About Ed

Ed Hooks is a member of Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA and Actors Equity Association. He has been a professional actor for more than thirty years, appearing in over one hundred television shows, including "Murder, She Wrote", "Days of our Lives", "Quantum Leap", "Home Improvement", "Full House", "Golden Girls", "Hart to Hart", "Knight Rider" and "The Fall Guy". Films include "Striking Distance", "Raising Cain" and "Heart and Souls".

His countless television commercials include major campaigns for AT&T, Holiday Inns, Pampers, Bounce Fabric Softener, McDonald's and Motorola. You have heard his voice on radio and TV spots for Turkey Selects, Ultra Brite Toothpaste and El Torito Restaurants, among many others. On stage, he has worked extensively in New York, Los Angeles, in regional theater and summer stock, as an actor and director. His credits include "Whitsuntide", "Colonial Dudes", "Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights" (Gertrude Stein), "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", "You Can't Take it With You", "Our Town" and "Hamp".

Mr. Hooks is also a respected author. Titles include "The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook", "Acting Strategies for the Cyber Age", "The Actor's Field Guide (Acting Notes on the Run)", "Acting for Animators" and "Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films".

As an acting teacher and coach, Ed has trained thousands of actors in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. His past students include Heather Locklear ("Melrose Place"), Teri Hatcher ("Lois and Clark") and many other recognizable and working actors. It is difficult to watch television for a single evening without seeing several of Ed's past or current students at work on various shows or in commercials.

In addition to his regular acting classes for actors, Ed Hooks teaches acting to animators, the kinds of people who make movies like "Horton Hears a Who" and video games such as "Half Life". In this capacity, he has taught widely in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For an in-depth look at this side of Ed's career, go to his other web site, Acting for Animators (http://www.actingforanimators.com).