The hit sitcom Cheers may have celebrated the comfort of places where "everybody knows your name," but Ted Danson, who portrayed the popular Sam Malone on the show, didn't totally identify with that experience.
While promoting his new show A Man on the Inside, in which an older man gets a new lease on life by becoming a private investigator, Danson appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show, and the audience was left cackling over the behind-the-scenes information he shared with her.
One of the hardships Danson has experienced is people mistaking him for ... other people.
Jennifer Hudson was flabbergasted by this reveal.
"People mistake you for a different celebrity?! Who do they mistake you with?!"
Danson explained during his interview:
"There was a period for a period for about five years, mostly or especially in New York."
“I'll tell you who it was, it was Tony Danza. We don't look anything alike, but there's the Ted Dan-son, Tony Dan-za that must have happened."
"So the first time it happened to me, I was in New York, and there were a bunch of construction workers."
"I walked by, and they went, ‘Hey, Tony!'"
"I don’t look around, because my name’s Ted."
"And they go, ’Hey! Hey, Tony! Tony Danza! What, are you too good for us now?'"
To make the situation easier, Danson even went along with the mistake.
"I even signed one [autograph] once, as Tony Danza."
You can watch the clip here:
Though Danson might be a private investigator on the new show, his secret identity most certainly is not Tony Danza.
The two actors look nothing alike, and the TV shows they were on at the same time, Cheers and Who's the Boss, had little to nothing in common, not to mention their very different characters. Truly, the only overlap seems to be the two men's names.
The moment also proved to be super popular on Instagram.
Fans were tickled by the behind-the-scenes story.
@jenniferhudsonshow/Instagram
@jenniferhudsonshow/Instagram
@jenniferhudsonshow/Instagram
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@jenniferhudsonshow/Instagram
@jenniferhudsonshow/Instagram
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The comparison between Danson and Danza might be a bit of a headscratcher, but it's hilarious that someone out there has a Tony Danza autograph by Ted Danson.
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky
