Ted Danson

Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm, starred alongside Glenn Close in legal drama Damages. He is now a regular on the HBO comedy series Bored to Death and will join the cast of the CBS drama CSI:Crime Scene Investigation in September 2011.
In his thirty-year career, Danson has been nominated for fourteen Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two; ten Golden Globe Awards nominations, winning three; one Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination; one American Comedy Award and a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. He was ranked second in TV Guide's list of the top 25 television stars.[citation needed]
Danson has also been a longtime activist in ocean conservation. In March 2011, he published his first book, "Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans And What We Can Do To Save Them", written with journalist Michael D'Orso.


Ted Danson




Cheers - Ted Danson Takes Hairpiece Off



Ted Danson and Zack Galifianakis - Bored to Death



Craig Ferguson 7/21/10D Late Late show Ted Danson

Early life

Danson was born in San Diego, California, the son of Jess Danson (née MacMaster) and Edward Bridge Danson, Jr., an archaeologist and museum director.[3] He was raised in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In 1961, he enrolled in the Kent School where he was a basketball star. He became interested in drama while attending Stanford University. He transferred to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama, in 1972.
[edit]Career

[edit]Television
[edit]Early career
Danson began his television career as a contract player on daytime soap opera, 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; Taxi; Magnum, P.I.; and Tucker's Witch.
[edit]Career breakthrough: Cheers


Danson at the 42nd Emmy Awards, September 1990
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 had a run of 11 seasons and its finale (May 20, 1993) was watched by 80 million people, becoming the second most watched finale in television history. It won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and a Golden Globe for Best Series - Musical or Comedy. The show ran from 1982 to 1993, with Danson receiving 11 consecutive Emmy nominations and nine Golden Globes, ultimately winning two Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards from those nominations. In 2002, TV Guide named Cheers the 18th Greatest Show of All Time. It was also included in Time Magazine's 100 Greatest Shows of All Time.
Danson also appeared as Sam Malone in guest-starring roles on other sitcoms, such as Frasier (a Cheers spin-off) and The Simpsons.
[edit]Later career
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, which co-starred his current 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. 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 star in the successful CBS sitcom Becker (produced by Paramount Television, which also produced Cheers), which ran from 1998–2004. Danson also plays 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, which was canceled at midseason due to low ratings.
In 2006, Danson received 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 lost to co-star Željko Ivanek. In the second season, Danson became a recurring character instead of one of the principal cast. Nevertheless, Danson received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, but lost to Michael J. Fox for his guest appearance in Rescue Me.
In 1999, Danson was presented a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
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.
Danson is currently starring in the new HBO comedy series, Bored to Death, playing George. Critics have often praised Danson as being the highlight of the program, calling his character a "scene-stealer".[4][5]
In July 2011, it was announced that Danson would become a series regular on CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He will play a new graveyard shift supervisor who previously headed a crime lab in Portland, Oregon. Tony Shaloub, Robin Williams and John Lithgow were also considered for the role.[1][2][6]
[edit]Film
Danson has also been featured in numerous films. His most notable film appearances were in Three Men and a Baby with Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg, its sequel Three Men and a Little Lady, and Cousins with Isabella Rossellini. He also appeared in The Onion Field (his first film, as the bagpiper), Creepshow, Body Heat, Little Treasure, Just Between Friends, A Fine Mess, Dad, Made in America, Getting Even with Dad, and Saving Private Ryan.
[edit]Image

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 authorized is unknown. Ted Danson's earnings also haunted George Costanza in Seinfeld when he was negotiating a fee with NBC for a pilot for a planned TV series.
[edit]Personal life



