Celebrity Nooz: Danny Cooksey

Danny Cooksey (Actor) - Diff'rent Strokes

Updated: 6/13/19

Name: Danny Cooksey

Birth Name: Daniel Ray Allen Cooksey Jr.

Born: November 2, 1975 in Moore, Oklahoma, USA

Claim To Fame: Danny Cooksey is an American actor, voice actor, and singer best known for his roles in television shows Diff'rent Strokes, during the final three seasons, and Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts.

Family Life: Cooksey married make-up artist Amber Leigh in 1998. They have two children - daughter, Zoe Leigh, and son, Jackson Paul.

Info: In 1979, Cooksey and his mother moved to Los Angeles with the intention of pursuing a career in country music.

Shocked Johnny Carson when he sang the country song "Hey Bartender" at age 7 on The Tonight Show.

An agent saw Cooksey's performance and invited him to audition for Diff'rent Strokes. He joined the cast as Sam McKinney for the last three seasons.

Had a close relationship with his Diff'rent Strokes co-star Dana Plato.

He's an avid fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Trivia: He's left handed.

Performed lead vocals in the heavy metal band Bad 4 Good, which released one album, "Refugee", on August 18, 1992. The album was written with and produced by Steve Vai.

He was also a band member of Lucy's Milk in 1996 and Arbuckle in 2004.

In between Bad4Good and Lucy's Milk, Cooksey attempted to form another super group called Sheriff. Sheriff consisted of Cooksey, his friends and former Salute Your Shorts castmates Blake Sennett and Michael Bower and his former bandmate in Bad4Good Zach Young. The Sheriff project was scrapped when they couldn't land a record deal.

In 2013, Cooksey worked with L.A. Country and Western band Shelter Dogs providing guitar and vocals. He still makes sporadic appearances with Shelter Dogs.

Where Are They Now: Cooksey's career is still going strong, especially with voice acting. His latest project is in an animated pilot Long Gone Gulch, which is currently in post-production.

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