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Ed Begley, Jr. will always be the awkward, gangly resident, Dr. Victor Ehrlich from St. Elsewhere.

Yet, he writes very little about what might be his most defining role. Other than the audition process, he’s quite on the six season show. That’s disappointing. St. Elsewhere was a groundbreaking medical drama produced by MTM Productions.

A memoir is often judged, not by what it reveals, rather by what is left out. Begley is quite effusive on his addictions, and the craziness that was his life in those years, so I’m perplexed at his omissions.

The parts of his life and career he does cover is quite interesting; and I never knew that he had such a serious drinking problem, or that Begley, Sr. secretly fathered children by different women. I wish the book had included more about Begley, Sr.

Begley, Jr. is a very entertaining writer, the self-deprecating humor jumps off the page. Begley, Jr. would be fun to share a meal with, though I’m not sure I could keep up with the wisecracks.

Not quite everything in the book is intended to be funny. Begley, Jr. takes his social and environmental activism very seriously. He’s crossed paths with many influential people, including farm labor leader Cesar Chavez.

“And then one day in 1993, I had both the extreme sadness and incredible honor of carrying his coffin through the streets of Delano. I’ve been to a good many funerals in my seventy-three years, but I have never seen anything like this. Thirty-five thousand mourners had shown up to pay their respects to this great man.”

Begley, Jr. was known to drive electric cars many years before they became fashionable. Conserving water, reducing his carbon footprint and growing some of his own food, Begley, Jr. was an early environmentalist and has written other books and host a reality TV show about living more simply and alternate lifestyles.

To the Temple of Tranquility…and Step On It! (2023, Grand Central Publishing) has its charm and is a pleasant diversion.