopsis, comments

    The Ghost That Haunted Itself

    Jan-Andrew Henderson

    Greyfrair's Cemetery in Edinburgh has a centuries old reputation for being haunted. Its gruesome history includes use as a mass prison, headstone removal, witchcraft, bodysnatching...

  • A Cold Case in Amsterdam Central synopsis, comments

    A Cold Case in Amsterdam Central

    Anja de Jager

    Having been shot in the shoulder in the line of duty, Dutch police detective Lotte Meerman returns to work after four months of painful recovery yet not all her colleagues are hap...

  • Alchemist synopsis, comments

    Alchemist

    Peter James

    What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...Monty Bannerman's father is a leading genetic scientist, and Nobel Prize winner, whose company has just been taken over by what will soon...

  • We Three Dragons synopsis, comments

    We Three Dragons

    Ed Greenwood, James M. Ward & Jeff Grubb

    A trio of dragon tales for the holiday season…The Knight, Before Christmasby Jeff GrubbA family celebrates their midwinter holiday with the poetic telling of the tale a bold knight...

  • A Love of Eating synopsis, comments

    A Love of Eating

    Lucy Carr-Ellison & Jemima Jones

    'Nourishing, delicious, healthy, original food' VogueLucy CarrEllison and Jemima Jones are the inimitable pair behind Tart London the peerless boutique caterers, popup kitchen pro...

  • The Decadent Society synopsis, comments

    The Decadent Society

    Ross Douthat

    From the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Bad Religion, a powerful portrait of how our wealthy, successful society has passed into an age of gridlock, stalemate, ...

  • Land Rover synopsis, comments

    Land Rover

    Ben Fogle

    As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British.It is...

  • Prophecy synopsis, comments

    Prophecy

    Peter James

    A game that turns to a nightmare ...Non Omnis MoriarI shall not altogether dieA young boy watches his mother die. A sadistic man dies in agony. Drunk students play with a Ouija boa...

  • Sweet Heart synopsis, comments

    Sweet Heart

    Peter James

    'This book inflicts more shocks than an electric fence.' Daily MailCharley has a strange feeling when she sees the idyllic mill house with its cluster of outbuildings, the lake and...

  • A Death in Rembrandt Square synopsis, comments

    A Death in Rembrandt Square

    Anja de Jager

    Guilty until proven innocent . . .It's hard for anyone to have their work scrutinised in public. For Amsterdambased detective Lotte Meerman, listening to the Right to Justice podc...

  • Boxing and Wrestling synopsis, comments

    Boxing and Wrestling

    Ed James

    Published from New York in 1878, this manual on Boxing and Wrestling offers instructions for the budding enthusiast of Physical Culture and "Scientific" self defense. Laude...

  • The Disaster Artist synopsis, comments

    The Disaster Artist

    Greg Sestero

    New York Times bestsellernow a major motion picture directed by and starring James Franco!From the actor who somehow lived through it all, a “sharply detailed…funny book about a ci...

  • The Other Sister synopsis, comments

    The Other Sister

    Elle Croft

    'WOW, just WOW, The Other Sister is a mesmerising, mind blowing psychological thriller that has so many twists and turns.' Amazon Reviewer, 5 stars'It's a great plot line and you a...

  • My Name Is Nobody synopsis, comments

    My Name Is Nobody

    Matthew Richardson

    'PROOF THAT THE SPY GENRE IS FLOURISHING IN THE 21ST CENTURY' Guardian'I know for certain that there is a mole somewhere within the intelligence services . . . His codename is Nobo...

  • Essential Manners for Men 2nd Ed synopsis, comments

    Essential Manners for Men 2nd Ed

    Peter Post

    “A helpful manners survival guide for figuring out those sticky everyday situations.” Joshua Piven, coauthor of The WORSTCASE SCENARIO Survival HandbookThe completely revised ...

  • Faith synopsis, comments

    Faith

    Peter James

    How perfect is too perfect?Ross Ransome is at the top of his profession; one of the most successful, and certainly one of the richest, plastic surgeons in the business. Such a ma...

  • What She Saw Last Night synopsis, comments

    What She Saw Last Night

    Mason Cross

    No one will believe ... WHAT SHE SAW LAST NIGHT.Jenny Bowen is going home. Boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, all she wants to do is forget about her upcoming divorce and relax on th...

  • Hot Mess synopsis, comments

    Hot Mess

    Matt Winning

    'A very funny, important and only moderately terrifying clarion call of a book' Adam Kay'HOT MESS provides loads of laughs about "the climate situation" and will position you at...

  • Shadow of a Doubt synopsis, comments

    Shadow of a Doubt

    Michelle Davies

    'Pure suspense, where past and present collide with chilling results' Erin Kelly'A hugely entertaining, fastpaced thriller' Caz Frear'It's a pitchperfect blend of ghostly terror an...

  • Audience-ology synopsis, comments

    Audience-ology

    Kevin Goetz & Darlene Hayman

    Discover the fascinating and secretive process of audience testing of Hollywood movies through these firsthand stories from famous filmmakers, studio heads, and stars.Audienceology...

  • Like Mother, Like Daughter synopsis, comments

    Like Mother, Like Daughter

    Elle Croft

    'Utterly absorbing and thoughtprovoking' Caz Frear'What a premise, and packed with suspense' Victoria Selman'A dark, delicious triumph' Niki MackayIf what they said was true, then ...

  • Truth or Dare synopsis, comments

    Truth or Dare

    M. J. Arlidge

    EVERY CRIME IS CONNECTED.BUT WHO IS PULLING THE STRINGS?THE CHILLING THRILLER FROM THE MIND OF MILLIONCOPY BESTSELLER M. J. ARLIDGEA crimewave sweeps through the city and noone is ...

  • The Unwanted Dead synopsis, comments

    The Unwanted Dead

    Chris Lloyd

    'A gripping murder mystery and a vivid recreation of Paris under German Occupation.' ANDREW TAYLORWINNER OF THE HWA GOLD CROWN AWARD FOR BEST HISTORICAL FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE ...

  • The Guilty Wife synopsis, comments

    The Guilty Wife

    Elle Croft

    THE TOP 10 EBOOK BESTSELLER 'A gripping tale of betrayal, deceit, and duplicity. Fabulous.' Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You 'Relentless and intense...I loved the final ...

  • Expedition synopsis, comments

    Expedition

    Steve Backshall

    Shine a light into the unknownThere are still dark corners of our planet that are yet to be explored. In this remarkable book, Steve Backshall offers an unflinching account of his ...

  • Cat And Mouse synopsis, comments

    Cat And Mouse

    M. J. Arlidge

    IF YOU THINK YOU'RE ALONE:THINK AGAIN A scratching at the window.A tap on the door.What if, this time, someone is out there? A silent killer stalks the city, targeting those home ...

  • Death at the Orange Locks synopsis, comments

    Death at the Orange Locks

    Anja de Jager

    'A novel brilliantly evoking the isolation of a woman with an unbearable weight on her conscience' Sunday Times Keeping it in the family...After her painful divorce four years ago,...

  • Death on the Canal synopsis, comments

    Death on the Canal

    Anja de Jager

    '. . . a novel brilliantly evoking the isolation of a woman with an unbearable weight on her conscience' Sunday TimesWhere do your loyalties lie? With the truth or with your collea...

  • The Crypt Thief synopsis, comments

    The Crypt Thief

    Mark Pryor

    It’s summer in Paris and two tourists have been murdered in Père Lachaise cemetery in front of Jim Morrison’s grave. The cemetery is locked down and put under surveillance, but the...