Ted Danson is a celebrated television and film actor who attended theatre school and is a fervent environmentalist. His claim to fame was his portrayal of “Sam Malone” on the television sitcom “Cheers,” which won him two Golden Globe Awards. He was ranked number two on TV Guide’s list of the best 25 television stars. In a 30-year career, he has earned 15 Primetime Emmy nominations, two of which he has won, ten Golden Globe nominations, three of which he has also won, and he also has a star on the illustrious Hollywood Walk of Fame. Three Men and a Baby, Three Men and a Little Lady, Body Heat, Made in America, and the television movie “Something About Amelia,” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, are just a few of his well-known films. Ted Danson has a wide range of roles that few TV performers have been able to portray. He has portrayed a variety of famous characters, including a misanthropic doctor, a flirtatious bartender, and a corrupt billionaire. He is considered one of the best character performers on television. Continue reading this biography to find more intriguing details about his personal and professional accomplishments.
Early Childhood & Life
Edward Bridge Danson, an archaeologist and museum director, and Jess Danson welcomed Ted into the world in California, USA.
He went to Stanford University after graduating from the Kent School in Connecticut, where he discovered his love for acting.
He earned a Fine Arts degree in theater from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania in 1972.
Career of Ted Danson
He started his television career in 1975 with the NBC daytime serial opera “Somerset,” in which he portrayed a contract player. Additionally, he made several commercial appearances as “Aramis Man.”
He made his acting debut in the cop role in Harold Becker’s American drama film “The Onion Field” from 1979. The NBC sitcom “Cheers,” where he played the part of “Sam Malone,” a former basketball player and bartender, gave him one of his biggest roles the following year.
He had several cameos on episodes like “Laverne and Shirley,” “B.J. and the Bear,” “Family,” “Benson,” “Taxi,” “Magnum P.I.”, and “Tucker’s Witch” up to the early 1980s.
He was chosen to appear in Lawrence Kasdan’s neo-noir film “Body Heat,” which was released in 1981. He took on the persona of prosecutor Peter Lowenstein.
In 1984, he played the lead in the television film “Something About Amelia.” Randa Haines’ film told the tale of an incest-devastated family.
He starred in the Leonard Nimoy-directed American box office sensation “Three Men and a Baby” in 1987.
He was a cast member of the ill-fated CBS comedy sitcom “Ink,” which was canceled after only one season, in 1996. He also had an appearance in the TV program “Gulliver’s Travels” that same year.
He was chosen to play “John Becker” in the CBS sitcom “Becker,” which premiered in 1998 and enjoyed success through 2004.
He received a lot of praise from critics and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2005 for his performance as “Mr. Richard Manson” in the TV movie “Knights of the South Bronx.”
He had an appearance in the one-season, unpopular American sitcom “Help Me Help You” in 2006. He was nominated for an Emmy the following year for his performance as crooked billionaire Arthur Frobisher in the FX Network drama “Damages.”
He had an appearance in the Beastie Boys’ 2011 music video “make Some Noise.” He also appeared in the HBO series “Bored to Death” that same year.
He is a current cast member of the CBS program “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Bigger Works of Ted Danson
Three Men and a Baby, which he directed in 1987, grossed an astounding $ 167.78 million at the American box office. The film was also named Best Comedy Motion Picture by the “People’s Choice award.” The movie has been translated into Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil in India.
He starred in the popular American television series “Cheers,” which received top 10 ratings for 8 of its 11 seasons. The sitcom held the top spot for two seasons and was voted number 18 on TV Guides’ list of the “50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.”
Recognition & Achievements
For “Something about Amelia,” he won a Golden Globe in the category of “Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV” in 1985.
He received the Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical” for “Cheers” in 1990 and 1991. He also won two Prime Time Emmy Awards for “Cheers” in the category of “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series” in 1990 and 1993.
He received a star at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999.
Personal Legacy & Life
He wed the actress Randall “Randy” Gosch in 1970, and the two separated in 1975.
He wed producer Cassandra Coates in 1975. She experienced a stroke in 1979 while giving birth, but she lived. Alexis, their second daughter, was also adopted by the couple. They divorced in 1993 when there were allegations that Danson had an affair with Whoopi Goldberg.
His current wife is the actress Mary Steenburgen; the two got married in 1995.
Estimated Net Worth
Actor Ted Danson, who was born in California, has an estimated net worth of $80 million. He played the enduring character Sam Malone on the television series Cheers from 1982 until 1993. He also had appearances on the series Becker, CSI, and The Good Place. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has won two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Golden Globes.
Trivia
He supported Hilary Clinton during the 2008 presidential race and gave more than $85,000 to Democratic candidates.
He co-authored the 2011 book “Our Endangered Oceans And What We Can Do To Save Them” since he is a passionate environmentalist.