GlennShadix.com - The Clock Series

> Ed Begley

I first met Ed in the summer of 1975 at The Mountain Brook Country Club in Birmingham Alabama. It was a brief meeting and Eddie does not remember that first encounter. I do... He was in town with Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, and Arnold Schwarzenegger filming Bob Raefelson's STAY HUNGRY and The Country Club was a set that day and I was "atmosphere." This was my last year at Birmingham Southern College as a drama major and my first peek at movie making. I was beside myself with ambition and terribly star struck--- to put it mildly.

When next we met it was in his home in Ojai, California in 1987. My friend Bart Williams, who had known Ed since their grammar school days, drove Jeffrey Jones and I up the coast in his '47 Chrysler Imperial (formally owned by Stan Laurel) and we spent the day with Ed and his family playing charades as well as getting a tour of the rambling grounds of his ranch. He lives much simpler these days.

In the fall of 1988 I had the pleasure of costarring with Ed and Stockard Channing (they were the real STARS) in Michael Lehmann's "THE APPLEGATES" It was a twistedly amusing bug movie. How twisted? Well, let's put it this way, Dabney Coleman also costarred (in drag with a mustache) as the queen of an invading force of insects bent on destroying the human race before humans destroyed the planet. Ed and Stockard were advance guard bugs who had mutated into human form and moved to Ohio to pose as the perfect American family while laying plans to wipe out us pesky and destructive humans. I played an exterminator who they happened to discover was their neighbor and I had a nose for bugs and, well, you get the picture. It did have a lovely environmental theme but quickly swept in and out of theaters before finally finding an audience as a cult favorite on video. The entire cast was delightful and that was how I got to know Mr. Begley.

Ed is a man I love and deeply respect. His goal in life is to encourage people to live simply so that others may simply live. This is not a hobby for Ed. It is truly the way he lives his life. He gave me my first ride in an electric car, however you will find him more often on his bike or riding the bus. He has devoted his life to conservancy. Currently Ed is on the Board of The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy whose goal is to acquire parklands and open space for the continued enjoyment of future generations of southern Californians. This is one of the vast array of vital causes Ed generously gives his time and energy to promote. There is no pretension here. What you see is what you get. He makes his living doing films and television like his Oscar winning dad---- E.B. Sr. won best supporting actor for his role in Tennessee William's "Sweet Bird of Youth". Currently Ed has a recurring role on the hit TV series 7th HEAVEN and is having fun with Jamie Lee Curtis and John Goodman doing voices for THE PIGS NEXT DOOR.

When this clock photo was taken on May 5, 1990, Ed was listening to Linda Ronstadt's "Hobo's Meditation." He's one of my heroes.

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