Ted Danson’s long career as an actor, particularly in sitcoms, has earned himself the nickname “The King of Sitcom.” After discovering a huge passion for acting while in college, Ted Danson soon devoted his life to the craft. He began with local theatre, and slowly worked his way up to larger productions. Finally, he made his transition to on screen acting.
Ted Danson’s first time appearing on screen was on a day-time soap opera called Somerset. Despite these humble origins, however, Ted Danson’s talent would eventually prevail, and before long, he would land the role of the lead character, Sam Malone, in the iconic NBC sitcom, Cheers. After Cheers eventually ended in 1993, Ted Danson had no trouble continuing his career in both film and television. While Ted Danson’s role as Sam Malone will likely remain the most iconic and memorable character of his acting career, he has proved time and time again that he is capable of branching out into many other forms of acting.
Today, Ted Danson is still amazing his fans with his acting skills, and more recently, he has played the role of Michael in the beloved sitcom The Good Place. Throughout his career, Ted Danson has been nominated for a stunning 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, 11 Golden Globe Awards, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. He has also been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, Ted Danson’s career is far from over. Even at 73, he shows no signs of retiring from his prolific career anytime soon! In fact, it’s likely he will continue with his passion for the rest of his life.
Despite being a huge name in Hollywood, however, Ted Danson is rather unusual. While many celebrities and actors are known for short and fickle relationships, Ted Danson has been lovingly married to Mary Steenburgen for over 25 years! Even more amazing is the fact that the two publicly gush over each other even after all this time. But what is the secret to this long and loving relationship?
In today’s video, we’re going to take a look at the long and winding road that finally brought Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen together. Ted Danson may be with the love of his life at the moment, but there were a lot of ups and downs, both romantically and in his career, that finally brought the two of them together forever. Make sure you stick around, because we’re also going to reveal how Ted Danson’s crush on a girl in college actually caused him to become an actor!
Ted Danson’s Early Life
Ted Danson was born on December 29th, 1947, in San Diego to Edward “Ned” Bridge Danson and Jessica MacMaster. Danson’s father was an archaeologist who also worked as the director of the Museum of North America for over a decade. He was somewhat of a wild child, and one of his favorite things to do with his friends was destroy advertising billboards.
Believe it or not, Ted Danson was actually devoted to basketball during his early life. Standing at 6’2″, however, it’s no wonder he had some talent on the court. While attending a prep school in Connecticut, Danson became the school’s star basketball player. He was granted admission to the prestigious Stanford University. As he grew older, however, Danson’s passions and career goals would eventually change.
He Got Into Acting to Impress a Girl
While attending Stanford University, Danson became attracted to a girl at his school. When he learned she was auditioning for one of the school’s theatre productions, he decided to audition, as well, just to impress her. However, he was surprised to find that he actually made it into the production, and soon developed a huge love of theatre. Before long, he dropped out of every single course that wasn’t related to theatre, and filled his schedule with acting classes.
Ted Danson may have had it good at Stanford University, but he felt that the school’s drama program was lacking. As a result, in 1971, he transferred to Carnegie Mellon University to study acting. He graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama.
His First Tragic Romance
For a while, all thoughts of romance left Ted Danson’s head as he became more and more involved with acting. However, it wasn’t long before he let love back into his life again. While he was still attending Stanford University, he met a different woman who caught his eye. Before he made the switch to Carnegie Mellon University, he married fellow actor Randall “Randy” Gosch. The two were wed in 1970, but their marriage was short-lived. First, their relationship was strained after Danson transferred to Carnegie Mellon University, and the distance proved difficult.
To make matters worse, after Danson’s graduation in 1972, he had a hard time finding work as an actor. In 1975, the two realized that their relationship simply wasn’t working out, and they divorced.
After Danson made it big with Cheers, however, Randy used her previous marriage to the actor as a way to find fame herself. While attending auditions, she used the name “Randy Danson,” hoping it would give her a better chance of landing roles.
A Disastrous Divorce
Sadly, Danson’s failed relationship with Randy Gosch wouldn’t be the only one to end in heartbreak. In 1977, Ted Danson married producer Cassandra “Casey” Coates. They were married for over a decade, but their marriage wasn’t without strife. In 1979, while Coates was giving birth to their first child, a daughter named Kate, Coates endured a stroke. It took years for her to heal from the damaging experience. While the couple wanted more children, Cassandra Coates knew it would be too dangerous for her to give birth again. Instead, they adopted a second daughter named Alexis.
However, Danson had a scandalous affair with comedian Whoopi Goldberg, which left Cassandra Coates understandably angry and devastated. This, along with other contributing factors, caused the couple to divorce in 1993. It was also the most expensive divorce in Hollywood at the time, and it made huge headlines.
Thankfully, Danson would eventually find love in Mary Steenburgen. Make sure you stick around until the very end, because we’re going to reveal how they’ve managed to stay together so long, despite being so busy in their careers. And if you’re enjoying this video so far, please take a moment to like this video, and subscribe to our channel for more!
His Amazing Work on Cheers
Ted Danson may be making headlines still with his amazing work in various sitcoms and films, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever play a role as iconic as the role of Sam Malone in Cheers. In fact, Ted Danson was so good at the role that every single year Cheers aired, he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy series. He won two of these nominations. Today, Cheers is still one of the most beloved sitcoms to ever grace the television screen.
He Is Well Known as an Environmental Activist
Ted Danson became aware of environmental activism at a young age, when he was just 12 years old! He is especially concerned with the state of our earths’ oceans, whose delicate ecosystems are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and global warming. In 1991, he even hosted a television series called Challenge of the Seas. In 2011, he also published a book on environmentalism called Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. He has also donated a lot of his earnings to various organizations bent on helping the environment.
How Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen Met
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen have possibly one of the cutest romantic stories ever in Hollywood. In 1994, Ted Danson was 45, and Mary Steenburgen was 40. They were both cast in the 1994 film Pontiac Moon, and they played a married couple. At the time, both Danson and Steenburgen had suffered failed marriages, and they both had two children of their own. Throughout the filming of Pontiac Moon, however, the romance between their characters became more than an act. Steenburgen explained to People in 2018 that they had both “lived a bit,” and said they were lucky they met when they did. Before long, the two were dating.
A Long and Loving Marriage
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen married a year later, in 1995. Their wedding was attended by many celebrities, including James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Hanks! Their marriage was anything but superficial, however, and even after 25 years, the two are still madly in love with one another.
Many relationships between celebrities end poorly because they are so busy with work. Danson and Steenburgen knew early on that their relationship would face challenges, but they do the best they can. They have learned to accommodate each other’s schedules so that they can see each other as often as possible.
Ted Danson has certainly had a long and winding road towards his romance with Mary Steenburgen. Were you more surprised to learn that Ted Danson got into acting because he had a crush on a girl, or that he’s been married to Mary Steenburgen for over 25 years? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
