Ted Danson

On December 29, 1947, Danson was born in San Diego to Edward Bridge "Ned" Danson Jr.,^[4][5] an archaeologist and curator of the Museum of Northern Arizona from 1959 to 1975, and Jessica Harriet (née MacMaster).^[6][7] He has an older sister, Jessica Ann "Jan" Haury.^[7] Danson was primarily raised in Flagstaff, Arizona.^[8] He has Scottish and English heritage. Their ancestors lived in colonial New England and are descended from historical figures such as Anne Hutchinson.^[9][10]

In 1961, at age 14, Danson enrolled at the Kent School, a university-preparatory school in Connecticut; he was a star player on the basketball team. He became interested in drama while later attending Stanford University. In search of a better acting program, he transferred to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a B.F.A. in Drama in 1972.^[11]

Danson began his television career as a contract player on the daytime soap opera Somerset.^[12] He played the role of Tom Conway from 1975 to 1976. In 1977, he played Dr. Mitchell Pierson on the daytime soap opera The Doctors, having also appeared earlier in 1975 as another character, Dr. Chuck Weldon.^[13] He was also in a number of commercials, most notably as the "Aramis man".^[14] His guest appearances on television in the late 1970s and early 1980s include being on Laverne & Shirley, B. J. and the Bear, Family, Benson, Taxi, Magnum, P.I., The Amazing Spider-Man, Tucker's Witch, and Mrs. Columbo. He also appeared in the films The Onion Field (1978, his first film, as the bagpipe-playing Officer Ian Campbell) and Body Heat (1981).

In 1982, Danson was cast in the role of Sam Malone, a former local-legend baseball player and bartender, for the NBC sitcom Cheers. On the show, he has an on-again-off-again relationship with the college-educated, sophisticated Diane Chambers. Although the show finished last in ratings in its first season, it was well received by critics. Ratings gradually improved by 1983, and by 1986, Cheers was among the top ten most-viewed shows on television. The series ran for 11 seasons (1982–1993), with the series finale (May 20, 1993) being watched by 80 million people, the second-most watched series finale in television history (in 1993). Cheers won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, plus a Golden Globe for Best Series–Musical or Comedy. During his time on the show, Danson won two of his 11 consecutive Emmy nominations for the role of Sam Malone, and won two of his nine Golden Globe nominations. In 2002, TV Guide magazine named Cheers the 18th "Greatest Show of All Time". It was included in Time's "100 Greatest Shows of All Time".^[15] On December 15, 1988, Danson got into a minor car accident in which he got a bloody nose; he was in some pain, but his nose wasn't broken. The bloody nose was written into the Cheers episode "How to Win Friends and Electrocute People". Danson reprised the role of Sam Malone in a second-season episode of Frasier, and did the voiceover for his character in an episode of The Simpsons, "Fear of Flying".

Danson also appeared in numerous films during his time on the series. His most notable film appearances included Three Men and a Baby (1987) with Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg, its sequel Three Men and a Little Lady (1990), and Cousins (1989) with Isabella Rossellini. He also appeared in Creepshow (1982), Little Treasure (1985), Just Between Friends (1986) with Mary Tyler Moore, A Fine Mess (1986), and Dad (1989). Although he was best known for his work in comedy, he also appeared in a television drama, Something About Amelia (1984), about a family devastated by the repercussions of incest, which co-starred his later co-star on Damages, Glenn Close. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie and was nominated for an Emmy Award.

After Cheers ended, Danson appeared in films such as Made in America (1993), Getting Even with Dad (1994), Loch Ness (1996), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Mad Money (2008), and Big Miracle (2012). In 1996, three years after Cheers concluded, Danson starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Ink with his real-life wife Mary Steenburgen. In the same year, they starred as Lemuel Gulliver and his wife in an acclaimed television miniseries of Gulliver's Travels. Danson went on to play the title role in the successful CBS sitcom Becker (produced by Paramount Television which also produced Cheers), which ran from 1998 to 2004. Danson also played a fictionalized version of himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm from 2000 to 2024. In 1999, Danson was presented with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Danson returned to series television in 2006, playing a psychiatrist in the ABC sitcom Help Me Help You, which was canceled at midseason due to low ratings. Also in 2006, Danson received a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for his role in Knights of the South Bronx. In 2007, Danson starred in the FX Network drama Damages as a corrupt billionaire, Arthur Frobisher. The role earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, but he lost to co-star Željko Ivanek. During the second season Danson became a recurring character instead of one of the principal cast. He received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series but lost to Michael J. Fox for Fox's guest appearance in Rescue Me. In 2011, Danson appeared in the music video for "Make Some Noise" by the Beastie Boys. He is also mentioned in the song's lyrics.

