ED BEGLEY SR.

March 25, 1901

Ed Begley was born in 1901 in Hartford, Connecticut. His first success was the 1947 Arthur Miller play All My Sons, followed by Inherit the Wind (1955-57), which ran for 806 performances on Broadway and won Begley the 1956 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.  

He made his screen debut in Boomerang! in 1946. In 1962 he won an Oscar for his supporting role in Sweet Bird of Youth.  

He made his television debut in July 4, 1950 on an episode of “Armstrong Circle Theatre” titled “The Sky Rocket”. 

Most of Begley’s TV career consisted of appearances on various anthology series:

• “Cameo Theatre” (1950)
• “The Philip-Morris Playhouse” (1954)
• “The Motorola Television Hour” (1954)
• “Robert Montgomery Presents” (1953 & 1954)
• “Ponds Theatre” (1954 & 1955)
• “Philco Playhouse” (1953 & 1956)
• “Goodyear Playhouse” (1953, 1955 & 1956)
• “Omnibus” (1956)
• “The Alcoa Hour” (1955 & 1956)
• “Kraft Theatre” (1954-1958)
• “Armchair Theatre” (1959)
• “United States Steel Hour” (1957-1960)
• “ITV Television Playhouse” (1960)
• “The Dick Powell Theatre” (1962)
• “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” (1964)
• “Chrysler Theatre” (1966)

In May 1960, he appeared in “City in Bondage” for “Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” produced by Desi Arnaz, the penultimate entry in the series. 

Begley made his one and only appearance acting opposite Lucille Ball as Coronel Bailey (Bean King) in “Lucy the Bean Queen” (TLS S5;E3) on September 26, 1966.  Lucy tries to outwit Bailey’s ‘double your money back guarantee’ on his baked beans in order to make a quick buck. 

He was back on the Desilu Studios lot to film an episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (aired in February 1962) where he played a Judge. He also filmed at Desilu when he did two episodes of “My Three Sons” (1962 & 1968), the first of which with William Frawley. 

His final screen role was aired posthumously for on the series “Corwin” for Canadian Television in November 1970. 

He died in April 1970 at age 69. He was married three times and had three children, one of whom was named after him and also became an actor. Ed Begley Jr.