Ted Danson
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| Ted Danson | |||||||||||
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 Danson at the 42nd Emmy Awards, September 1990 |
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| Born | Edward Bridge Danson III December 29, 1947 San Diego, California |
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| Spouse(s) | Mary Steenburgen (1995-present) Casey Coates (1977-1993) Randy Danson (1970-1975) |
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Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-winning actor notable for his television work, and specifically, for his role as central character Sam Malone in the classic sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He is currently a regular on Larry David's HBO sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close in legal drama Damages.
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[edit] Early life
Danson was born in San Diego, California, the son of Jessica Danson (née MacMaster) and Edward Bridge Danson, Jr., an archaeologist and museum director.[1][2] Danson 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 of Fine Arts degree in drama in 1968.
[edit] Career
[edit] Television
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 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, with Danson winning the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1990 and 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, 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, 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 cancelled at midseason due to low ratings.
Summer 2007, Danson began the FX Network drama Damages as corrupt billionaire/family man Arthur Frobisher.
[edit] 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, as the bagpiper), Body Heat, Just Between Friends, A Fine Mess, Made in America, Getting Even with Dad, and Saving Private Ryan.
[edit] Other work
Danson, true to his environmental beliefs, rewards friends of the cause with his own home-brewed Scotch, "Danson's Best." He says the brew is made 100% organically and handled only by workers whom he pays a liveable wage. In "Cigar and Wine" [3][4][5] magazine, Danson said his mix has become quite popular among his close, personal friends, and he's even considering a regional marketing plan with profits going to charity, similar to Paul Newman's "Newman's Own" brand.
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.
[edit] 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, including a second adopted daughter. His 1993 divorce with her was one of Hollywood's dearest costing Danson a massive $25 million.
His third and current wife is actress Mary Steenburgen whom he wed on October 7, 1995. He is stepfather to her daughter, Lilly, and son, Charles, from actor Malcolm McDowell. In 2000, Danson and Steenburgen hosted actor Alexis Denisof at their home for a year.[6]
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.
He currently resides in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife and family.
[edit] 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 in blackface at a Friar's Club comedy roast in Goldberg's honor.[7]
[edit] Environmental work
Danson is a longtime environmental advocate and he has donated over $500,000 of his own money to environmental causes.
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 Marc 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, and illegal birdhouses. (Gaede would become further involved with this kind of activity, which would be termed "monkeywrenching".)[8]
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.[9]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Televison
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[edit] Film
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[edit] Awards and Nominations
[edit] Awards
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- 1990 – Cheers
- 1993 – Cheers
- Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical
- 1990 – Cheers
- 1991 – Cheers
- Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical
- 1985 – Something About Amelia
[edit] Nominations
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- 1983 – Cheers
- 1985 – Cheers
- 1986 – Cheers
- 1987 – Cheers
- 1988 – Cheers
- 1989 – Cheers
- 1991 – Cheers
- 1992 – Cheers
- 1994 – Cheers
- Golden Globe 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 for Best Supporting Actor - Series/Mini Series/Television Movie
- 2008 - Damages
[edit] References
- ^ Ted Danson Biography (1947-)
- ^ Ancestry of Ted Danson
- ^ http://www.cigwinemagonline.com/people/690/000022624/
- ^ Cheers Cast: Where Are They Now? - AOL Television
- ^ Townhall.com::Chad's Return::By John McCaslin
- ^ Biography page at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Ted Danson
- ^ Chase, Alston (1995). In A Dark Wood. Houghton Mifflin, pp. xvii. ISBN 0-395-60837-6.
- ^ Ted Danson: acting for the oceans - interview with actor and American Oceans Campaign co-founder Ted Danson | E: The Environmental Magazine | Find Articles at BNET.com
[edit] External links
- Danson receives the Distinguished Achievement Award from his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, in 2003
- Oceana
- Ted Danson at the Internet Movie Database
- Ted Danson's Myspace
- Video of Ted at Oceana event
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