LOS ANGELES : Actor Ed Begley Jr. Named to Mountain Parks Panel

Actor Ed Begley Jr. has been nominated by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy after weeks of speculation over who would represent the city on the park agency’s board.

If confirmed by the City Council, Begley will join the panel that makes spending and policy decisions for the conservancy--a state agency that has acquired thousands of acres of land in the Santa Monicas and neighboring ranges, including the Santa Susana and Verdugo mountains and the Simi Hills.

Begley, 44, a Studio City resident who starred in the television series “St. Elsewhere” and whose film credits include “The Accidental Tourist” and “Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills,” is “especially qualified” for the conservancy post, Riordan said in a letter to the council.

Begley, who previously was named to the city Environmental Affairs Commission, could not be reached for comment. But he was described by the conservancy’s executive director, Joseph T. Edmiston, as “a personally committed environmentalist.”

Begley will replace Anton Calleia, the city’s representative on the board since 1982. Calleia, former chief assistant to ex-Mayor Tom Bradley, had observed protocol by submitting a letter of resignation when the Riordan Administration took office.