From 2009 to 2011, Danson starred in the HBO sitcom Bored to Death as George Christopher, the laconic and sometime downright infantile editor of Edition magazine. Critics often praised Danson as being the highlight of the program, calling his character a "scene stealer."^[16][17] From 2011 to 2015, Danson starred in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He played D.B. Russell, a new graveyard-shift supervisor who previously headed a crime lab in Seattle. Tony Shalhoub, Robin Williams, and John Lithgow were also considered for the role.^[2][3][18] He reprised his role in the third CSI spin-off, CSI: Cyber, which was canceled after two seasons.

In 2015, Danson appeared in the second season of the TV show Fargo, portraying Sheriff Hank Larsson.^[19] From 2016 to 2020 Danson appeared opposite Kristen Bell as the character Michael in the NBC sitcom The Good Place. He was nominated for and won numerous awards for his performance as Michael. Danson had the main role on the NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor (2021–2022), in which he plays a wealthy businessman who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for all the wrong reasons. Episode 109 of the Beef and Dairy Network Podcast, entitled "Ted Danson", features Danson playing an alternate version of himself (referred to as "The Actor Ted Danson") seeking to collect on a debt of 460 million tons of grain. In 2024, he starred as the leading role of Charles in the Netflix comedy series, A Man on the Inside, based on the 2020 Academy Award-nominee documentary The Mole Agent.^[20] As of 2024, Danson has appeared as a regular in twelve television shows, reportedly the most any actor has done historically.^[21] In 2024, he became the official spokesperson for Consumer Cellular, an MVNO ATT(reseller) telephone company. In 2024, Danson and Woody Harrelson started a podcast called Where Everybody Knows Your Name where they interview celebrities about their lives and careers.^[22]

Danson and his first wife, actress Randall "Randy" Gosch (known as Randy Danson), were married in 1970 and divorced in 1975.^[23]

Danson's second wife was producer Cassandra "Casey" Coates, whom he married in 1977. On December 24, 1979, while giving birth to their first daughter, Kate, Coates suffered a stroke. Danson spent several years caring for her and helping her recuperate. They later adopted a second daughter, Alexis.^[24] His affair with actress Whoopi Goldberg contributed to their divorce in 1993.^[25] At the time, it was known as one of Hollywood's costliest divorces and reportedly cost Danson $30 million.^[26]

While a guest on The Arsenio Hall Show in late 1988, he met actress Whoopi Goldberg; he described her as "a sexy, funny woman".^[27] They became friends and were in Help Save Planet Earth in 1990 which is about saving the environment (Danson played himself, Goldberg portrayed Mother Earth).^[28] While making Made in America in April 1992, the two became romantically involved, a pairing that was heavily featured in gossip tabloids such as the National Enquirer. The couple also appeared on the Rock the Vote TV special in the same year;^[29] they were set to star in a Paramount-produced version of Neal Barrett Jr.'s Pink Vodka Blues,^[30] written by Marshall Brickman.^[31][32]

Danson received negative press attention October 8, 1993, after his appearance wearing blackface at a Friars Club comedy roast in honor of Goldberg, and for using many racist slurs. Later, Goldberg defended the sketch, explaining that she had helped write much of the material and referred Danson to the makeup artist who painted his face as a societal critique.^[33]

On October 7, 1995, Danson married actress Mary Steenburgen, whom he met on the set of Pontiac Moon in 1993, and became the stepfather to Steenburgen's children, Lilly and Charlie, from her previous marriage to actor Malcolm McDowell.^[34]

Danson has been on a plant-based diet multiple times,^[35][36] but as of 2016, he is on a pescetarian diet.^[37]

Danson is Episcopalian.^[38]

Danson's interest in environmental concerns began when he was 12 years old. Bill Breed, then curator of geology at the Museum of Northern Arizona, introduced Danson and their friend Marc Gaede to a "game" he referred to as "billboarding". Armed with axes and saws, Breed, Gaede, and Danson destroyed over 500 outdoor advertising signs.^[39][40]

Danson's interest in environmentalism continued over the years, and he began to be concerned with the state of the world's oceans. He was a contributing founder of the American Oceans Campaigns in the 1980s; it merged with Oceana in 2001 and he is a board member.^[41] His commitment to the environment led him to host the A&E television series "Challenge of the Seas" in 1991, filming 26 one-hour episodes.^[42]

In March 2011, Danson published his first book, Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do To Save Them which was written with journalist Michael D'Orso.^[43][44] On October 25, 2019, Danson was arrested and charged along with actress Jane Fonda at a climate-change protest outside the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.^[45]

Danson is a friend of former President Bill Clinton, who attended Danson and Steenburgen's wedding. Danson has donated over $177,000 as of June 2024 to Democratic candidates and PACs, including Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Al Gore, John Edwards, Barbara Boxer, Bill Clinton, Al Franken, John Kerry, and the Jane Fonda Climate PAC.^[46] He has also donated to the Democratic Party of Arkansas and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Danson and Steenburgen campaigned for Senator Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign.^[47] He and Steenburgen attended the wedding of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea on July 31, 2010.^[48] He appeared with Steenburgen at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. On October 3, 2016, he attended the opening of Hillary Clinton's new campaign office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at the old Queen Pharmacy on King Street.^[49][50][51]