Daniel McDonald (actor)

{{Infobox person

| name = Daniel McDonald

| image =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1960|7|30}}

| birth_place = Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|2|15|1960|7|30}}

| death_place = New York City, U.S.

| spouse = {{marriage|Mujah Maraini-Melehi|1999}}

| children = 2

| relatives = Christopher McDonald (brother)

}}

Daniel McDonald (July 30, 1960 – February 15, 2007) was an American actor who guest-starred in many TV shows such as CSI: Miami, Law & Order, Murder, She Wrote and Sex and the City. He was also involved in Broadway, performing in Mamma Mia!

Personal life

McDonald was born the youngest of seven children in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and raised in Romulus, New York. He graduated from Ithaca College.

McDonald's older brother, Christopher McDonald, is also an actor who is seen in many films and television shows.

He met Mujah Maraini-Melehi during the rehearsals for Steel Pier. The couple were married in 1999 and had two children.{{cite news |last1=Simonson |first1=Robert |last2=Gans |first2=Andrew |authorlink1=Robert Simonson |title=Daniel McDonald, Broadway Musical Actor, Is Dead at 46 |work=Playbill |date=2007-02-16 |access-date=2022-07-01 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/daniel-mcdonald-broadway-musical-actor-is-dead-at-46-com-138633}}

Career

He was a life member of the Actors Studio. He also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, with Paul Curtis of the American Mime Theatre, and with Sanford Meisner on the island of Bequia in the British West Indies where he met long-time friend and photographer Michael Sanville.

McDonald received a 1997 Tony Award nomination for his lead role in Steel Pier, which co-starred Karen Ziemba and Gregory Harrison.

In 2002, Daniel McDonald replaced Alan Campbell as lead in the national tour of Contact.

The Gift: Life Unwrapped, McDonald's last film, was released posthumously in May 2007.

He recorded an album True Love.{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Daniel-McDonald-Album-True-Love-to-Be-Released-20080319|title=Daniel McDonald Album 'True Love' to Be Released|website=BroadwayWorld|date=2008-03-19}}

Death

{{quote box |width=30em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=right | quote=Steel Pier director Scott Ellis said in a Feb. 16 [2007] statement, "What made Daniel so special as a performer was what made him so special as a person. He had an incredible openness, honesty, integrity that made him remarkable both onstage and off."}}

McDonald died on February 15, 2007, at his home in New York, aged 46. The cause was brain cancer, said Jason Brantley, a spokesman for Mr. McDonald's family.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/obituaries/24mcdonald.html|title = Daniel McDonald, 46, Broadway Actor, Dies|newspaper = The New York Times|date = February 26, 2007}} Funeral services were held February 24, 2007, at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

Filmography

= Movies =

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1984 \| Where the Boys Are '84 \| Camden Roxbury \|
1985 \| The Falcon and the Snowman \| Clay \| Credited as Dan McDonald
1987 \| Million Dollar Mystery \| Crush \|
rowspan="2"\| 1993 \| Blood In Blood Out \| Gallery Assistant \|
What's Love Got to Do with It \| London Announcer \|
1994 \| At Risk \| Steven \|
1995 \| Let It Be Me \| Fred \|
1997 \| The Ice Storm \| Weatherman \|
1998 \| Jaded \| Bart \|
2007 \| The Gift: Life Unwrapped \| Stephen \| Archive Footage

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1984

| Where the Boys Are '84

| Camden Roxbury

1985

| The Falcon and the Snowman

| Clay

| Credited as Dan McDonald