Daniel McDonald

Daniel McDonald (July 30, 1960 – February 15, 2007) was an American actor whose work spanned Broadway, television, and film. Born the youngest of seven children in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he was raised in Romulus, New York, and later graduated from Ithaca College. His brother, Christopher McDonald, is also a professional actor. McDonald pursued extensive formal training, studying 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. He was a life member of the Actors Studio.

McDonald's Broadway career ran from 1997 to 2001, during which he appeared in four productions: Steel Pier, High Society, Mamma Mia!, and Contact. His lead role in Steel Pier, which co-starred Karen Ziemba and Gregory Harrison, earned him both a 1997 Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award that same year. It was during rehearsals for Steel Pier that he met Mujah Maraini-Melehi; the two married in 1999 and had two children together. In 2002, he replaced Alan Campbell as the lead in the national tour of Contact.

McDonald's television credits included guest appearances on CSI: Miami, Law & Order, Murder, She Wrote, and Sex and the City. He also recorded an album titled True Love. His final film, The Gift: Life Unwrapped, was released posthumously in May 2007.

McDonald died on February 15, 2007, at his home in New York at the age of 46. A family spokesman confirmed that the cause of death was brain cancer. Funeral services were held on February 24, 2007, at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.