Ted Danson

Ted Danson (born December 29, 1947, San Diego, California, U.S.) is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of bartender Sam Malone on the popular television comedy series Cheers (1982–93). Danson is also known for playing the cantankerous doctor John Becker in the comedy series Becker (1998–2004) and Michael, the designer of the afterlife neighborhood in producer Michael Schur’s fantasy comedy series The Good Place (2016–20). Away from the set, he is a longtime environmental activist who advocates on behalf of ocean conservation.

Early life

Danson is the youngest child of Jessica (née MacMaster) Danson and Edward Bridge Danson, Jr., and was raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, where his father worked as an anthropology professor and museum director. He expressed a sensitivity to environmental conservation issues at an early age. As an 11-year-old, Danson and his friends, equipped with saws and axes, hacked away at highway billboard signs they considered to be an “ugly blight,” taking down at least three of them. Danson recalled, “We just thought we were doing mankind and Mother Nature a huge favor—and we didn’t get caught.” He initially attended Stanford University, near Palo Alto, California, but later transferred to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he received a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama in 1972. In 1978 he moved to Los Angeles, where he studied and taught drama classes at the Actor’s Institute.

Career

From the mid-1970s to the early ’80s, Danson had small roles in television shows such as The Doctors (1975–77), B.J. and the Bear and The Amazing Spider-Man (both 1979), Laverne & Shirley (1980), and Taxi (1982). His film credits during this period include the crime drama The Onion Field (1979) and the thriller Body Heat (1981).

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In 1982 he landed his breakout role as Sam Malone, the carousing bartender and former Major League Baseball relief pitcher on Cheers. The show, which was created by television producers James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles (who had collaborated on the acclaimed comedy series Taxi in 1978–83), took place in a Boston saloon and featured bar regulars and employees engaging in banter about their lives. The show struggled initially in the Nielsen ratings but soon grew in popularity as viewers tuned in to follow the fiery, on-again, off-again relationship between Malone and graduate student–waitress Diane Chambers (portrayed by Shelley Long). Cheers ran until 1993, ending when Danson decided that 11 seasons of portraying an aging playboy was enough. Woody Harrelson, who played Woody Boyd on the show, said in an interview that an NBC network executive suggested keeping Cheers going with Harrelson as the bar owner, to which he replied, “Ted Danson’s the star, and I can promise people will not want to see it without him.” By the end of its run, Cheers was watched by 26 million viewers per week. Danson continued to work in film during his tenure on Cheers, appearing in the comedies Three Men and a Baby (1987), its sequel Three Men and a Little Lady (1990), and Made in America (1993).

After Cheers, Danson portrayed the gruff, misanthropic doctor John Becker in the comedy series Becker. His other post-Cheers television credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–24), Bored to Death (2009–11), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2011–15), Fargo (2015), The Good Place, Mr. Mayor (2021–22), and A Man on the Inside (2024– ). He made a cameo appearance in the war film Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Personal life and activism

After earlier marriages to actress Randy Gosch and producer Cassandra Coates, Danson married actress Mary Steenburgen in 1995. Danson and Steenburgen collaborated as actors and executive producers on the short-lived comedy series Ink (1996–97) and starred in the acclaimed television miniseries Gulliver’s Travels (1996). Among other collaborations, they have also appeared together in episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Danson has been active in ocean conservation for decades. In 1984 he teamed up with lawyer and activist Robert Sulnick to stop oil wells from being constructed along the coast near Santa Monica, California. In 1987 they founded the American Oceans Campaign, which fought for environmental protections and later merged (2002) with the conservation organization Oceana. He is the author of the book Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them (2011) with Michael D’Orso.

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Awards

Danson has been the recipient of numerous awards in the entertainment industry. He received Emmy Awards for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (1990 and 1993) and Golden Globe Awards for best actor in a comedy series (1990 and 1991) for his work on Cheers. In 1985 he won a Golden Globe for best actor for his portrayal of a sexually abusive father in the television movie Something About Amelia (1984). In 1999 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.