EXCLUSIVE: Ted Danson Cheats Death — How Health Scare Inspired Life Changes for 'Cheers' Star
Ted Danson's health scare reportedly prompted major lifestyle changes and a renewed outlook.
June 3 2026, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Cheers legend Ted Danson is lucky to be alive after a recent brush with death, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Although the specifics of the incident – including its exact timing and cause – remain murky to the public, the aging leading man is now "totally fine," as he put it.
"It was humbling," the 78-year-old confessed of the alarming medical crisis. "Mortality is the real deal, you know. It's not just a rumor. Ted Danson doesn't get a free pass."
Health Crisis Sparked New Outlook
Ted Danson said a recent health scare left him with a new perspective on life after what he called a humbling experience.
As previously reported, Danson has suffered unspeakable grief over the last several years, as close friends like Kirstie Alley, Rob Reiner and George Wendt passed away.
In January, he was said to have "slipped into a funk" while battling his emotions – a melancholy that doctors suspect may have left him vulnerable to whatever illness eventually assailed him.
"Stress and depression are immunosuppressive," Dr. Stuart Fischer told RadarOnline.com.
But the Three Men and a Baby star said that the unspecified health emergency that brought him to within inches of the hereafter has left him with a new outlook on life.
"It was very humbling and calming, and I'm fine," he said on the May 6 episode of his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name. "I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me, and I'm doing some things differently."
Meditation Became His Lifeline
Mary Steenburgen and Danson now meditate twice daily following the actor's recent medical crisis.
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The small-screen titan – who once commanded a stunning $450,000 per episode as the highest-paid actor on TV – elaborated that he now meditates twice daily, with his wife of 31 years, Mary Steenburgen, and tries his best to take people for what they are.
"What it's done for me, the biggest gift of all: You can be curious about other people," he explained. "You can listen, you can be supportive, caring, you can witness them. And I do believe that the rest of my life is to be curious and listen. That's the best thing I can offer."
