SHORT TAKES : Danson Stomps on His Rug

There’s one thing Ted Danson doesn’t like about his “Cheers” character, skirt-chasing Sam Malone: his hairpiece.

Danson, in an interview upcoming in Sunday’s Parade magazine, said he leaves Sam’s hairpiece on the set when he heads home these days--a welcome change from the days when he wore the wig both on-and off-screen.

“Putting the hairpiece on was a hassle. It’s a huge relief to no longer walk around in other people’s image of who I am,” said Danson, 43. “I only have to be sexy for one person (wife Cassandra) these days, and she thinks I look like a cute monk.”

Nevertheless, Danson said, playing the sex-obsessed Boston bar owner on the top-rated television show opened a lot of doors that might have remained closed to a nice guy like him.

“Thank God for Sam. I would have been this sweet, sensitive guy until I died if I hadn’t played Sam Malone,” he said.