Ed Begley Jr. Re-elected to Academy Board

Studio City resident Ed Begley Jr. was re-elected to the prestigious Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

He had served on the board from 2000 to 2009 and took a year hiatus. He is now on the board with recent Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, who directed last year's Best Picture The Hurt Locker, and film editor Anne Coates (Lawrence of Arabia) and Bowling for Columbine documentarian Michael Moore.

Begley joins fellow actors Annette Bening and Tom Hanks, who are already on the board, as well as directors Martha Coolidge and Edward Zwick.

Begley also co-starred in a popular webisode series Easy to Assemble, starring Illeana Douglas as herself, playing an independent film actress who takes a job at Ikea. Begley portrays a ghost who offers advice.

"That was fun," Begley said about the web series. "They planned to do another episode then they changed that plan."

Filmed in nearby Burbank, Easy to Assemble has garnered 12 million viewers in its short run since October 2009.

 Also this summer, Begley worked on a new Jimmy Smits TV series for CBS called Outlaw and filmed some scenes for Fox's TV show The Good Guys on location in Dallas.

He can also be seen in a big-budget mainstream film What's Your Number?, co-starring Blythe Danner, Anna Faris and Ryan Phillippe.

Begley continues to tour the country doing eco-friend speaking engagements. On Oct. 23, he plans to be a keynote speaker for the Union City Community Economic Development Committee of Indiana and Ohio and for the second annual Boomtown Celebration, focusing on its renewable and sustainable energy businesses and initiatives.

Oh, and happy birthday, Ed! He turns 61 today, Sept. 16. See pictures below of his big 60^th party last year.