Inside Ted Danson's Friendship With The Clintons

Ted Danson is one of America's most recognizable actors. After first skyrocketing to fame as protagonist and notorious womanizer Sam Malone in NBC's "Cheers" from 1982 until 1993, he later became famous as Jack Holden in the "Three Men" comedy film series. Most recently, he has received critical acclaim for his role as Michael in NBC's fantasy comedy series "The Good Place." Throughout his career, he has won two Primetime Emmys from 18 nominations (both for "Cheers"), and two Golden Globes from 12 nominations (also both for "Cheers"). 

However, Danson is also well known for his real-life activism, largely for environmental and ocean conservation purposes. In 2011, he even co-wrote a non-fiction book titled, "Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them," alongside journalist Michael D'Orso. Naturally then, Danson has been unafraid to poke his head in the political arena, and even has a little-known friendship with one of America's most powerful political couples: the Clintons.

What many fans of famous actor Ted Danson may not know is that he has actually been friends with the Clintons for a while, ever since he met his current wife, Mary Steenburgen. In fact, Bill, Hillary, and their daughter Chelsea even attended their 1995 wedding. "We've known her for many years," Hillary said at the time, "and we wish Mary and Ted and their families much love and happiness."

Two years later, in 1997, the Clintons even celebrated Bill's 51st birthday at Danson and Steenburgen's farmhouse, per CNN. Unsurprisingly, the Dansons also attended the "Evening Honoring President Clinton" at the home of famous studio executive Lew Wasserman in 1996, along with hundreds of other (largely big-name) guests, per Variety. 

In a 2014 interview, Danson spoke of the origins of their friendship: Steenburgen is from Arkansas — the same home state as Bill — and first became famous around the same time he was serving as governor, from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992 (Steenburgen won her Academy Award in 1981). Her father introduced them, and they quickly grew close. "One of the first 'come meet my friends' date," Danson revealed, "was in the White House, with some Secret Service kind of checking me out. So it was a smidge intimidating. Except they're so sweet." 

Naturally, given his well-known activism, Ted Danson has been unafraid to get political when it comes to the Clintons. In 2015, per Variety, he even appeared at the Clinton Global Initiative and spoke about ocean sustainability and overfishing. "It was really more of the logic of, 'This what we have been doing, this is how you do it,'" Danson said at the time. "And you can go country by country. You don't need another United Nations, another unwieldy international body, to do it."

In addition, Danson has been a major contributor to Democratic politicians, and the Clintons in particular. He was quick to jump on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign, and did so again in 2016. "[She is the] hardest-working, best prepared candidate for president," Danson said at her campaign office in Laconia, New Hampshire, in January 2016. "Everything she has done in her life has prepared her to run the business of America."

In 2016, he and Mary Steenburgen even appeared as guest speakers at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where Hillary formally became the party's nominee for president. The speech was largely focused on Steenburgen's longtime connection to the former secretary of state. "I have been blessed to call Hillary Clinton one of my closest friends since 1978," she said. "That is a whole lotta life." Danson added: "Anybody can brag, anybody can talk. Hers is the poetry of doing."