Ted Danson's Life in Photos

Ted Danson's Early Years

Born on Dec. 29, 1947 in San Diego, California, Ted Danson was raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, where his father worked as an archaeologist and the director of the Museum and Research Center of Northern Arizona. He left home to study at Stanford University, where he found that he had an interest for the dramatic arts that led him to pursue an acting program elsewhere. Danson transferred to Carnegie Mellon University and earned his BFA in 1972.

His journey into acting began in the 1970s with appearances on daytime soap operas including NBC's Somerset and The Doctors.

Ted Danson's Second Wife

In 1977, Danson married his second wife, Casey Coates. (His first wife was actress Randy Gosch, whom he married in 1970 and divorced in 1975.) Coates and Danson were married for 16 years. Together they share two daughters.

Ted Danson's Daughters

Danson's two daughters, Kate (now 43) and Alexis (now 37) joined him at Cirque du Soleil on the Santa Monica Pier in 1989.

Ted Danson on Laverne & Shirley

Even before he hit his big break on Cheers, Danson dipped his toes into the sitcom genre. In February 1980, he played Laverne's fireman boyfriend for a one-episode stint on Laverne & Shirley.

Ted Danson in TV Movies

Danson also appeared in a few television films, like the 1980 thriller Once Upon a Spy.

Ted Danson's Big Break on Cheers

Danson is still best known for his iconic role on NBC's Cheers. His performance as smooth-talking Sam Malone, the bartender and owner of the titular hangout spot, turned Danson's career into stardom over the course of 11 seasons.

In honor of Cheers's 40th anniversary, Danson told Entertainment Tonight that he was "so blessed" to have played Sam Malone and expressed his gratitude: "Everything I do is because of the popularity of that show."

Danson won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his time on Cheers.

Ted Danson's Cheers Costars

Danson wasn't the only mega-star spending time at the bar where "everybody knows your name." He shared the set with big names like John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, Kirstie Alley, Woody Harrelson, George Wendt and Shelley Long (not pictured), who played Sam Malone's on-and-off love interest.

Ted Danson and Shelley Long's Cheers Chemistry

On Cheers, Danson's Sam Malone and Long's Diane Chambers might have endured a rollercoaster of a romance, but their flirtations were far more like tennis matches. Even if they weren't "meant to be" in the end, their back and forth kept fans glued to their screens every week.

Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley on Cheers

Following the death of his Cheers costar Kirstie Alley in 2022, Danson literally looked back on her "truly brilliant" performance on the show. With the late actress in mind, Danson told PEOPLE that he tuned into an old episode of Cheers — "something I rarely do," he said.

"It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes," Danson continued. "Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny."

Ted Danson in Something About Amelia

In 1984, Danson showed his dramatic range in the TV movie Something About Amelia, his first time sharing the screen with Glenn Close. His lead performance earned Danson his first Golden Globe award and his second Emmy nomination.

Ted Danson in Three Men and a Baby

Though Danson is well known for his television work, he's also made his mark on the big screen. One of his most popular films is the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby.

In the film, Danson, Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg play a trio of bachelors who find themselves splitting fatherhood duties when a former partner of Danson's character drops a baby off on the roommates' doorstep.

Ted Danson's Golden Globes

In addition to the Golden Globe he took home for Something About Amelia, Danson earned two more for his performance as Sam Malone in Cheers, in 1990 (pictured) and 1991.

Ted Danson's Emmys

In 1990, Danson took home his first-ever Emmy for outstanding actor in a comedy series, which was his ninth nomination (for roles including Cheers and Something About Amelia).

Danson would go on to win another statuette for the final season of Cheers in 1993, and today he can boast a total count of 18 Emmy nominations.

Ted Danson and Whoopi Goldberg's Relationship

Danson dated Whoopi Goldberg in the early 90s. During their time as a couple, they costarred in the 1993 rom-com Made in America alongside Nia Long and Will Smith.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburger's Relationship

Danson and Mary Steenburgen played a husband-wife duo in the 1994 adventure flick Pontiac Moon, and an onscreen romance turned into a real-life relationship.

The duo had met before they joined on set of Pontiac Moon–Danson auditioned to play Steenburgen's spouse on Cross Creek back in 1983, but failed to get the part. Looking back, Danson says he's glad he didn't win the role. "I was a hot mess back then," the actor told PEOPLE in February 2021, when the pair was featured as a cover story for the Love Issue.

Luckily, the two reconnected while filming Pontiac Moon and have stayed linked ever since.

Ted Danson's Wedding to Mary Steenburgen

On October 7, 1995, Steenburgen and Danson tied the knot in a ceremony on Martha's Vineyard in front of guests that included Danson's Cheers castmates and some of Steenburgen's former costars including Tom Hanks and Jeff Goldblum. Longtime friend of the bride and then-President Bill Clinton, who was accompanied by first lady Hillary Clinton, even gave a speech at their rehearsal dinner.

Decades later, the duo is still as smitten as ever. In 2018, Steenburgen told PEOPLE that their surviving love "gets more profound and deeper as we go through the blessings and joys, but also the hurdles, of life together." She added: "I would literally sign up for 100 more lifetimes with him."

In 2021, Danson only echoed his wife's sentiment from a few years earlier. "I want as long as possible in my life with Mary," he told PEOPLE. "I know it will have all of its hard parts but I want to experience love in all those moments."

