Ted Danson

Biography:

There are a few celebrities who take up an environmental cause and actually move beyond a superficial commitment. Ted Danson is one of those. He is the co-founding member of the American Oceans Campaign (AOC), an organization established to alert Americans to the life-threatening hazardscreated by oil spills, offshore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses. Throwing his whole self into the issues, while lobbying on Capitol Hill, he has been known to chase senators into elevators. 

Danson starred in the recent CBS series Becker, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination. He is also well known for his role in the long-running series Cheers, for which he received two Emmy Awards (1990 and 1993) as Best Actor in a Comedy Series and nine Emmy nominations for his portrayal of SamMalone. The role also won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989 and 1990. Danson's other television credits include the CBS series Ink, Frasier, Veronica's Closet, Ellen and The Larry David Show. He also won a Golden Globe for his role in the television movie Something About Amelia. 

At the height of his success on Cheers, Ted Danson made an important decision to focus on a neglected cause – our oceans. His amazing journey takes him from founding a local group to help ensure that his daughters could have a cleanplace to swim, to learning that a worldwide collapse of our oceans will occur unless we act soon. 

OUR OCEANS UNDER ATTACK: THE OTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH 
Taking us into the Ocean in a visually stunning, sometimes disturbing but ultimately inspiring multimedia presentation, Ted Danson confronts the "Inconvenient Truth" that our Oceans are at a critical juncture and that without action we face unimaginable consequences. 
Oceans cover 71 percent of the globe, and they are as important to us as they are vast. Not only do they control our climate; they are a primary source of protein for 1 Billion people around the world and drive our economies. For millions of sailors, swimmers and vacationers of all stripes, they offer a refuge from the metal and concrete that encase our working lives. 

Scientists believe our oceans will face a bleak future if nothing is done. Large-scale industrial fishing takes too much ocean wildlife from the water; land-based industries, meanwhile, put too many pollutants back in; and the laws meant to check this destruction are ignored or selectively enforced. Scientific study shows the result: declining fisheries, destruction of marine habitat, pollution of coastal waters and poisoning ofseafood. These tremendous challenges are threatening the Earth’s largest and most important natural eco-system, and the tens of millions of people who depend on the sea for their livelihood and sustenance. 

Ted Danson founded the American Oceans Campaign (AOC) in 1987, to alert Americans to the increasingly threatening hazards created by oil spills, off-shore development, toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean abuses. AOC merged with Oceana in 2001. Mr. Danson currently serves as a member of Oceana’s Board of Directors. He was honored by Oceana when the organization renamed its Ocean Hero Award the “Ted Danson Ocean Hero Award.” 
In March 2011, Ted published his first book, Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans And What We Can Do To Save Them, written with journalist Michael D'Orso.

Showing yet another dimension in his talents, Danson turned forensics investigator in 2011. The actor joined the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as supervisor D. B. Russell, filling the shoes formerly filled by Laurence Fishburne. Adding Danson to this once-top 10 show has been seen as an effort to return the crime drama to former ratings glory. Only time will tell if his presence will be enough to boost the more-than-decade-old series.