Actor and Co-founder of American Oceans Campaign, Ted Danson
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Ted Danson
Actor
BIO
Ted Danson is an actor based in Los Angeles.
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Ponderosa County, just outside of Flagstaff where his father worked as an archaeologist and anthropologist. Danson enrolled at Stanford University and - after becoming interested in acting in his second year -- transferred to Carnegie Mellon to study drama.
After graduation, Danson was hired as an understudy in Tom Stoppard's Off Broadway play "The Real Inspector Hound." Later he worked in soap operas and in commercials (most notably as the Aramis man).
He relocated to Los Angeles in 1978 to manage the Actor's Institute for 18 months while he taught there. Six months after his arrival, he played the role of Officer Ian Campell in "The Onion Field." His career took off with guest spots on several hit TV shows (including "Taxi," "Family" and "Benson" and a supporting role in the film "Body Heat." In 1982, he was cast as Sam Malone on "Cheers." The show ran for eleven years, during which time he also appeared in "Three Men and a Baby" and other notable films.
After "Cheers," Danson starred in the hit series "Becker" from 1998 to 2004 and regularly appeared in a number of films, including "Saving Private Ryan." He continues to appear on television series and films, most recently in "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Help Me Help You", "Damages" (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination) and "Mad Money."
In 1987, Danson co-founded the American Oceans Campaign (AOC) to advocate for better controls on ocean pollution and destructive fishing. In 2001, AOC became Oceana and Danson joined the new organization's board of directors. Oceana is the largest group dedicated to ocean conservation in the world, with over 300,000 supporters in 150 countries. Danson is an active board member and spokesperson for the group all over the world. In 2004, in recognition of his two decades as an ocean advocate, the group renamed its Ocean Hero Award the "Ted Danson Ocean Hero Award."
Danson is married to the Academy Award-winning actress, Mary Steenburgen and has four children.
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