Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was nominated for more Emmy Awards for roles in the legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC dramedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He was awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Danson made his film debut in 1978 in the crime drama The Onion Field. His breakout film role was as Jack Holden in the films Three Men and a Baby (1987) and Three Men and a Little Lady (1990). His other film roles include Body Heat (1981), Dad (1989) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Danson's other leading roles on television include the CBS sitcom Becker, CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2011–2015), and CSI: Cyber (2015–2016). In 2015, he starred in the second season of FX's anthology series Fargo. He has had comedic roles in the HBO project Bored to Death (2009–2011) and Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO (2000–present), and the NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor (2021–2022).
Danson is also known for his longtime activism in ocean conservation. In March 2011, he published his first book, Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them which was written with journalist Michael D'Orso. He has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen since 1995.
Early life and education
On December 29, 1947, Danson was born in San Diego, California to Edward Bridge "Ned" Danson, Jr., an archaeologist and director of the Museum of Northern Arizona (from 1959-1975) and Jessica Harriet (née-MacMaster). He has an older sister, Jessica Ann "Jan" Haury. Danson was primarily raised in Flagstaff, Arizona. He has Scottish ancestry; Danson's family also has English heritage. Their ancestors lived in colonial New England and are descended from historical figures like Anne Hutchinson.
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 his search for a better acting program, he transferred to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. He graduated with a B.F.A. in Drama in 1972.
Career
Television
Early career
Danson began his television career as a contract player on the daytime soap opera Somerset. 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. He was also in a number of commercials, most notably as the "Aramis man".
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.
Career breakthrough: Cheers
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; 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”.
Danson reprised the role of Sam Malone in a second-season episode of Frasier, and did the voiceover for his character an episode of The Simpsons, "Fear of Flying".