“Daniel Vaillancourt is a writer and actor born in Montreal, Canada. Of French Canadian descent, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1987 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
Daniel and his late mother, Anita, winter 2015.
He has lived in Los Angeles; Ashland, Oregon; San Francisco; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and New York City; and has resided in Palm Springs since 2007,” explains his official bio.
“He is married to freelance photographer and writer David A. Lee (pictured above).
Daniel—who has also served as a publicist in agency and freelance settings—currently works as a journalist and as a commercial actor. He and his husband also have a variety of film & television projects in various states of development.
Daniel and David strike a pose with the late, great Joan Rivers at the 2012 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards.
The pair—members of both the Writers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of Canada—have been the co-vice chairs of the former’s LGBT Writers Committee since 2006. Daniel is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA.”
Daniel (with co-star Katie Pavao) as the right-wing (and closeted!) evangelist (a role for which he was nominated for a Desert Theatre League Award) in ANITA BRYANT DIED FOR YOUR SINS, performed at Desert Rose Playhouse in 2014.
Daniel says, “PS I love you because…”
- I am a native Canadian. One who loves neither skiing nor skating. One who hates hockey, snow, ice, and cold. One who was born for your blue skies, your sun, your sand, your palms, and your year-round warmth.
- I am a writer. Your being home to such annual benefits as the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala and Desert AIDS Project’s Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards has permitted me not only to contribute my writing talent to the raising of money in this valley but has given me the opportunity to work with more A-list stars than most A-list directors! These include Joan Rivers, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Dame Helen Mirren, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Jane Fonda, but to name 10.
- I am an actor. Your ability to sustain so many theatre companies not only enables me to play roles in plays from Shakespearean classics to modern masterpieces but feeds the theatre-lover in me.
- I am a modernist. The fact that you are a treasure trove of all things modern brings great joy to my senses. The fact that you yearly host Modernism Week has given my husband—official Modernism Week photographer David A. Lee—one of the best gigs of his life. And that, too, brings me great joy.
- I am gay. Nowhere else—with the exception of another small town I adore, Provincetown, Massachusetts—do I feel more welcome, freer, or safer. You are home!
Daniel strikes a pose in Kindergarten.
Palm Springs wouldn't be the same without you, Daniel! Thanks for taking the time to share a bit of your history with us, and for summing up so fabulously more reasons why we all love the desert.
You (and David) rock!
xoxo
Daniel is also a contributor to The Huffington Post.
Want to be featured in the “PS I love you because…” column?
To be considered, email me (Nicholas Snow, SnowbizNow@gmail.com) your top five answers (they can be short or long) to the statement, “PS I love you because…” and/or “PS I love you because I enjoy…”, along with two or three biographical paragraphs. Also, send some photos of things you love about the area including, ideally, you doing something you love in the area. Your submission does not guarantee publication. Thanks!