Ed Begley Biography

Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 - April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television.

Early years

Begley was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Hannah (ne Clifford) and Michael Joseph Begley, Irish immigrants. After he dropped out of school as a fifth-grader, Begley ran away from home several times, going to work for "carnivals, fairs, and small circuses." Later he sold brushes, delivered milk and served in the United States Navy.

Career

Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in roles as Sgt. O'Hara in the radio show The Fat Man. His radio work included Stroke of Fate and a period as Charlie Chan among other roles. He also starred in the 1950s radio program Richard Diamond, Private Detective, playing Lieutenant Walter Levinson, head of homicide at the 5th Precinct, Manhattan. He was elected a member of The Lambs in 1943. In the late 1940s, he began appearing regularly in supporting film roles.

In the 1952-1953 television season, Begley co-starred with Eddie Albert in the CBS sitcom Leave It to Larry. Begley, though only five years older than Albert, played the father-in-law and employer of Albert's character, Larry Tucker, a shoe salesman, who with his young family lives with Begley. In 1954 Begley starred in the NBC Television show, Robert Montgomery Presents, in an episode sponsored by Lucky Strike called Big Boy as Joe Grant, an engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad living in Cheyenne, Wyoming, who worked on the famous Union Pacific Big Boy steam locomotives. The show is about how Begley's character copes with the transition from steam locomotives to diesel locomotives in the 1950s.

He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). Some of his other notable films include Deadline - U.S.A. (1952), 12 Angry Men (1957) as juror #10, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), and Wild in the Streets (1968). One notable role Begley played both on television (twice in 1955) and in the theatrical film (1956) is William (Bill) Briggs, one of the three primary characters in Rod Serling's Patterns.

In 1956, he appeared in the Broadway production of Inherit the Wind, in the role of Matthew Harrison Brady. For this performance, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.In 1968 he appeared with Clint Eastwood in the classic western Hang 'Em High.

His other television work included appearances on Justice, Empire, The Virginian, Bonanza, The Fugitive, Target: The Corruptors, The Invaders, The Wild Wild West, and Going My Way, with Gene Kelly. Among his many Broadway credits were All My Sons and Our Town.

Begley married three times. He is the father of actor Ed Begley Jr.

Begley died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California. He is buried at the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1947	Body and Soul	Party leader	Uncredited
	The Web	Man	Uncredited
	Boomerang	Paul Harris
	The Roosevelt Story	Narrator	Documentary
1948	Sitting Pretty	Horatio J. Hammond
	The Street with No Name	Chief Bernard Harmatz
	Deep Waters	Josh Hovey
	Sorry, Wrong Number	James Cotterell
1949	Tulsa	John J. 'Johnny' Brady	as Edward Begley
	It Happens Every Spring	Edgar Stone
	The Great Gatsby	Myron Lupus
1950	Backfire	Captain Garcia
	Stars in My Crown	Lon Backett
	Convicted	Mackay, Head of Parole Board
	Saddle Tramp	Mr. August Hartnagle
	Wyoming Mail	Prison Warden Haynes
	Dark City	Barney
1951	You're in the Navy Now	Port Commander
	The Lady from Texas	Dave Blodgett
	On Dangerous Ground	Captain Brawley
1952	Boots Malone	Howard Whitehead
	Lone Star	Anthony Demmet
	Deadline - U.S.A.	Frank Allen
	The Turning Point	Neil Eichelberger
1954	Big Boy	Joe Grant
1956	Patterns	William Briggs
1957	12 Angry Men	Juror #10
1959	Odds Against Tomorrow	Dave Burke
1961	The Green Helmet	Bartell
1962	Sweet Bird of Youth	Tom 'Boss' Finley	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance (3rd place) Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1964	The Unsinkable Molly Brown	Seamus Tobin	Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance (2nd place)
1965	Inherit the Wind	Matthew Harrison Brady	Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama
1966	The Oscar	Grobard
1967	Warning Shot	Captain Roy Klodin
	The Violent Enemy	Colum O'More
	Billion Dollar Brain	General Midwinter
	Do Not Fold, Staple, Spindle, or Mutilate
1968	Firecreek	Preacher Broyles
	Wild in the Streets	Senator Allbright
	Hang 'Em High	Captain Wilson, Cooper Hanging Party
	A Time to Sing	Kermit Dodd
1969	The Monitors	President
1970	The Dunwich Horror	Dr. Henry Armitage
	Neither Are We Enemies	Annas	Hallmark Hall of Fame Easter special
	Road to Salina	Warren	(final film role)

Radio

Date	Show	Episode	Role	Notes
1944-45	Charlie Chan	all	Charlie Chan
1946-1951	The Fat Man	Various episodes	Sgt. O'Hara
1947	The Adventures of Philip Marlowe	"The Friend From Detroit"
1949	Let George Do It	"The Man Under the Elm Tree"	Darrell
1951	Tales of the Texas Rangers	"Blind Justice"	Unknown
		"No Living Witnesses"
		"Paid in Full"
		"The Blow Off"
1952	Tales of the Texas Rangers	"Birds of a Feather"
		"Prelude to Felony"

See also