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Ted Danson: Tall, handsome and a little goofy?
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| Danson |
September 20, 1999
Web posted at: 12:29 p.m. EDT (1629
GMT)
By Bonnie Churchill
LOS ANGELES -- Ted Danson was cruising down the Amazon River. It was early morning, and the intense heat hadn't settled in. On either side of the flat-bottomed boat was lush jungle, with colorful birds showing their plumage as they skimmed the water.
Danson and his actress-wife Mary Steenburgen were in a relaxed mood. Rivers have always been special to them -- they fell in love on a river and always find a river somewhere to cruise when their wedding anniversary rolls round.
The tempo of the day suddenly switched into high gear when their guide asked, "Like to see some little caiman up close?" Before they could ask, "What's that?" the guide plopped one onto the deck. The caiman, a reptile similar to an alligator, slowly eyeballed the group.
"Some baby," Danson recalled. "That sucker was 3 feet long. Definitely a no-touchy scenario."
The adventure started out as six nights and seven days on the river and four days in Peru. "I think my most memorable moment was in the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. My dad is an archaeologist, so I knew about this royal estate built around 1438 A.D. Walking high in the Andes, under a full moon, and knowing my footsteps were on land once walked in ancient times, was very humbling."
He'd earned a break
Danson very much needed the holiday.
Last season he'd launched his CBS TV series, "Becker." In its Monday-night slot, it became one of the network's breakaway hits. Before that the actor had squeezed in a role for his pal, Lawrence Kasdan, in "Mumford."
"I was at an American Oceans Campaign meeting (Ted's one of its founding members), when the president described a cruise he'd made on the Amazon.
"I came home and told Mary about it, and soon we were making phone calls and getting travel information. It started out as just us two, then we added our four teenagers, and so it grew to 28 family members -- nieces, nephews, sisters. And everyone had a camera. In fact, we could show our videos for months, boring our friends."
The last night on the Amazon was also captured on video. "Mary got the idea of doing a show for the crew. We did 'Oklahoma,' and the only thing that stopped a third curtain call was when the guide spotted something in the water. The moonlight and a floodlight revealed six pairs of giant alligator eyes!
"Back home on Sunday, Mary and I were having breakfast. I'd cooked my favorite omelet," Danson paused. "Don't look surprised. Maybe I can't cook you a meal, but I can cook up great snacks. Mary joined me at the kitchen table with a short stack of her favorite chocolate-chip pancakes and we began 'that game': 'Know what we were doing three weeks ago today?' Of course, Mary knew, for she kept a record. The guide was cooking a freshly caught piranha, and we were supposed to eat the fish."
Danson recalled that dinner vividly. He was the first to taste it and report to the 27 skeptics. "Yum," he described, "it's cooked crispy, very bony, and tastes just like chicken."
Fourth wedding anniversary near
Next month (October 7) Ted and Mary celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary. He readily admits, "I'm madly in love with my wife. When I look back on my childhood, I can't remember a day someone in my family didn't say I love you. It seems natural. When I met Mary on the set of 'Pontiac Moon,' I knew this was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
Danson went to a jeweler and had a special ring made, then carried it around in his pocket for two months trying to get up his courage. "I kept rehearsing, 'I want to marry you.' Somehow it just didn't sound right."
Then, during one of his rehearsals, he thought, "Oh, you big idiot! It's 'Will you marry me?'" Once he got it right, he boarded a plane to Houston, where she was on location for a movie, and popped the question.
Last year he finished filming an episode of "Becker" on a Friday, drove to the airport and boarded a plane for Australia, where Mary was working. Arrived Saturday, said: "Happy third anniversary," had dinner, exchanged gifts, then took the long flight back to L.A. to resume his TV series on Monday.
Though their marriage is wonderful, Danson says, careerwise that third year wasn't always smooth. After a 12-year run on "Cheers," followed by such successful films as "Three Men and a Baby" and his TV miniseries, "Gulliver's Travels," a new TV series seemed like money in the bank. It would star Ted and Mary and be called "Ink." But no matter how hard they worked, it just wouldn't fly.
Last season, Danson read the script for a new series in which he'd play a grouchy, workaholic doctor named John Becker. He hoped audiences would love it as much as he, but there are no sure things on TV.
Making 'Mumford'
"Before I started 'Becker,' I did a smallish role in the (Touchstone) movie, 'Mumford.' I had worked with Larry Kasdan 18 years ago in his first directorial job, 'Body Heat.' My next job was on a new series called 'Cheers.' I thought why not join the ensemble cast in 'Mumford,' for I'll be doing it just before I start 'Becker'? It might be a good omen."
Kasdan told me that Danson's "Mumford" movie character is a 180-degree turn from the actor's real personality. The generous-spirited Danson plays an ego-driven husband, so full of himself his day begins with me and ends with I. "That's kind of Larry to say," Danson commented. "Maybe when my kids see it, they'll say, 'Yes, that's dad.'"
His wife, Mary, thinks the role is a stretch as an actor, but nothing like her real-life husband. She admits, "My dream was always to find someone who was tall, handsome and a little goofy." Edward Bridges Danson III fits the image perfectly!
(c) 1999, Bonnie Churchill. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
Something familiar: Monday night fall TV
August 31, 1999
Guy TV: Networks vying for remote control
November 17, 1998
Danson prescribes a steady diet of 'Becker'
November 3, 1998
CBS
•'Becker'
Official 'Mumford' site
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