Ed grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, in the shadows of the steel mills where his father worked.

There were no actors in his family or artists of any kind.

But as a young boy, Ed found himself drawn to the local movie theater, where he discovered that he had a unique gift.

I remember we would go on Saturdays, 'cause they had a cartoon festival.

There'd be 20 cartoons.

"Tom and Jerry."

Yeah.

"Casper the Friendly Ghost," all that stuff.

And then there was usually a feature film, whatever that would be.

If it was "Spartacus," or it was John Wayne, it was a cowboy, or whatever it was.

And often I would come back to the neighborhood, and I would tell my friends the movie.

I would act it out for them.

Huh.

Often.

And then if they went to see it, usually they'd come back, and they'd say, "It wasn't that good."

"We liked your version better."

I would improve on it somehow.