POST'S Wallace Stegner Lecture Series Presents Actor and Environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr.
May 13, 2009
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) concludes its 16th Annual Wallace Stegner Lecture Series with award-winning actor, author and longtime environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. Star of the hit reality television series “Living with Ed,” Begley will share his thoughts about pursuing a green lifestyle and how each one of us can transform the way we live, work and play on Planet Earth.
Begley’s lecture will be held at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts on May 21 at 8:00 p.m. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book- and DVD-signing reception with the author.
As an actor, Begley came to the attention of audiences as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running hit television series “St. Elsewhere,” for which he received six consecutive Emmy nominations. His numerous works in film include “The Accidental Tourist,” “She-Devil,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration” and HBO’s “Recount.” He stars in the CBS sitcom “Gary Unmarried” and has had recurring roles on several television shows, including “Arrested Development” and “Six Feet Under.”
Known to turn up at Hollywood events on his bicycle, Begley has been an environmental leader and pioneer of eco-conscious living for many years. He serves on the boards and is former chairman of the Environmental Media Association and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. He is also a board member of the Thoreau Institute, Earth Communications Office, Tree People and Friends of the Earth. His work on behalf of the environment has earned him awards from the California League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Coalition for Clean Air, Heal the Bay and the Santa Monica Baykeeper. He lives near Los Angeles with his wife, actress Rachelle Carson, in a self-sufficient home powered by solar energy. Living what he preaches, he promotes his own line of all-natural household cleaning products under the brand name “Begley’s Best.”
For the past 16 years, Ambassador Bill and Mrs. Jean Lane have sponsored POST’s Wallace Stegner Lecture Series. POST is deeply grateful to the Lanes for their ongoing dedication and support. Generous support for this year’s series also comes from media sponsor Embarcadero Publishing (Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, The Almanac) and from lecture sponsors Noble and Lorraine Hancock, Sand Hill Advisors, and Paul and Antje Newhagen.
POST’s lecture series is named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and conservationist Wallace Stegner. One hundred years after his birth, the legacy of Stegner’s work still reverberates across the mountains, plains and valleys of the American West. The series is dedicated to exploring the themes of land, nature and conservation that Professor Stegner celebrated in his writings about the West’s people, lands and wilderness.
For more information about the lecture series, please visit POST’s Web site at www.openspacetrust.org/activities/lecture.html. Single tickets for Ed Begley, Jr. are $22 each and can be ordered directly through the box office at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts at (650) 903-6000 or www.mvcpa.com.