To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!
A Memoir
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Beloved actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. shares hilarious and poignant stories of his improbable life, focusing on his relationship with his legendary father, adventures with Hollywood icons, the origins of his environmental activism, addiction and recovery, and his lifelong search for wisdom and common ground.
Ed Begley Jr. is truly one of a kind, a performer who is known equally for his prolific film and television career and his environmental activism. From an appearance on My Three Sons to a notable role in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to starring in St. Elsewhere—as well as films with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and mockumentarian Christopher Guest—Begley has worked with just about everyone in Hollywood. His "green" bona fides date back to 1970, and have been the topic of two books, a reality show, countless media appearances, and even repeated spoofs on The Simpsons (in one episode, Begley's solar‑powered car stalls out on train tracks, but is saved when the train is revealed to be an "Ed Begley Solar‑Powered Train”).
In To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!, Begley shares a fountain of hilarious and poignant stories throughout his life. The memoir is candid and endearing; in one chapter, he is summoned to Marlon Brando's house to discuss the practical uses of electric eels. In another, he tells the story of taking Annette Bening to the Oscars in “an oddball kit-car that had gull wing doors, and was nearly impossible to get in or out of, unless you were a yoga master, which fortunately she was.” Not to mention insightful and surprising tales about The Beatles, Monty Python, Richard Pryor, Cesar Chavez, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Waits, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carrie Fisher, and so many more luminaries.
Begley’s unmistakable voice is honest and revealing in a way that only a comic of his caliber can accomplish. Behind all the stories, Begley has wisdom to impart. This is a book about family, friends, addiction, failure, and redemption.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The star of St. Elsewhere, Young Sheldon, and a raft of movies looks back on addiction, violence, and celebrity friendships in this rollicking memoir. Begley (Ed Begley, Jr.'s Guide to Sustainable Living) recaps his 54 years in film and television, starting with his salad days in the 1960s and '70s scrabbling for small parts while abusing substances (one vodka-and-Quaaludes-fueled Christmas Eve climaxed with him crashing into several cars at a stoplight beside a police cruiser) and hanging out with a host of L.A. characters including Jack Nicholson and Charles Manson, with whom he once smoked a joint at the Spahn Ranch. After Begley sobers up and scores his breakthrough role in St. Elsewhere, the company gets classier and his narrative becomes more sedate—he works with Cesar Chavez, plays Trivial Pursuit with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and grapples with his 2016 Parkinson's diagnosis. As with many of his characters, Begley's tone is smart, self-deprecating, and mordantly witty ("Here's the funny thing about a group of people beating you," he remarks of a vicious attack he suffered from a street gang. "If they're also stabbing you, you can't feel that"). At times, the name-dropping and reverence for industry figures can feel like an Oscar acceptance speech, but more often, Begley's inside perspective on Tinseltown is humorous and revealing. The result is a captivating Hollywood picaresque.
