Ted Danson had to play 'ditch the president' to escape Bill Clinton

Ted Danson had to play &#039;ditch the president&#039; to escape Bill Clinton

(Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

last updated 8 January 2015

Ted Danson's wife, Mary Steenburgen, is so close with the Clintons that Bill Clinton walked her down the aisle at their wedding, Danson told Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live. That friendship meant that Danson and Steenburgen got to spend the night in the White House — an honor that carried some risk. One night "we played this game called 'Ditch the President,'" Danson said.

A typical night with the energetic Bill Clinton would involve Clinton giving four speeches in three cities while his guests rested and maybe went to a gallery, Danson explained. Then, when he and Steenburgen were ready to call it a night, "we'd see him come around the corner, and it would be like, 'Oh, dear lord' — because he'd stop and you would talk, and he'd talk about the peace process in Ireland in the most fascinating way, but you'd be standing in one place for, like, two and a half hours listening to him." Watch the rest of the story below. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.