Danson with wife Mary Steenburgen in December 2009
Danson and his first wife, Randy Gosch (now professionally known as Randy Danson), 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 later adopted a daughter. An affair with Whoopi Goldberg led to their divorce in 1993. It was one of Hollywood's costliest divorces, reportedly costing Danson $30 million.[7]
He later married actress Mary Steenburgen, on October 7, 1995. He is stepfather to her daughter, Lilly, and son, Charles, who are the children of actor Malcolm McDowell.
On the September 27, 2007 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Danson revealed that he follows a mostly vegan diet, although he does occasionally eat fish.[8]
[edit]Controversy
Danson experienced substantial negative press attention in the fall of 1993 after his appearance in blackface at a Friar's Club comedy roast in honor of then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg. Guests were said to be angered by the monologue he delivered, which included many "nigger" references.[9] Goldberg later admitted to writing the skit with him.[10]
[edit]Environmentalism
Danson's interest in environmental concerns was ignited when he was twelve years old and Bill Breed, then a curator at the Museum of Northern Arizona, introduced Danson and friend Marc Gaede to a game he referred to as "billboarding". Armed with an axe and saw, Breed, Gaede, and Danson ended up destroying over 500 outdoor advertising signs, and illegal birdhouses.[11]
Danson's interest in environmentalism continued over the years, and he began to be concerned with the state of the world's oceans. In the 1980s, he was a contributing founder of the American Oceans Campaigns, which merged with Oceana in 2001, where Danson is a board member.[12]
In March 2011, Danson published his first book, "Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans And What We Can Do To Save Them", written with journalist Michael D'Orso.
[edit]Political activism
Danson is a friend of former United States President Bill Clinton, who attended Danson's wedding to Mary Steenburgen. Danson has donated more than $85,000 to Democratic candidates, including Al Gore, John Edwards, Barbara Boxer, Bill Clinton, Al Franken, and John Kerry. He has also donated to the Democratic Party of Arkansas and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Danson and Steenburgen campaigned for Sen. Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential campaign.[13] Such is his closeness to the Clintons, he attended the wedding of their daughter Chelsea on 31 July 2010.[14]
[edit]Filmography

[edit]Television
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)
Magnum, P.I. (1981)
Cheers (1982–1993)
Cowboy (1983)
Something About Amelia (1984)
When the Bough Breaks (1986)
We Are the Children (1987)
The Simpsons (1994)
Frasier (1994) (Episode - "The Show When Sam Shows Up")
Ink (1996–1997) (also executive producer)
Gulliver's Travels (1996) (miniseries)
Veronica's Closet (1997)
Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998)
Search for Atlantis (2000)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–present)
Becker (1998–2004)
Living with the Dead (2002) (miniseries)
It Must Be Love (2004)
Our Fathers (2005)
Help Me Help You (2006)
Damages (2007–2010) Regular season 1 - recurring season 2-3
Bored to Death (2009–present)
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2010)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2011-present)
[edit]Film
The Onion Field (1979)
Body Heat (1981)
Raised by Wolves: The Sue Taylor Story (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)
The Comfort of Strangers (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)
Talking to Heaven (2002)
Surviving Love (2003)
Fronterz (2004)
The Moguls (2005)
Knights of the South Bronx (2005)
Nobel Son (2007)
Mad Money (2008)
The Human Contract (2008)
The Amateurs (2007)
The Open Road (2009)
Everybody Loves Whales (2012)
Three Men and a Bride (2012)
Karl Pilkington Project 2, as Bryan (2013) - Unconfirmed
[edit]Awards and nominations

[edit]Awards
Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
1990 – Cheers
1993 – Cheers
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical
1985 – Something About Amelia
1990 – Cheers
1991 – Cheers
[edit]Nominations
Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
1983 – Cheers
1984 - Cheers
1985 – Cheers
1986 – Cheers
1987 – Cheers
1988 – Cheers
1989 – Cheers
1990 - Cheers
1991 – Cheers
1992 – Cheers
1993 – Cheers
Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
1984 – Something About Amelia
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
2008 - "Damages"
Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2009 - "Damages"
Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2010 - "Damages"
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical
1984 – Cheers
1985 – Cheers
1987 – Cheers
1989 – Cheers
1990 – Cheers
1991 – Cheers
1992 – Cheers
1993 – Cheers
2001 – Becker
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series/Mini Series/Television Movie
2008 - Damages
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
2006 - Knights of the South Bronx
References from Wikipedia.com