The second son of a professor of fine art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago, raised in Europe and in the American midwest, and educated at the University of Chicago from grade-school through college, Ed left the shelter of his family home to serve in the Korean war. After his tour of duty was finished, he lived in the Florida Keys, working as a diver, fishing guide, and artist, and developed an interest in acting, preforming in the theater at night, working with such well-known theatrical people as Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, and Elmer Rice. Later he wandered westward, settling first in the Pacific Northwest, working in television, radio ans stage there, and then moved south to the Los Angeles area.

During more than forty years of working as an actor on stage, and in television, film, radio and commercials, Ed has played roles in more than 150 television episodes and motion ppictures, including regular roles as Fenton Hardy in ABC's "The Hardy Boys" and the host of PBS's "The New Literacy". During these years his face was most familiar to the public, though, from his roles as an on-camera commercial spokesman, under long term contract at various times to such corporate names as The American Bankers Association, Amercian Airlines, Mutual of Omaha, Goodyear, RCA, Chevrolet, Zenith, and too many more to list. For 11 of these years, he taught bi-weekly workshops for the Screen Actors Guild Conservatory, working with struggling actors to show them how to apporach on-camera work.

In the past 12 years the clown and mimic that was hiding behind the "corporate" face has had a chance to come out. Ed and the animtaion industry found each other, and the relationship has been a happy one. Here was an opportunity to use his large repertoire of vocal placements and realistic foreign accents. His voice characterization of Baloo, the lead character in Disney's "Tale Spin" series, is familiar to youngsters throughout the country. "I've never had more fun in my entire career as an actor," says Ed, now a veteran of more than 600 cartoon episodes, including regular roles in 15 series, and more than a dozen animated features inclduing "The Little Mermaid", "Tom and Jerry..The Movie", "The Rescuers Down Under" and 'batman". "what a life!, no 5:30 makeup calls, and no waiting by the hour in your dressing room! And you're allowed to be creatove and to work with the cleverest and funniest people in the world!" These same voices and accents are regularly employed in commercials as well, along with the real voice of the guy himself, whose basso tones are often heard as an announcer or narrator.

Ed lives in the hills above Beverly Hills, with his artist wife Virginia, and a coyote-wise cat named Nibbles. Two children are now out in the world: a daughter, Dorian, who is a special education teacher in Arizona, and stepson Spencer, who is an attorney and investment broker on Wall Street.

When not in front of a microphone, Ed keeps busy with his "other life" as a biologist, doing field research on insects in the Central and South American forests (what's left of them) and publishing many papers in scientific journals ona specialized subject called Entomological Taxonomy. This work has also made use of his old skills as an artist, since Ed also illustrates these articles which describe previously unknown species. He has named over 100 newly discovered species, and an entire wall of his laboratory is covered with framed originals of some of these creatures.
With one foot planted firmly in each of these two very different worlds, Ed's life is full, interesting, and productive.