Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson was born on December 29, 1947 in San Diego, California and he is my 11th cousin through my paternal lineage.

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Ted and I share a 10th Great Grandfather, Thomas Lord. I descend through Thomas' daughter, Dorothy Lord while Ted descends through Thomas' daughter, Ann Lord. Ted's connection to Thomas Lord is through his maternal side of his family.

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I first became familiar with Ted Danson through his work on the sitcom "Cheers" which ran for 11 seasons from 1982 until 1993. As the main character of the series, Sam Malone, Ted Danson won a Emmy in 1990 and again in 1993, as well as 2 Golden Globes (1990 & 1991). For years my family and I would watch the antics of the Cheers crowd and the characters and theme song are firmly planted in my memory. I also recall seeing Ted play in the movie 'Three Men and a Baby" as well as the sequel, "Three Men and a Little Lady". To me, Ted Danson was a comic actor, until I saw him play a dramatic role in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. When I first saw Ted Danson take on the role of D.B. Russell on CSI (a show in which another cousin of mine, Elizabeth Shue played Julia "Jules" Finlay), I was skeptical as to whether or not I would like his character. As it turns out, D.B. Russell was one of my favorite dramatic characters, and I think that Ted did an excellent job in that role.

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I also recall Ted playing a guest role on Laverne & Shirley, another favorite sitcom of mine (and my family) when he played Laverne's boyfriend who was a firefighter. Unlike most Laverne & Shirley shows, this one had a sad ending when Ted's character was killed in the line of duty fighting a fire. 

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Although Ted has been involved in many more TV series and movies, these are the ones that I am most familiar with. 

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Ted's career began back in 1975 when he was a contract player on a daytime soap opera called Somerset. Since that time, Ted has undoubtedly become one of the most well known Hollywood actors, and someone who almost everyone will immediately recognize.

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Ted has been married to fellow actor, Mary Steenburgen since 1995 and has 2 daughters from his previous marriage to Randall "Randy" Gosch. Randy and Ted divorced in 1993 in a highly publicized divorce proceeding which, at the time, was one of the most expensive divorces in Hollywood history and cost Ted a reported $30 million. 

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Ted Danson is yet another interesting part of my family history, and while I have never met him, and most likely won't, I think he is definitely someone worth mentioning. Thank you for entertaining us all these years, cousin!

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