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Ted Danson (born Edward Bridge Danson III on December 29, 1947 in San Diego, California) is an American actor.

Danson is most notable for his television work, and specifically, for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers.

Early life

Born in San Diego, Danson was the son of Jessica MacMaster and Edward B. Danson, an archaeologist and anthropologist. He was raised near Flagstaff, Arizona.

In 1961, he was sent to Kent School where he was a basketball star. He became interested in drama while attending Stanford University. He transferred to the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received his bachelor's degree.

Career

Television

Danson began his career, as many actors have, as a contract player on a daytime soap opera, the now-defunct Somerset. He played the role of Tom Conway from 1975 to 1976. He was also in a number of commercials, most recognizably as the "Aramis man".

He made a number of guest appearances in episodic television in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including spots on Laverne and Shirley, B.J. and the Bear, Family, Benson and Magnum, P.I..

In 1982, Danson was cast in his most recognizable role, as ex-baseball player and bartender Sam Malone on the hit sitcom Cheers. The show ran from 1982 to 1993. Although he was best known for his work in comedy, he also appeared in an acclaimed drama, Something About Amelia, about a family devastated by the repercussions of incest.

In 1996, several 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 star in the more successful CBS sitcom Becker, which ran from 1998–2004. Danson also played himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He reprised his role of Sam Malone in a second season episode of Frasier and voiced him in The Simpsons episode "Fear of Flying."

Danson returned to series television in the fall of 2006, playing a psychiatrist in the ABC sitcom Help Me Help You.

Film

Danson has also been featured in numerous films. His most notable film appearance was in Three Men and a Baby with Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg, as well as its sequel. He also appeared in the films The Onion Field (his first film), Just Between Friends, A Fine Mess, Made in America, Getting Even with Dad, and Saving Private Ryan.

Other work

Danson's image, along with that of Scott Bakula, was used as a selectable character in Alien Breed II: The Horror Continues, a science fiction shoot 'em up released for the Amiga home computer system in 1993. Whether or not this use was authorised is unknown.

Personal life

Danson and his first wife, Randy, were married from 1970 to 1975. Danson's second wife was Casey Coates; the couple were married in 1977. In 1979, while giving birth to their first child, Coates suffered a stroke, and Danson spent several years caring for her and helping her recuperate. The couple had two children.

His third and current wife is actress Mary Steenburgen whom he wed on October 7, 1995. He is stepfather to her daughter and son. In 2000, Danson and Steenburgen hosted actor Alexis Denisof at their home for a year. [1]

Controversy

While he was still legally married to Coates, Danson became romantically involved with Whoopi Goldberg. Danson experienced substantial negative press attention after his appearance at a Friar's Club roast in blackface. [2] Although Goldberg is said to have written the monologue, the negative response from guests, the press and the public has been cited as a reason their relationship ended.

Environmental work

Danson is a long time environmental advocate.

In addition to knowledge gleaned from his father's academic pursuits, Danson's interest in environmental concerns was ignited when he was twelve years old. Bill Breed, then a curator at the Museum of Northern Arizona, introduced Danson and friend Mark Gaede to a game he referred to as "billboarding".

Armed with an axe and saw, Breed, Gaede, and Danson ended up removing, or "killing", over 500 outdoor advertising signs. (Gaede would become further involved with this kind of activity, which would be termed "monkeywrenching".)

Danson's interest in environmentalism continued over the years, and he began to be concerned, in particular, with the state of the world's oceans. In the 1980s, he was a contributing founder of the American Oceans Campaigns, now referred to as Oceana, and Danson is still a board member. [3]

TV work

• Somerset (cast member from 1975–1976)
• Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1979)
• The French Atlantic Affair (1979) (miniseries)
• The Women's Room (1980)
• Once Upon a Spy (1980)
• Benson (1981)
• Dear Teacher (1981)
• Our Family Business (1981)
• Cheers (1982–1993)
• Cowboy (1983)
• Something About Amelia (1984)
• When the Bough Breaks (1986) (also executive producer)
• We Are the Children (1987)
• Ink (1996–1997) (also executive producer)
• Gulliver's Travels (1996) (miniseries, later released as a television movie)
• Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998)
• Queer as Folk (2000)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2003)
• Becker (1998–2004)
• Living with the Dead (2002) (miniseries)
• It Must Be Love (2004)
• Our Fathers (2005)
• Help Me Help You (2006)

Filmography

• The Onion Field (1979)
• Body Heat (1981)
• Creepshow (1982)
• Little Treasure (1985)
• Just Between Friends (1986)
• A Fine Mess (1986)
• Three Men and a Baby (1987)
• She's Having a Baby (1988) (cameo)
• Cousins (1989)
• Dad (1989)
• Three Men and a Little Lady (1990)
• Made in America (1993)
• Getting Even with Dad (1994)
• Pontiac Moon (1994) (also executive producer)
• Loch Ness (1996)
• Jerry and Tom (1998)
• Homegrown (1998)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Mumford (1999)
• Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool (2001) (documentary)
• Fronterz (2004)
• The Moguls (2005)
• Knights of the South Bronx (2005)

References

External links

• Danson receives the Distinguished Achievement Award from his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, in 2003
• Ted Danson fan club
• Oceana
• Video of Ted at Oceana event

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