Ted Danson

Person Score

 
9.0 Superb
146 votes

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Ted Danson Picture

Biography

Recent Role:
D.B. Russell on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Gender:
Male
Born:
12-29-1947
Birthplace:
San Diego, California
Birth Name:
Edward Bridge Danson III
He was born Edward Bridge Danson III in San Diego, California, the son of an archaeologist. He was raised outside of 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's degree.

Danson was married to Casey Coates from 1977 to 1993. He is currently married to actress Mary Steenburgen whom he wed on October 7, 1995. He is

More stepfather to her daughter and son.

Danson, while still married to his first wife, was involved with Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi broke off the romance soon after he appeared at a Friar's Club roast in blackface and proposed to her. However, credible reports state that Whoopi acknowledges that she wrote some of Ted's blackface skit, so this was most likely not the cause of their separation.

Before Danson was a famous actor, he was known to dabble in the monkeywrenching sport of billboard toppling with childhood friend Marc Gaede along the highway between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

Ted Danson is well known for his role as Sam Malone in the television series Cheers. During the show's 12-year run, he was nominated nine times for an Emmy Award as Best Actor in a Comedy Series and won twice, in 1990 and 1993. The role also earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989 and 1990. He and his wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, starred in and were executive producers of the CBS comedy series Ink.
In 1984, Danson received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in the television movie Something About Amelia , in which he starred opposite Glenn Close. He also starred opposite Lee Remick in The Women's Room . In 1986, he made his debut as a television producer with When the Bough Breaks , in which he also starred. He later starred in the mini-series Gulliver's Travels and Thanks of a Grateful Nation . Danson's numerous feature film credits include The Onion Field , in which he made his debut as Officer Ian Campbell, Body Heat , Three Men and a Baby , 3 Men and a Little Lady , Cousins , Dad , Made in America , Saving Private Ryan , Mumford , and Jerry and Tom .
Danson was raised just outside Flagstaff, Ariz. He attended Stanford University, where he became interested in drama during his second year. In 1972, he transferred to Carnegie-Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Tech) in Pittsburgh. After graduation, he was hired as an understudy in Tom Stoppard's Off Broadway production of "The Real Inspector Hound." Danson moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and studied with Dan Fauci at the Actor's Institute, where he also taught classes. Danson lives with his family in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), an organization established to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazards created by oil spills, offshore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses.

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  •  
    1 Abysmal

    Ted Danson is a joke.Fire the casting director immediately.

    hide show

    Seriously? Who hired this idiot? I used to love this show but I will NEVER watch it again as long as this moron is on the show. He doesn't fit in at all. What a crappy casting job...whoever hired him should be fired along with him. Totally unbelievable in this role. Good grief. Is this the best you could do with all the actors that are out there? This is your answer to Grissom?

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  •  
    8.7 Great
    Not just a funny face. hide show

    This man's chief asset is his impeccable comic timing, as any given episode of Cheers or Becker will prove. He's a gift for physical comedy, too, with his lanky frame and suitably arresting mug (I happen to think he's handsome but I won't deny he was born to look amusingly dumbfounded). Just watch him and Terry Farrell engaging in a slapstick tango after his character puts his back out in Becker - classic stuff.

    While comedy is obviously his bread and butter, it may surprise some to learn that he's equally able when it comes to drama. He handles 'serious' bits in between the laughs with aplomb, proves himself a fine addition to any ensemble though he is well able to carry a piece by himself (see Talking to Heaven, Gulliver's Travels among others). Spot him in a workmanlike cameo in the decidedly hilarity-free Saving Private Ryan, too - not a laughter track in sight.

    I won't use 'gifted'; that's going a bit too far, and he does tend to have a certain schtick nowadays (typecasting?) He is in this humble reviewer's opinion, however, a nuanced, genuinely entertaining veteran standout in today's painfully generic 'funny' brigade, and a pleasure to watch no matter the material, which is often, alas, nothing special. Becker, while occasionally biting, was hardly bleeding edge stuff and just couldn't resist those maudlin moments, a disease it seems the vast majority of sitcoms invariably fall victim to.

    Here's hoping he finds a worthy showcase for his talents in his golden years. And for pete's sake steer clear of the sentimental junk, Ted - you can do better!

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    I can see it now a “late night tirades with Ted Danson” hide show

    If any one who is reading this has seen has seen becker they will know what I’m talking about when I say late night tirades, morning, afternoon, evening, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner and in the bathroom it really didn't matter. But this is what the show what such a great feel, Ted Danson said over the top character.

    Most people when they think of Ted Danson they think of cheers and Sam Malone but that was a different time and with a different generation. I think Ted Danson was able to reach the younger audience and whole different breed of TV viewers, And this my friends could be the reason why this man is one of the greatest television personalities of all time. Twenty three years separate me and my mother she grew up with cheers and I myself am glued to the screen every day the week by Ted Danson with Becker. Come to think of it I think this is the only thing that my mother and I really do agree on. We if different tastes and foods, different taste in music different thoughts and beliefs Christ we don’t even look alike. But somehow which come together with this.

    Two great shows, two different generations but with one thing it in common one phenomenal actor. I guess there’s only one thing left to say Ted Danson you rule.

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    3 Bad
    Constructive critisism hide show

    I think in a character role he doesn't do too bad. But as an actor in general he could do a lot better. I feel like I am watching exactly the same show whenever I see him acting. All of his characters are the same or have the same vibe to them and to me that doesn't spell out a good actor.

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  •  
    7.5 Good
    Man Ted Danson is great actor but always was a cocky person in Cheers (I Hate Cocky People)
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    Danson was raised just outside Flagstaff, Ariz. He attended Stanford University, where he became interested in drama during his second year. In 1972, he transferred to Carnegie-Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Tech) in Pittsburgh. After graduation, he was hired as an understudy in Tom Stoppard's Off Broadway production of "The Real Inspector Hound." Danson moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and studied with Dan Fauci at the Actor's Institute, where he also taught classes. Danson lives with his family in Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), an organization established to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazards created by oil spills, offshore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses.

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