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Ted Danson biography

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Ted Danson is an American actor best known for playing bartender Sam Malone on the hit TV sitcom Cheers.


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Synopsis

Ted Danson is an American actor born on December 29, 1947 in San Diego, California. Danson appeared on several TV shows in the 1970s to early '80s, most notably as Sam Malone in Cheers (1982). During the series’ eleven seasons, Danson won a Golden Globe Award,

two Emmy Awards and several Emmy nominations. He earned another Golden Globe Award for his role in the TV miniseries Something About Amelia (1984) and received acclaim for his role in the film Three Men and a Baby (1987). In 2011, he joined the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Early Life

Actor Edward Bridge Danson III was born on December 29, 1947, in San Diego, California. Danson was raised by his father, Edward Danson, a prominent archaeologist, on a Navajo reservation in Arizona.

In 1966, Danson attended Stanford University in Stanford, California, where his interest in acting was motivated by a girlfriend and fellow drama enthusiast. In 1968, the aspiring actor transferred to the drama department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a drama degree, but soon abandoned stage acting for the profitable world of television commercials, where he won attention as the suave "Aramis Man."

Career Highlights and "Cheers"

Danson's first continual TV role was that of a villain on the NBC soap opera Sommerset (1974-76). Movie offers soon followed, and Danson landed his first part as a cop in the 1979 film The Onion Field. In the early ??'80s, he was featured in a few unsuccessful TV movies, including The Women's Room (1980) and Our Family Business (1981). His most acclaimed project during this period was in the sultry film noir Body Heat (1981), alongside stars Kathleen Turner and William Hurt.

Danson first achieved national recognition for his portrayal of the skirt-chasing bartender Sam "Mayday" Malone on NBC's comedy series Cheers (1982). Danson played the role for 11 seasons, during which he earned a Golden Globe Award, two Emmy Awards, and several Emmy nominations. During this time, he also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries for Something About Amelia (1984), as a father who seeks help for sexually abusing his daughter.

While he enjoyed continued success on the small screen, he intermittently tried his hand at film. In 1987, Danson, along with co-stars Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg, achieved critical acclaim with the hit Three Men and a Baby. A few years later, the trio of actors reprised their roles in the sequel Three Men and a Little Lady (1990).

Return to Television

In 1996, Danson returned to TV in the highly acclaimed miniseries Gulliver's Travels, and in the short-lived sitcom Ink, which paired him with Steenburgen. In the late 1990s, he landed the title role in the CBS sitcom Becker (1998), and also starred in the feature film Mumford (1999).

After a few less-than-stellar efforts, Danson has recently experienced a television renaissance. He wowed critics and audiences alike with his portrayal of charming yet devious businessman opposite Glenn Close in the legal drama Damages from 2007 to 2010. Returning to the comic form that same year, Danson landed a co-starring role in the offbeat comedy Bored to Death with Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis.

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