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!

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.

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.

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.