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's Blended Family

Together, Danson and Steenburgen share a blended family which consists of Danson's two daughters and Steenburgen's children with ex-husband Malcom McDowell, Lily McDowell, 47, and son Charlie McDowell, 39.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen Act Together On Screen

Danson and Steenburgen didn't stop sharing screens once they were married. In 1996, they again played husband and wife in a miniseries adaptation of Gulliver's Travels–Danson as Dr. Lemuel Gulliver and Steenburgen as his wife, Mary.

Ted Danson on Becker

In 1998, Danson returned to the world of sitcoms as Dr. John Becker, the titular lead in CBS's Becker. For six seasons, he played a cranky, pessimistic doctor working in the Bronx whose negativity is constantly exacerbated by his co-workers and patients. Playing these friends and frenemies were actors Shawnee Smith, Hattie Winston, Terry Farrell and Alex Desert.

Ted Danson Gets a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Danson's status was cemented in stone in 1999, when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen Costar in Ink

Danson and Steenburgen set their feelings aside in the 1996 series Ink, in which they play divorced journalists working at the same newspaper.

Ted Danson in Curb Your Ebthusiasm

Though Danson is a real-life pal of Larry David's, he certainly knows how to get under his fictional skin in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Cheers alum has made several appearances on the satire series as David's frenemy. In fact, the second-ever episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, titled "Ted and Mary," sees David and his TV wife spending time with their new celebrity couple friends, Danson and Steenburgen.

Ted Danson Reunites with Glenn Close in Damages

About 23 years after they first worked together on Something About Amelia, Danson and Glenn Close reunited for the FX series Damages, which aired from 2007 to 2010. For three of the show's five seasons, Danson played accused criminal Arthur Frobisher and Close played opposing attorney Patty Hewes. They were joined on set of the legal thriller by costars Martin Short, Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan.

Tedd Danson Supports Mary Steenburgen

Danson showed up to support his wife when she got her own star on the Walk of Fame in 2009.

Ted Danson's Climate Activism

In 2011, Danson put his longtime devotion to environmentalism into words. He published a book called Oceana: Our Planet's Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. The book dives into the damage sustained by Earth's waters due to overfishing and pollution.

The book also details his own journey as a climate activist, which began with his interest as a child and evolved into real-world action in the '80s, when he helped found the American Oceans Campaign that would later become the conservation organization Oceana. In 1991, Danson hosted the A&E documentary series Challenge of the Seas.

Ted Danson on CSI

Danson played D.B. Russell in CBS's fictional crime show CSI from 2011 to 2016. During his last year with the franchise, Danson's character transitioned onto season 2 of the show's spinoff, CSI: Cyber.

At the time of his joining the cast, CSI executives spoke about their excitement to bring him on board. Producer Don McGill called Danson a "perfect" fit. "Intelligence, wit, warmth, depth of character and emotion, he brings it all," said McGill in 2011. "And now he'll have to bring latex gloves, too."

Ted Danson o nFargo

During its second season, Danson joined the FX series Fargo as Sheriff Hank Larsson, the father-in-law of state trooper Lou Solverson, played by Patrick Wilson. Throughout the season the duo investigate a triple homicide that took place at a local diner.

Ted Danson on The Good Place

Even though NBC's The Good Place was set in hell, the comedy series showcased Danson's heavenly comic timing. For four seasons, the Hollywood veteran starred as Michael, a "Bad Place" demon who discovers a new way to "torture" souls who misbehaved while alive on Earth. Alongside his robotic assistant Janet (D'Arcy Carden) he tricks Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jason (Manny Jacinto) into thinking they've gone to the heaven-like "Good Place," only to drive them all insane with self-doubt.

After the quartet discovers Michael's deception, a wide arc of development unfolds for Danson's anti-heroic character. By the end of the series, Michael is a friend to his former torture targets and works to help them discover their destinies.

The cast was quick to form a bond, and Danson has spoken about the tight knit friendships he found on set. When the show wrapped in 2020, the actor said Steenburgren hosted a sleepover for her husband and the whole Good Place gang. "It makes a party even better when you can wake up, have a coffee and reminisce," said Danson on the Today show.

Ted Danson at a Climate Change Rally

In 2019, Danson joined fellow environmentalist Jane Fonda in a protest to raise climate change awareness outside of the U.S. capitol. Both of the green-minded celebrities were arrested during the rally.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen Celebrate 25 Years of Marriage

Danson and Steenburgen celebrated 25 years together in 2020, which she commemorated with an adorable Instagram post.

"Thank you for making me laugh today and every single one of the last 9,125 days. You are the goofiest, wisest, kindest, dreamboat in the world," she captioned a selfie of them. "I can't believe how lucky I am."

A few months later, the happy couple appeared on the cover of PEOPLE's first-ever Love Issue. In the magazine, Danson opened up about their lasting relationship and his appreciation for his wife.

"If you keep being grateful for your life, your heart gets bigger. The bigger your heart, the more you get to love. Part of being human is to experience loving and being loved," he said in February 2021. "I have that every day. When that kind of circle of love and being loved gets going, it's truly divine."

Ted Danson in Mr. Mayor

In 2021, Danson took on the lead role of Neil Bremer in Mr. Mayor, an NBC sitcom co-created by Tina Fey. The show (which also features Bobby Moynihan and Holly Hunter) follows Danson's character, a retired businessman, as he runs for mayor of Los Angeles.

Speaking to PEOPLE about his latest project in January 2021, Danson shared his hopes for fans to be "delighted" by the series.

"I want them to take away a good laugh," Danson said. "That's our job. Our job is to be funny. Our job is to be funny in the brightest way we know how. All of us."