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For someone with a Stanford degree, Ted Danson has had quite the run in the American film industry with an amazing career of almost five decades. His stardom might have taken a while to bloom, but he sure got there via the NBC sitcom, Cheers where he starred as the lead character and for which he won several awards and nominations. So, it’s no wonder that he went on to land more big roles with ease like in the NBC drama and comedy, The Good Place and Damages. Ted’s career has seen quite the success over the years, enough to even earn him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This iconic star and legend has led a life worthy of emulation by both the young and old of Hollywood. Let's find out how he got to this point with such ease and grace.

The Early Life Of Ted Danson

Edward Bridge Danson III, popularly known as Ted Danson was born in 1947 to an archeologist father, Ned Bridge Danson, who was director of the Museum of Northern Arizona for 16 years. His mother was Jessica and he had an older sister who was born 3 years before he was born.

At 14, he was already enrolled in a preparatory school where he excelled as a great basketball player. While there, his interest in drama sparked and he enrolled into Stanford University but for the love of drama and need to find a better environment for his drama interests, he made a transfer to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. By the time he turned 25, he already had his bachelor’s degree in fine arts.

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Ted’s Entry In Hollywood

At the young age of 28, Danson’s television career officially started as a player on contract for Somerset; a daytime soap opera. His role lasted for just one year before he moved on in the following year to another soap opera called The Doctors. He had some form of success in getting commercial gigs and even earned the notable title, The Aramis Man. Barely a decade later, Danson had his first career breakthrough when he won the opportunity to star as a bartender and former local legendary baseball player known as Sam Malone on the sitcom, Cheers.

The sitcom didn’t perform so well at first but about four years later, the ratings improved such that the sitcom became one of the top 10 shows on TV, and by the time its final season aired its finale in 1993, about 80 million people worldwide watched the show, making it one of the most watched finales in the history of television. This was Danson’s first career break and road to stardom as his performances in the show earned him several awards and recognitions including 2 Golden Globe awards and 2 Emmy awards.

Danson’s Venture Into Comedy

Surprisingly, Ted Danson is quite good at comedy and some of his best-known works today are actually comedy, he is also good at drama and even has a work to that effect called Something About Amelia. He went up a step on his career ladder when he starred in the short CBS sitcom, Ink barely 3 years after Cheers and in that same year, he also starred in the television series, Gulliver’s Travels.

His career growth proved to be progressive as he was featured in the CBS sitcom Becker which was produced by the same company that produced Cheers; Paramount Television. Becker lasted for about 6 years and it was during this time he got awarded with a star on the Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

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Ted’s Career Break And Comeback

Danson seems to have taken a short career break of two years but he returned and in the same year that he returned, he got a nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Movie. The following year saw Danson starring in an FX Network drama, Damages, a role he executed so well that it earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

This celebrated millionaire who is worth about $80 million went on to star in the popular HBO sitcom, Bored to Death where commentators will often opine that Danson was the best part of the sitcom as his character was a “scene stealer”. 2011 saw Ted Danson starring in a CBS Police Drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. His role was executed perfectly and 2 years later, he was seen signing a deal to extend his stay on CSI for 2 more years and this extended his role to a product of CSI: Cyber which aired for only two seasons.

There was no stopping Danson now and he didn’t plan to stop anytime soon as 2015 saw him emerging in the second season of Fargo and the following year, he co-starred with Kristen Bell in The Good Place for which has also gotten numerous nominations and awards. One of his most recent works still remains his main lead role for Mr. Mayor, a sitcom which NBC added to their 2020-2021 TV series.

Ted’s Other Interests And Ventures

The 57-year-old Ted Danson has definitely excelled in his television career, making a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s most loved veterans and surely, there must be more to expect from him. He has also been in the news for negative and non-television related issues like his divorce with his second wife Cassandra Casey Coates which cost him $30 million to earn the title of one of the most expensive celebrity divorces of all time. He and his current wife own several luxurious estates including a $3.5 million home in Santa Monica, 6-acre numerous residences spread on Martha’s Vineyard and a small cottage in Nashville amongst many others.

Apart from television and Hollywood, Danson is also passionate about the environment and its preservation including the state of the world’s Oceans which has influenced him into becoming one of the key organizers and a board member of the American Oceans Campaigns. Little wonder why the first book he ever published was Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. He is also someone who has interests in politics and was once caught donating over $85,000 to some Democratic candidates including Bill Clinton who happens to be a close friend of Danson’s. He also donated to Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008.

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Sources: Clutch Points, Express, and Celebrity Net Worth.