Ted Danson was honored at the 28th Annual Television Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday alongside his daughter Kate Danson and wife Mary Steenburgen.
The 78-year-old actor made a rare red-carpet appearance with 46-year-old Kate as he joined fellow inductees Jean Smart, Ted Sarandos, the late Ed Bradley, and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone at the industry event.
Standing at six-foot-two, Danson wore a dark suit and tie that matched Kate's navy print frock and Steenburgen's black dress as the trio posed for photographers.
Danson shares Kate and her 40-year-old sister Katrina with his ex-wife Casey Coates, whom he was married to from 1977 to 1993. Danson is also stepfather to Steenburgen's two children, 45-year-old Lilly and 43-year-old Charlie, from her previous marriage to actor Malcolm McDowell.
Danson and Steenburgen, 73, first met in 1983 but did not start dating until a decade later, eventually tying the knot in 1995.
Television Academy Hall of Fame Class
The ceremony recognized prominent figures in television broadcasting and production. Alongside Danson, the 28th Television Academy Hall of Fame class included Hacks star Jean Smart, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, late 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Rare Red-Carpet Appearance With Daughter Kate
The Los Angeles gala marked a rare public outing for Danson and his eldest daughter. Kate previously joined her father at The Actor's Awards in March 2026, while Steenburgen stayed home to babysit Kate's toddler son, Sonny.
Danson shares Kate and 40-year-old Katrina with designer Casey Coates. Though Danson and Kate rarely discuss their relationship publicly, Kate has previously shared moments of pride in her father's activism.
Kate Danson Screen and Stage Career
Kate has built a career as an actress, producer, and director in film, television, and theater. Her screen credits include roles in the television series Raising the Bar and a 2013 guest role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, where she played a lawyer confronting the Las Vegas Crime Lab night shift supervisor, played by Danson.
Speaking to E! News in 2013 about working with her father, Kate said: "The CSI team have done something wrong. So I come pretty hard at my dad and dig into him, which was a lot of fun to play. I was really fortunate to get to work with him on CSI. It was really great going head-to-head with him."
In theater, Kate worked on the New York stage as an actress, producer, and director. She made her directorial debut with French Waitress before directing Nocturne and Stockholm. She also directed one of 23 short segments in the 2022 collaborative indie drama Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men.
In 2019, Kate praised her father on social media after Danson was arrested alongside fellow environmental activist Jane Fonda at a climate change protest. Sharing a photograph of Danson smiling in handcuffs, she wrote: "Setting a good example for your children? Why Yes Indeed! I honestly couldn’t be prouder of you, dad, and felt this photo deserved a shout out on social media…The only thing that upsets me is that you didn’t bring the whole family with you."
Podcast Discussion of Past Controversy
In June 2026, Danson reflected on his career during an appearance on Who’s with Me?, a podcast hosted by comedian and filmmaker W. Kamau Bell. During the interview, Danson addressed the controversial blackface performance he delivered in 1993 at a Friars Club roast honoring Whoopi Goldberg, whom he was dating at the time.
The routine drew widespread public condemnation and remains one of the most controversial moments of his career. Speaking to Bell, Danson offered an unreserved apology for the performance.
"I would like to address this and apologize forever," Danson said. "I know what was in my heart. So, I have no problem talking about this, but I need to and want to apologize for the rest of my life because somebody today can go on the Internet, you're right, and go, 'What the f***? Wow. I feel betrayed. I feel angry and whatever.' And I did that."
Danson explained that the performance took place as his relationship with Goldberg was ending, after the pair had unsuccessfully tried to withdraw from the roast. "So my brain was going, 'Okay, here is one of the most outrageous, funny, Black women in the world at that point. I'm supposed to be roasting her. And I’m not a stand-up. I can’t run with the bulls,'" he said.
Danson added that he initially approached the routine as performance theater before realizing it was wrong. "I thought I could pull this off... (it was) so arrogant and stupid on my part," Danson said.
