January 22, 2014
Ted Danson on Being Best Pals with Hillary and Bill Clinton
Actor Ted Danson joined “Extra’s” Maria Menounos at Universal Studios Hollywood to talk about his role on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” where he opened up about the close relationship he and wife Mary Steenburgen have with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Danson explained that Steenburgen’s father is the one who introduced her to Bill Clinton. “Mary became kind of famous in Arkansas. She had won her Academy Award the same time Bill was doing his first term as governor in Arkansas. Her father met him and then said, ‘Think you should meet my daughter,’ and they became best buddies."
In fact, Bill walked Steenburgen down the aisle when she married Danson 18 years ago. “He gave her away at our wedding.”
Ted also told the story of the first time he met the Clintons. “One of the first ‘come meet my friends’ date for approval was in the White House with some Secret Service behind, checking me out, so it was a smidge intimidating, except they are so sweet.”
The couples are now close friends. Are Ted and Mary pushing for Hillary to run for president in 2016? Ted replied, “No, because we’re friends. If she decides to run, I’m so here, absolutely, but we don’t even ask, not our job.”
As for Danson’s day job on “CSI,” the show just recently celebrated its 300th episode. The actor is grateful to be a part of it. “I’ve only done 50 of those 300 so I can’t lay claim to their success, but I also love that it’s still the No. 2 watched show in the world.”
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” airs tonight on CBS.
