Senior Planet Talks to…Ed Begley Jr.

At 75 years old, Ed Begley Jr is equally celebrated as a champion of environmental causes as he is for his memorable roles in St. Elsewhere, Young Sheldon and Six Feet Under. Famously taking public transport to the Oscars and growing his own food, the Emmy nominated actor talks to SENIOR PLANET about his latest film role in black comedy, Don’t Tell Larry.

Q: Don’t Tell Larry is an office dramedy in which you play Bruce, the company boss. Bruce has many quirks such as taking his cat to work. Do you share anything in common?

ED: I’ve had some great cats in my life over the years. I was a dog person early on, but then I became a cat person because my first wife loved cats and we had some great cats when my kids were young, and then I had another wonderful cat when I was on my own, some years later. Cats are quite independent and lovely although I’m now back to being dog person.

Q: In what ways did your Oscar-winning dad Ed Begley Sr inspire you to follow in his footsteps?

ED: He said: Look, if you want to do it, I’m not going to hand it to you. Because he had had a bad experience with my much older brother, where my dad really involved him in his vaudeville act as a young man. And I think he resented it and felt like he had missed part of his childhood. So when he had children later in life, my father said: Well I won’t do that again. I’m not going to push anybody into it.

Q: You took that to heart and didn’t immediately pursue acting?

ED: Yes, I mostly worked as an assistant cameraman when he was still alive, and he got to see me do that and have some success. But I didn’t do much as an actor when he was still with us. Then after he died in 1970, it was a weird thing like the door closed on his career and kind of opened for me. I just started to work a lot more and I have no idea why. I think a good many people, like Jack Klugman had worked with my dad and so if there was a little part in Quincy that Begley’s son is up for, they’d make a call and maybe put in a good word. My dad had a lot of friends in Hollywood and New York so I’m pretty sure I got some work from people who were fond of my dad.

Q: You were diagnosed with Parkinson’s nine years ago but you seem to be doing really well?

ED: Yes, I’m very lucky. I’m responding very well to the traditional medicines for Parkinson’s, which is basically dopamine, carbidopa, levodopa. But exercise helps a lot too. It’s a very important thing to do if you have Parkinson’s or any neurological disorder. Also eating good is important. And there’s something called NAD – that’s helped me a lot. I also use an antioxidant called Glutathione and a hyperbaric chamber, to create an oxygen rich environment.

Q: You’ve been at the forefront of environmental activism since the first Earth Day in 1970. How are we doing?

ED: Since I got involved in 1970, we have four times the cars in LA and millions more people, but we have a fraction of the smog. Why? Everything we hoped would work, did work. Cleaner tail pipes, cleaner power plants, cleaner backyards, cleaner barbecues, cleaner everything, all the stuff, big and small that we did to combat smog in 1970. And I grew up around it, so I know it’s real. It’s not some conspiracy theory. It really seared your lungs as a young person. So that’s a big success story and we have to build upon those successes.

Q: And how do you feeling about climate change today?

ED: We have our work cut out for us, because people were really starting to wake up and take climate change seriously and do something about it – put solar on the rooftops, or buy a cleaner car, or buy green energy. But now we’re backsliding with another way of thinking about climate change with the current administration, that I don’t think is a productive way to deal with it is to not deal with it. I think that’s a big mistake. Doing nothing is a choice and not a good one. I also think there’s a relation between the amount of wildfires we see around the country and around the world. They’re stronger, more prevalent and they happen more often. So we have to do something about it, and we’ve proven over the years we can do it cost effectively too.

Q: You appeared in An Officer and A Gentleman, The Accidental Tourist, Batman Forever and many of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries like This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show. Is there still a dream role?

ED: I’ve had such good fortune. I’ve done so many things that I’m proud of and I want to continue to work. I’ve been so lucky in the latter half of my life. I think if you’re still working at 75 years of age – in any career – you should be grateful and happy. I just happen to have worked in showbusiness from age 17 to 75. Where did I go right? I feel very blessed.

Q: What’s your secret to aging with attitude?

ED: I go to the gym and work out every day. If I’m not in the gym, I’m out in the vegetable garden. And that’s a two-fer because you’re not only getting a good workout working in the garden but you get this wonderful organic produce for your efforts. So that’s been my secret for many years, since I first had a home back in 1979 I’ve had a vegetable garden, and it’s a good way to cheaply get nutritious, healthy, organic fruit and vegetables.

When I’m not at the gym, I’m walking the dog or working in the garden. I’m 75 now and it’s a real use it or lose it time in a person’s life. I was fairly fit as a young man in my 30s, but then in my 40s, I became much more fit riding my bike everywhere and really stayed active thru to my 50s. I started to slow down a little in my 60s, but then at 70, I definitely slowed down. I’ve never had great eyesight so its hard to maneuver a bike in the city streets, so I’m more careful now and I mostly ride on a stationary bike these days. I also get plenty of rest. I’m usually in bed by 9pm and up by 5am.

NB: Don’t Tell Larry is in select theaters & On Demand.

Photo courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment 

 

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.